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'Tangkap Azam Baki' protest proceeds amid lockdown concerns

'Tangkap Azam Baki' protest proceeds amid lockdown concerns
'Tangkap Azam Baki' protest proceeds amid lockdown concerns

Amid concerns of a city-wide lockdown, the 'Tangkap Azam Baki' protest saw civil society groups and political parties convening some 200 supporters for a march in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur that lasted over an hour.

The largely youth-led crowd started gathering at 11am to protest for action to be taken against MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki.

They gathered outside the Bangsar LRT station under the close watch of uniformed and plainclothes police personnel.

The group then gathered along Jalan Bangsar across the LRT station before entering into physically distanced formation to start marching.

In addressing the crowd, activist Adam Adli said, "Today on Saturday, Jan 22, the whole of Kuala Lumpur is closed to protect one individual named Azam Baki.

"In this current pandemic situation, people are still struggling and we don't know who to turn to," he said. Adam has fronted many large rallies in the past and is now a PKR member.

The protesters marched for about 1km towards Jalan Travers, under the close watch of a larger group of police personnel including riot police, led by Brickfields district police chief Amihizam Abdul Shukor.

Despite the police closing all surrounding roads, protesters were allowed to proceed with their marching plans after several rounds of negotiations.

The protesters represent over 30 civil society groups and political parties from Pakatan Harapan, as well as PSM, Muda, and Pejuang.

PSM deputy president S Arutchelvan, who was among the crowd, said the turnout was strong despite the initial police crackdown.

"I think the government did a massive clampdown for one person. I think it is good the people came out, and I think this will continue because the head of the anti-corruption agency should step down.

"This is the best thing to do, but we see the entire machinery, even the public transportation, has been stopped for one person.

"So I think it is a good start and this will continue to happen until this corrupt government go back, Azam Baki and the other corrupted people should go," said Arutchelvan.

After negotiations between the organisers and authorities, protesters were allowed to proceed with their march. They also held a 15-minute sit-in protest along Jalan Travers, close to the end of the Brickfields police's jurisdiction.

Various youth leaders took turns to deliver their messages for the protest, which centered around wanting Azam to step down and for action to be taken over the MACC chief's share ownership scandal.

Following that, rally organisers made another call for the crowd to rise and turn back towards the Bangsar LRT station.

Spirits remained high as a short gimmick was staged involving a man dressed in mock uniform who acted as Azam, was "caught", and booed by the crowd.

Rally marshals on duty issued repeated announcements for crowd control and physical distancing. They also reminded the crowd that they have exceeded the agreed dispersal time.

The final dispersal call was made along Jalan Bangsar at around 12.45pm and the surrounding areas were cleared shortly after.

Politicians seen in the crowd included Seputeh MP Teresa Kok Suh Sim and Harapan state assemblypersons Lim Yi Wei, Howard Lee Chuan How, Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali, and Muhammad Faiz Fadzil.

Meanwhile, Ah Seng, 36, a mechanic who works across the road from where the rally was held said he immediately decided to join in.

“This scenario is similar to (former prime minister) Najib (Abdul Razak), only stealing.

“This is the first time I have seen (a rally) this close to my workplace. I left work to join in.

“The last time I saw something similar was the Bersih rally five years ago,” he said, adding that he had also participated in that.

Also present were observers from the Bar Council and the Freedom of Expression Cluster.

The ‘Tangkap Azam Baki’ protest was mobilised in the wake of a shareholding scandal implicating the MACC chief.

Azam came under scrutiny recently after allegations of him having owned shares in two companies back in 2015 surfaced.

According to Excel Force Bhd’s 2015 annual report, Azam owned 2,156,000 warrants in the company as of March 21, 2016. At the time, Azam was the head of MACC’s investigation division.

However, in a press conference on Jan 5, Azam said he did not do anything wrong as the shares were bought by his brother, who only used his name.


Reporting by Alyaa Alhadjri, Raveena Nagotra, B Nantha Kumar, Wan Irdina.