As night fell on the eve of the Bersih 5 and red-shirts counter-rally, Malaysians could finally get a breather.

It had been a dramatic day, with 12 pre-rally arrests and hundreds of red-shirts occupying Masjid Negara, a gathering point for the Bersih 5 rally.

The hour-long heavy downpour in Kuala Lumpur provided a sense of calm.

However, the police were in action, making their 11th arrest at Masjid Negara - in the form of Razali Zakaria, the lieutenant of Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos.

It was the first red-shirts arrest. Razali had taken charge at Masjid Negara while Jamal was no where to be seen.

With the arrest, the red-shirts faded away with the rain.

But they were in no way backing down, as a handful stayed behind, ensuring sufficient supplies, including food and water for the counter-rally participants tomorrow.

The red-shirts appear to be using Masjid Negara as a base to stop Bersih's advance to Dataran Merdeka from Dataran Maybank in Bangsar.

While the red-shirts faded away, some Bersih supporters emerged behind the lines of the red-shirts' intended base.

A small crowd of people clad in the yellow Bersih 5 T-shirts wandered near Dataran Merdeka.

Among them was disabled activist Isaiah Jacob, who had been fasting for six days in a symbolic support for the Bersih 5 rally.

With him were some 20 people, who held up placards asking for vehicle drivers to honk in support of Bersih.

Some drivers of cars rolled down their windows, giving the group the thumbs up while others paused for photographs and videos.

However, Sekretariat Permuafakatan president Khairul Anuar Othman noted that some Bersih activists who were supposed to turn up tonight had been arrested.

Nonetheless, Khairul stressed the focus would be the rally tomorrow.

"The main thing is tomorrow. We are gathering here to symbolise that Bersih started at Dataran Merdeka and tomorrow, we will be heading there again," he said.

As midnight approached, some 50 Bersih supporters gathered near the cordoned-off Dataran Merdeka.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officers were working into the night, cordoning off the entrance to Jalan Raja and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

Visibly smaller crowd this time

This did not happen in the past Bersih rallies and may pose a challenge to protesters in the morning.

Bersih supporters usually flood into these two adjacent roads as DBKL has always forbidden protesters from using the square.

But this was not the only thing different on the night before a Bersih rally. The crowd was visibly smaller this time.

In the past, excited Bersih supporters swarmed in droves the night before the rally.

A rallygoer who spoke Malaysiakini on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that the pre-Bersih night crowd this time was smaller.

"Last year, the Dataran Merdeka area had a sea of yellow. This time I am a bit worried on the turnout," said the Bersih supporter, who had participated in every Bersih rally since the second one.

But the dynamics of this fifth Bersih rally have also changed, for it has now found support from former Umno leaders and members in the form of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

At day break, it will be known if Bersih is still a force to reckon with, and how it will deal with an aggressive counter-rally.