Supporters at 1st Year Rally anniversary prayers

View the rest at Charles Santiago (MP for Klang) Picasa‘s site.

According to report from Malaysiakini and Anil Netto, the crowd was as follows:

Batu Caves: 500 people

Penang Ganeshar Temple Waterfall Road: 50 people

Mariamman Temple, Prai: 1000 people

JB Temple: 100 people

Anil Netto describes situation in Penang:

This was the scene at the Sree Ganeshar Temple along Waterfall Road in Penang at around 7.00pm. About 50 people gathered for prayers to commemorate the first anniversary of the Makkal Sakthi (People Power) awakening. On 25 November last year, some 30,000 Indian Malaysians rallied in downtown KL to highlight their plight.

Over on mainland Penang, people started arriving at the Sri Maha Mariamman Devasthanam Temple in Prai from 7.00pm.

At 8.32pm a contact at the temple tells me a thousand people are now inside listening to speeches. Among the speakers was Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy.

In the background, over the phone, I hear cries of “Makkal Sakthi!”. More people could have turned up if not for the heavy rain.

Plainclothes police are around and keeping a watchful eye.

In KL area, it was raining and traffic jam. Being a working day, it was hard to get to Batu Caves after 5pm. I was stuck in jam in Puchong itself, plus having a relative coming to house yesterday evening.

MalaysiaKini reports the event at Batu Caves as follows:

Despite that the movement is outlawed, police presence at the locations were minimal with hardly any uniformed personnel around. No untoward incidents were reported.

At the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Batu Caves, Selangor, some 500 Hindraf supporters braved the rain to attend the special prayer ceremony.

The prayers began on a low key at about 7pm but the enthusiasm grew as the crowd scaled the 272 steps of the temple.

With oil lamps in hand, the crowd chanted ‘Makkal Sakti Valga’ (long live people’s power) as they climbed the steps.

About 30 minutes later, the crowd descended and there were impromptu speeches from several politicians and leaders associated with Hindraf.

Again, the crowd chanted ‘Makkal Sakti Valga’ and the temperature went up several notches when those present chanted ‘Hindraf Valga’ (long live Hindraf) and ‘Uthaya Valga’ (long live P Uthayakumar) punctuated with cheers and rapturous applause.

“Hindraf is alive!” declared PKR’s Kapar MP and former Hindraf activist S Manikavasagam to frenzied cheers.

Other speakers included Selangor state exco member Dr Xavier Jeyakumar, Teluk Intan MP M Manogaran and Police Watch and Human Rights Committee coordinator S Jayathas.

The crowd dispersed at about 9.30pm.

Meanwhile, in Mariammn Temple Penang, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ramasamy proposed that November 25 to be declared as a public holiday if Pakatan Rakyat takes over Federal government. He said he will put forth a request:

Meanwhile in Penang, some 1,000 people converged at Butterworth’s Sri Maha Mariamman Alayam for a special prayer session.

The function started at 7pm with Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy and Hindraf coordinator RS Thanenthiran leading the crowd on a 500-metre ‘agal vilaku’ (oil lamp) march to the temple from the main road.

State executive councillors Lim Hock Seng and Phee Boon Poh were also present to lend support.

Addressing the crowd later, Ramasamy described Nov 25 as the day Indians in Malaysia experienced a political awakening.

“It was an uprising against 50 years of marginalisation and racial discrimination,” he said.

According to the DAP leader, if the opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat seized control of the federal government, it would declare Nov 25 a public holiday.

Ramasamy said he would table a proposal at the state executive council to have Nov 25 gazetted as a state holiday in Penang starting next year.

I thought that up to 3000 people were expected to be at Batu Caves, but in the end only 500 turned up. Combination of traffic jam and rain may have cause many others to be late.  Many would want to go back from work and take a bathe before going to temple.