Malaysian authorities are limiting access to capital Kuala Lumpur on June 9 to avert a planned rally. Major city roads and public transportation hubs will be shut down or diverted from midnight (for 20-24 hours); restriction orders have also been issued to key individuals forbidding them from entering the city centre during the period.
Road closure infographic by Thestar, click image for larger pic.
The rally is organised by an BERSIH, an opposition-linked NGO, in demand for the electoral system to be reformed. I’ll skip the details to not bore most of you who are not from Malaysia. To make it short, our voting system is heavily biased in favour of the governmental coalition which has been ruling the country for 50+ years.
A similar mass gathering was held rather peacefully in 2007 without major incidents, so I’m quite appalled by the government’s iron-fist countermeasures despite not being a fan of public demonstrations to begin with. The rally will carry on regardless, hope that it won’t turn into a tragic episode. Check BERSIH’s website for updates.