Updated : Himpunan Quiet So Far, Too Boring To Be True

It is now 1.30 PM. I just took some pictures on Jalan Ampang. The Himpunan people have been gathering since before 8 a.m. this morning.  There is an overwheling majority of PAS members. The Amal red shirts are everywhere. The rest are all white skull caps and tudung. Here are the pictures :

This is ground zero on Jalan Ampang - which is a collection point for some of the Himpunan people. They have taken over Jalan Ampang. Traffic could not flow. Why do they have to inconvenience everyone else to serve their own ends? This is fair? There is a speaker talking on the loud hailer on a platform in the middle of the picture. There are just a few hundred people, a thousand at most but I doubt it. See for yourself. The old Federal Bakery is just on the left.

Without moving from the same spot I took this picture (below) facing down Jalan Ampang. The crowd is already thinning out. Even the road is left empty. Again mostly Amal red t shirts and white skull caps. This is a PAS event.

I walked further down Jalan Ampang towards the bridge (still  opposite Federal Bakery) and took this picture. The crowd is just not there.  The last time when they had the Bersih riots, there were definitely more people than this.

I just received a call from someone confirming that the city is quiet.  The Himpunan is quiet with not so many people involved. So there is a warning that agent provocateurs (including those trained in South Korea - hello guys)  may be ordered to stir things up a little later in the afternoon.  You know that hand signal and all.  

If there is going to be any trouble it will possibly be after the gathering at the stadium is over. Maybe around 5pm or 6pm.

The police are nowhere in force anywhere. I saw two Indian policemen walking around. No FRU anywhere. Things are quiet.  Too quiet.

Peace and quiet are NOT the right ingredients for trouble causers.  They prefer chaos and rioting. 

Updated 2:15 PM. Some angry Pakatan people have sent me their pictures to prove I am wrong. I could not open the Facebook page. Here is a picture showing the 'huge huge' crowd at Masjid Negara.

Well you can see for yourself. There are hardly two thousand people in this picture.

The huge huge crowd is already thinning out at the left side of the picture, the right side and 

does not go beyond the trees.  Pictures dont lie ok. There is definitely no 1.0 million, 100,000, or even ten thousand people in this picture.  Sorry.

Beware of agent provocateurs at Stadium Merdeka

Stadium Merdeka was our pride and joy when Malaya achieved independence in 1957. That was when the stadium reverberated with a thunderous applause each time that Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman shouted 'Merdeka’ before a capacity crowd. But sadly, nowadays it has been turned into a stage for political dramas.

It has been estimated that the stadium can today accommodate up to 30,000 people. It is a far cry from the 1 million protesters that the opposition is planning to attract to the Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (HKR) rally on 12 January (Saturday).

Can they assure the safety of the protestors and spectators, tourists, businessmen and the public at large if the crowd turns unruly.  Of course the police will be there to protect life and property but the organisers have promised that they will see to it that the gathering is peaceful.

Talking of unruly behaviour, one is reminded of a column written a few months ago by Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) who said in April 2012: 

"Now that Bersih (3.0) is over I did not reveal the presence of anarchists. And I did not reveal it because I felt it would hurt PKR if the public found out that amongst those 100,000 or 150,000 or 250,000 or whatever who took to the streets on Saturday, 28th April 2012, were a bunch of anarchists who had been trained in Korea on how to turn a peaceful march into hand-to-hand combat with the police."