Sunday October 16, 2011
‘Occupy Dataran’ demo fizzles out after less than a hundred turn up
By M. KUMAR
kumar@thestar.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: A group which attempted to stage “Occupy Dataran”, similar to “Occupy Wallstreet” in New York, failed to take off when less than a hundred participants turned up.
Many later ended the night passionately discussing football after watching the Liverpool vs Manchester United game on the famous square's big screen.
They were also joined by police who were there to disperse the group.
The “Occupy Dataran” group described the movement as a new independent and autonomous grassroots initiative.
“We are trying to reclaim Dataran Merdeka as an open and democratic space for people to gather, discuss and explore the true meaning of democracy beyond the representative system, to redefine democratic participation beyond the ballot box, to imagine a new political culture beyond race, ideology and political affiliation, and also to lepak, spend the night and dream together at Dataran Merdeka,” said the group on their Facebook page.
The gathering started as early as 4.30pm yesterday.
The participants were then told by the police to disperse at around 8pm.
However, the group did not fully disperse but broke up into smaller groups and wandered about the square.
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