KL112: Anwar mimicks Tunku’s “Merdeka”

Fifty-six years ago, UMNO was etched into the history books as the party which helped free Malaysia from British colonialists, a feat which it has hitherto never stopped reminding Malaysians about.

The declaration of Independence was made by UMNO’s second president Tunku Abdul Rahman at Stadium Merdeka, which grew even more famous over the years by playing host to premier entertainment, sporting and national events.

Today, the ageing stadium hosted yet another historical milestone. It was the site of the biggest ever rally organised by Opposition parties, which no doubt helped set a new record for the 30,000 capacity stadium.

If it wasn’t enough to stage a massive anti-UMNO and anti-BN rally at the venue which played a major role in UMNO’s legacy, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim capped off the event by chanting “Merdeka” seven times, mimicking Tunku not only in frequency but in mannerism as well.

“Like how our forefathers cried out (Merdeka!), today we repeat that oath and this time, we will achieve genuine independence for the people,” he said. To stress this point further, each time Anwar said “Merdeka”, the crowd responded emphatically with “Rakyat”.

How will UMNO react?

Pakatan Rakyat’s antics in Stadium Merdeka is unlikely to bode well for UMNO diehards, who are likely to question the sudden and unexpected liberal approach. Until today, any major rally with a hint of anti-UMNO and anti-BN sentiments would have faced the full brunt of the law, with tear gas, batons and water cannons to boot.

Instead, the Federal government went out of its way to make sure that the rally proceeded without incident, to the extent of having the police say that their aim was to have “zero casualties” during the event.

In essence, Pakatan came out looking like its support base is growing, despite the intensifying negative press about them coming from the government-controlled media organisations since the last general election.

Such media organisations are going to be hard-pressed to claim that 100,000 people were paid to attend the rally, whereas Pakatan supporters will claim they braved the heat and congestion, unlike BN’s less organic approach in drawing a crowd.

Looking beyond race

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s predecessors have never faced an opposition show of force on this scale before and his party will face a challenge to explain why opposition rally numbers are on the rise under his watch.