PROTESTERS at the #TangkapAzamBaki rally march on Dataran Merdeka from the Bangsar LRT at 11am despite a court order barring gatherings in the city centre. 

“We’re hoping to go Dataran although the police won’t let us,” one of the rally organisers from a youth movement group told The Malaysian Insight at via WhatsApp when asked about the next steps despite police roadblocks.

Police have closed several roads in the capital today to prevent the #TangkapAzamBaki rally from taking place at its intended location in front of the Sogo shopping complex on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

The rally, organised by civil society groups and the youth wings of several opposition parties, is illegal after police obtained a court order banning gatherings at Dataran Merdeka, Sogo shopping complex and Masjid Jamek.

Rally organisers subsequently changed the venue to the Bangsar LRT station, but upon learning of it, police closed the area and the roads. Several train stations are also closed as part of police measures.

However, police are not stopping pedestrians from entering the ground floor of the Bangsar LRT station.

Some of the “pedestrians” are in black clothing, the colour the protesters have been told to wear. People appear to be waiting for orders to start walking.

Today’s demonstration is held to demand the arrest of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Azam Baki. –

Azam is under a cloud of suspicion following allegations that he bought millions of shares in 2015-16.

He has been cleared by the Securities Commission (SC) of wrongdoing but the public perceive that he had lied about letting his brother use his trading account to buy those shares.

Several local residents of Bangar told The Malaysian Insight they were not aware of the road closures in the neighbourhood.

“Came out from the house to get breakfast and there is a roadblock and traffic diversion.

“Took me around 20 over minutes to get to the restaurant, which was just give minutes away,” said a resident, who wished to be known as Glen. 

Tariq said the protest itself not have caused such chaos. 

“Wasn’t it supposed to be a peaceful protest?

“If the (authorities) had allowed it to take place in the city centre, this would have ended peacefully. Now the diversion is just causing problem to the residents here,” he said. 

Malaysians on social media  took aim at the police for blocking the roads. 

“All this for one guy? Don’t you feel stupid?” said @projekbot in a post with a video of the road closure in Bangsar.

@zairulriza asked why the police did not show such efficiency during the floods.

 “Why the police were not this efficient during the recent floods,” he said.

The Tangkap Azam Baki Action Committee said it was disappointing that the police have put Kuala Lumpur in a state of “lockdown” over one individual. 

It said the police were acting as though Azam was “very powerful”.  – January 22, 2022.