Our Hari Merdeka is coming and it is natural for some of the roads in Kuala Lumpur to be closed in preparation for the big day tomorrow. However, this morning, it wasn’t the usual road closure that had people around downtown Kuala Lumpur coming to a standstill.
Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook
Apparently, some photos and videos that were shared on social media showed a huge group of people gathering near Intermark and G-Tower Hotel at Jalan Tun Razak around Ampang Park holding banners and shouting.
According to KiniTV, there were reportedly more than 1,000 etnic Rohingyas on the street as they gathered there to protest against the Myanmar regime in their country that has mercilessly persecuted them for decades as a sort of “ethnic cleansing”. They reported that the protest began at around 11am and they gathered to march towards the Myanmar Embassy on Jalan U-Thant to submit a memorandum together with a few sympathetic NGOs.
Source: Facebook
Source: KiniTV
Melissa Goh, the Malaysia Bureau Chief for Channel News Asia tweeted about the incident. A video shared by Goh showed Malaysian Islamic state leaders condemning Myanmar’s State Counsellor, Aung Saan Syu Kyi for the mass killings against the Rohingyas.
“We want a peaceful country, we want to have a good relationship but Aung Saan Syu Kyi, you are to be blamed. You are supposed to be a democratic leader and protecting human rights but you are now the culprit. We demand that her Nobel Peace Prize be revoked as she doesn’t deserve it anymore. We demand that the Myanmar government stop these killings,” he said.
Source: Twitter
Source: Twitter
Source: Twitter
Other updates from Goh’s Twitter stated that more than 100 Rohingyas, which comprised of two truck loads, were arrested for illegal assembly and obstructing traffic. Some of them were emotional and crying openly while holding banners with “Stop the cruelty in Myanmar. Solidarity with Rohingya. Stop the genocide in Myanmar.”
Source: Twitter
Source: Twitter
Among the photos she shared, one showed a protester who had tried to set himself on fire by dousing himself with petrol but the police managed to stop him from doing so. The man was arrested along with the rest of his fellow protesters. Most of them were refugees and some of them do not have legal documents.
Hopefully the plight of these poor Rohingyas would be heard!
Also read: 15 Rights You Should Know When You’re Confronted by the Police
