The last day of campaigning finished with a bang for the DAP of Pakatan Rakyat in Kuching. It was Superfriday. Internal estimates of the attendance hover over 20,000 persons. The more upbeat hazarded 30,000. Whatever the actual figure was, it was a massive rally, bigger than anything Kuching — either by Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat — has seen in the last two weeks.
No rumor of cancellation deterred their determination to be there. Words were going around the the police cancelled the permit for the rally.
No police intimidation dispersed them. The police insisted that the permit applied and approved was for a much smaller venue — a venue that would fit only 20 persons. The authority said they would arrest anybody that would speak on stage. They tried to arrest the first speaker, which was the founder of DAP Sarawak, an old man over 60 years ago. The police then however realized that they were surrounded by thousands of angry crowd booing the police. Amid folly, wisdom hit them and so they relented and decided to let the show to go on, as it should be.
And no rain would deter the crowd’s spirit. It was a beautiful sight.
This picture reminds me of a paragraph in Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward. I am not a fan of Bellamy, but that particular paragraph of his is beautiful.
In any case, if you are a Sarawakian, do not forget to vote for members of the Pakatan Rakyat on Saturday.
