When journalists arrived in the vicinity of Menara Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday, many were disappointed to see the poor turnout of what was supposed to be a show of force by some 50,000 reformasi supporters at the handing over of a people's memorandum by Barisan Alternatif leaders to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).

The event by BA supporters was to mark the second anniversary of the sentencing of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim for abuse of power. They called it 'Black 14' to depict the darkness that has enveloped all government institutions such as the police and judiciary. Despite knowing very well that they would probably not get a police permit to gather, reformasi supporters sent e-mails and telephoned each other for days to meet on Saturday.

However, last Tuesday and Wednesday, their hopes were crushed when seven political activists, most of them Keadilan leaders, were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for allegedly planning to topple the government through militant tactics.

This might have dampened their spirits, but calls to carry on with the gathering by BA leaders such as Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) president Dr Syed Husin Ali eventually helped pull in a crowd of about 3,000 people that morning.

At 9am, the beautifully landscaped Jalan Raja Laut, where Menara Tun Razak - which houses Suhakam - is located, was bereft of the usual Saturday crowd. Only two red police trucks and one water cannon vehicle were stationed in the area, while another two red police trucks with a handful of Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel were stationed behind the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) headquarters where BA leaders were supposed to make their entrance from.

Threats

A group of journalists and photographers who gathered along Jalan Raja Laut to catch some of the action, joked with one another that "there are more policemen and journalists here today than the reformasi crowd".

"Dr Mahathir (Prime Minister) and Norian Mai (the Inspector General of Police) would be relieved and somewhat glad to know that all their threats and warnings the previous day had worked!" jested one journalist.

"They even stooped so low as to get the National Union of Journalists to send out a warning to reporters to be careful," lamented another.

"Let's pray that nothing bad happens. Let's hope this is a peaceful gathering. We may not have a good story but at least we can all go home happy," commented another. Obviously a peace-loving soul.

Last week, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Zainal Abidin Mat Zin warned the public not to attend the gathering, saying that only two or three people were needed to hand in the memorandum. He said a large number of police personnel would be deployed to control the crowd and if necessary, the government was prepared to call in the army.

On Friday, Kuala Lumpur Chief Police Officer Meor Che Din warned that the police will not hesitate to arrest anyone who attended the illegal gathering. The government-controlled media such as RTM and TV3 joined in the fray by getting people in the streets to say how 'stupid' it was to attend such gatherings.

RTM did a news feature on four newly-purchased anti-riot water cannon trucks that cost the government RM1.3 million. They feature also presented a mock scene of a reformasi gathering to demonstrate how police were well-prepared for any eventuality.

Nevertheless, on Saturday, some 3,000-odd supporters dared to turn up for the gathering. They said they came because they believed it was their right to assemble and that no one should take that right away.

Surging crowd

As journalists waited listlessly at Jalan Raja Laut, a small crowd including top leaders and representatives of the four opposition parties and non-governmental organisations (NGO) had gathered in Wan Azizah's house at Bukit Damansara. However, DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang and PAS president Fadzil Noor were nowhere to be seen.

Upon receiving a message from those in the city that a small crowd had gathered there, the convoy of 10 cars set off to KL from Wan Azizah's residence. When they arrived at Jalan Raja Laut, it was interesting to note that there were only about 50 people walking about the area.

But as soon as the leaders got down from their vehicles and started walking towards the Suhakam building, people started gathering around them, like ants flocking to a granule of sugar. The crowd just surged and all moved with the delegation to the entrance of the building which was heavily guarded by the building's security officers.

Besides opposition members of parliament and politicians, the family members of the seven arrested under ISA last week and concerned citizens representing the Petaling Jaya Selatan incident were also part of the delegation. What was supposed to be a 10-people delegation became a 50-people delegation.

Reformasi activist Abdul Malek Hussein kept the crowd in control by using a megaphone to direct them to sit down. "We will patiently wait for them to go up, hand in the memorandum and then come down. Please sit down, so that if there is a red truck heading towards here, we can see it. Only the Special Branch on duty can stand up, so if you are standing up, we know who you are," said Malek, much to the amusement of the crowd.

What was different about the assembly that morning from other reformasi gatherings was that the crowd was passive and was proud of its role as a witness to the handover of the memorandum."We are taking the passive stand. We want to prove Mahathir wrong," said one reformist.

The people sat quietly, occasionally holding up red placards with saying 'No to ISA', "No to OSA', 'Free All Political Prisoners' and other slogans.

Malek introduced the leaders of the four parties as well as representatives of the NGOs to the crowd. Keadilan secretary-general Anuar Tahir, PAS Youth depuy chief Salahuddin Ayub and PRM Youth chief Faizal Sanusi then addressed the crowd.

All touched on the fact that no one was carrying any rocket launchers or bombs. They ridiculed the reasons given by the police for arresting the seven reformasi activists under the ISA.

Amid the speeches, two men kept standing up and shouting, " reformasi! ". The crowd, warned of agents provocateurs in their midst, kept calm and the men had to sit down. They were nowhere to be seen after a while.

'Hidup polis!'

The delegation that went up to meet the Suhakam commissioners, led by Wan Azizah, came down with the two commissioners in tow. "We have proven that we can gather peacefully," Wan Azizah told them.

Commissioner Anuar Zainal then took over the microphone, much to the surprise of the crowd. When he began with, "We cannot make any promises," the crowd started jeering but the jeers turned to thunderous applause when he continued to say, "but we promise to study the memorandum in detail".

"We have also asked the police to be cooperative to allow all of you to disperse,"said Anuar, who seemed to be enjoying the limelight. It was obvious that he was getting his first dose of the heady, people-power feeling that permeates a reformasi gathering.

As suddenly as they had come together, the crowd heeded the advice of the retired judge and dispersed peacefully. Some even shook hands with the police officers on their way out. Some even shouted out, albeit cynically, " Hidup polis! "

A small crowd remained but most were plainclothes police personnel. Fifteen minutes later, the riot police moved out, leaving only reporters and photographers, no doubt among them some who wished there had been more exciting happenings.

Many noted that the high point of this year's 'Black 14' gathering was not just the handover of the memorandum to Suhakam but also the determination of the crowd to still turn up despite being warned against doing so.

As one journalist put it, "The police deserve some credit though some may argue that it was more of a public relations exercise. Of course, pressure from Suhakam and the NGOs helped.

"But it was the crowd who deserved all the praises. It shows that reformists are capable of controlling themselves and are quite capable of gathering peacefully," he said.

ZAKIAH KOYA and SUSAN LOONE are malaysiakini journalists while TONG YEE SIONG is an intern.