“This is unacceptable. Your leader is in jail and you want to give out ang pow,” reads a posting on a Chinese-language Facebook page that urges Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives to remember the original objective of their struggle.

 

The newly set-up page claims that certain PKR representatives are organising Chinese New Year events on Saturday when a mass rally is planned in Kuala Lumpur to press for the release of Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is serving a five-year jail term for sodomy.

 

Also displayed in the Facebook page is a pamphlet stating that Johor DAP representatives are attending an event on Sunday.

 

“Not sure if these Johor representatives will attend the rally or if they expect it to end within a short period like SOP (standard operating procedure) and so they can schedule an event the next day,” reads another posting.

 

The SOP is believed to be the often mocked practice of “attending rallies, snapping photos, uploading them on Facebook and going home”.

 

The organiser of the protest, a coalition calling itself Kita Lawan, is planning to hold it outside the Sogo shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur from 4pm to midnight.

 

Apart from calling for the opposition leader’s freedom, the protest will also demand the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

 

Kita Lawan has urged on all Pakatan elected representatives to attend the protest.

 

However, the police yesterday declared the rally an illegal gathering and those who participate could face the prospect of arrest.

 

Therefore the question is while the organiser is calling on the public to join the protest, will the likes of Selangor Menteri Besar Mohd Azmin Ali and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng take the risk?

 

Stakes are much higher

 

Protests held during the Reformasi era in the late 90s were a different ball game. The stakes are much higher now.

 

Elected representatives may automatically lose their seats should they be arrested for illegal assembly and found guilty. The law bars those fined more than RM2,000, or sentenced to more than a year in jail, from serving as lawmakers.

Commenting on this issue, DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke ( left ) said while the party’s MPs and state assemblypersons are encouraged to attend the protest, it is not compulsory.

 

“We need to wait until Saturday. Only then can we know the number of people who will turn up. Therefore, it is not right for us to make any assumption now,” Loke told Malaysiakini .

 

Loke himself will not be at the protest as he has other matters to attend to.

 

The Penang government is giving out RM100 to senior citizens this weekend - an annual cash handout to those who are 60 years old and above - and normally elected state representatives are at Maybank branches to help facilitate the distribution.