JULY 28 wasn’t just historic in terms of former prime minister Najib Razak being found guilty for criminal charges related to the largest financial scandal the world has ever seen.

He was also the first ever former Malaysian prime minister to be charged in court and convicted, news that rocked headlines globally.

However, July 28 was also remarkable for being the same day that 1,000 of Najib’s supporters converged upon Kuala Lumpur High Court, completely disregarding all social distancing requirements.

At the same time, many of them also failed to wear masks or did not wear them properly.

While most other Malaysians had been thoughtfully abiding by Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) out of basic consideration for the health and safety of others, this large group of protesters flouted them, despite repeated warnings by the police.

How it must have broken the hearts of director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and all our exhausted frontliners who have been working day and night just to prevent a second wave.

When news of the protest got out, Malaysians were afraid that such a massive gathering would explode into another super-cluster, as in the the Tabligh cluster, sending Covid-19 figures in the country soaring high.

Up until now, the Tabligh cluster remains the largest grouping of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia.

What is striking is the fact that this mass protest must have been organised and coordinated well ahead of time.

Across different news portals, it was reported that these clamouring crowds were brought to the court complex by 20 buses from across Peninsular Malaysia.

Has anyone stopped to wonder: who organized it, despite fully knowing the public health dangers it posed to our country?

When was it planned?

Who provided the funds to make this protest possible?

Where did the funds come from?

Ever since Malaysia went into lockdown and even after it slowly opened up in stages, there hasn’t been any gathering this large in size and certainly not with zero physical distancing.

Yet, despite this blatant mass defiance of SOPs, was any stern and immediate action taken against them?

Did we read reports of police rounding up protesters and arresting them for willfully and deliberately breaking SOPs?

Was anyone fined or charged?

So far, the only action that has been taken is the mere recording of statements from nine protesters and the very quiet submission of investigation papers to the higher-ups.

Whether this would actually result in any firm action remains to be seen.

Such a muted response truly pales in comparison to how swiftly many were fined and charged for breaking the rules during the movement control order.

Just imagine, if this was a Bersih rally or a gathering protesting trumped up charges against Lim Guan Eng and Betty Chew, would the response by the backdoor government have been so mild?

I believe we all know the answer.

* Lara Ling reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.