FEATURE All eyes were on the Tangkap Malaysian Official One (MO1) coalition spokesperson Anis Syafiqah Md Yusof as the student-led rally ended at about 5pm yesterday evening.

Coming down from their makeshift stage on a truck parked at the entrance of Jalan Raja Laut, she had just executed the rally’s ending gimmick - placing effigies that resembled the ‘Malaysian Official 1' and others named in the United States Department of Justice’s 1MDB-linked civil suit - behind bars.

As the crowd dispersed, many did not expect her to make a quick escape.

Holding hands with her friend and Tangkap MO1 coalition member Aqilah Zainuzi, they quickly ran away from the crowd of about 1,500 people, to the surprise of media members and others hoping to speak to her.

Some questioned whether it was a sign of their fear. The ones left behind, however, told Malaysiakini that it was a pre-planned move just in case of any arrests.

Throughout the rally, the 24-year-old only formally addressed the crowd twice - at the first gathering point outside Sogo shopping complex, and later as the final speaker.

Anis Syafiqah, from the makeshift stage, repeated her stand that the crowd who showed up, had reaffirmed her faith on people’s power.

She had earlier said the same thing at Sogo.

The Universiti Malaya final year student also repeated her plea for the people to pressure the authorities into taking actions against the elusive Malaysian Official 1 - echoing the emotional speech she delivered outside the gates of UiTM Seri Iskandar - which has gone viral.

While attempting to put up a strong front, Anis Syafiqah at times appeared visibly nervous and reached out to hold Aqilah’s hands.

She sang and chanted along with the crowd but rarely took the lead, leaving it to her friends - Muhammad Luqman Nul Hakim Zul Razali and Luqman Hakim, among others.

This was evident right from the start of the march.

While she walked at the front line, the loud hailer and microphones were in the hands of others, who guided the crowd across several major roads leading up to Dataran Merdeka.

There were times when her voice was drowned out by the thumping beat of drums and chanting crowd.

At one point, Aqilah who walked next to her chanted into a microphone, as one of the persons in charge of the loud hailer was presumably left behind.

She later briefly took over the microphone and chanted “Tolak, tolak, kezaliman”, “Tolak, tolak, penindasan”.

New ‘icon’ for student activism

The crowd responded to her calls at all times. Many of them looked up to her as the new ‘icon’ for student activism, on a rare occasion that politicians had shied away from the spotlight during a public rally.

Her abrupt departure, however, could have raised questions over her readiness to lead.

When contacted later, Anis Syafiqah said the rally was already declared over and so they decided to move away to a “safer place”.

This was after they supposedly saw signs of police initiating arrests near their truck.

“I had the feeling that all of us could be arrested if I had climbed back up on the truck, after I put the effigies behind bars,” she said.

Her phone was also switched off as she had received repeated calls from various unidentified numbers.

“They called me and asked why did I call them. But I never did, they called me,” she said, adding it had started several days before the rally.

To contact her, Malaysiakini had to go through several other students, and she eventually replied via WhatsApp using a friend’s number.

“Even now we are on the move to a safer place...,” she revealed.

On her feelings throughout the rally, Anis Syafiqah said her only fear was that there would not be a big crowd.

“When I saw the crowd at Sogo, I became more excited.

“And at the end of the rally, I felt really proud with the turnout. I was not afraid (moments before she left) but it was a safety precaution,” she said.

Having previously described herself as only being an “ordinary” student, Anis Syafiqah said she now has to shoulder the extraordinary hope of all Malaysians.

Their next step, she said, would depend on the situation but the momentum of students’ and people’s uprising would be continued.

But first, after many sleepless nights leading up to the rally, Anis Syafiqah said she looked forward to having some rest, before her classes resume on Sept 5.