25th May 2013: Suara Rakyat 505 (Suara Rakyat Suara Keramat), at Padang Timur, next to Taman Jaya.

I took the Kelana Jaya LRT line (PUTRA line, for those of you who are old-school) to Taman Jaya, and disembarked there. I spotted a Rocket Man, a Malay chap. I’d later see Chinese PAS-serbys.

Caught lightning!

Sales of masks were brisk.

Oh, and vuvuzelas. Somebody didn’t get the memo that these were banned for this gathering.

Food, glorious food! This was a market of sorts of all sorts of Malaysian street food. It felt a lot more like a bazaar as you entered.

I reached during Muslim prayer break so the field was not so filled – most were in Amcorp Mall, across the road, having dinner and prayers.

Source of power.

English, Malay and Chinese text.

These guys were just raking it in.

If you haven’t figured it out, the theme for this gathering was black.

My eyes are blind, but I can see…

Collecting funds.

Big, colorful umbrellas!

Oh, how they make counting so hard! (Picture can be clicked for a full-resolution view.)

Even more for you counters and insomniacs. (Picture can be clicked for a full-resolution view.)

Near the stage. (Picture can be clicked for a full-resolution view.)

A wider shot. (Picture can be clicked for a full-resolution view.)

As much of the crowd as I can fit from as far away as I can get. (Picture can be clicked for a full-resolution view.)

Iced Milo! I had it.

A close-up of the Malaysian Spring installation.

Not sure who these guys are but I heard one of them is from Raja Lawak.

Arul of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), who gives a very socialist speech. You can’t say there wasn’t variety in the speeches!

Abby Abadi, famous for being a member of girl-group Elite, one-season co-host of Roda Impian and one of the lead characters in Gerak Khas – now a member of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS).

All this, under the light of the nearby Tenaga Nasional building. The gathering is also known as Blackout 505, because of some incidents of power outages during the counting of votes. Tenaga Nasional, the electricity provider for Peninsular Malaysia, has denied that there were any blackouts. If this is true, then somebody may have tampered with the ELCB (Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker) by flipping the switch, in each school where the lights went out. There were also police reports regarding blackouts – here’s one and two.

Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan, co-chairperson of BERSIH 2.0 gave a speech… but all attention was drawn to Anwar Ibrahim, Opposition Leader, as he walked to his seat on the stage.

Now that that was settled, she continued.

This was the closest I could get from where I was, behind the sound engineer’s tent, without blocking people. All telephoto shots are with the Sony Alpha NEX-5 and Opteka/Samyang 85mm F1.4. The wide shots used the Sony E 16mm F2.8 pancake lens.

N. Surendran, PKR vice-president and founder of Lawyers for Liberty, on stage with Gan Pei Nei, state assemblywoman for Rawang.

Tian Chua, PKR vice-president and Haris Ibrahim (on the right) of Asalkan Bukan UMNO (ABU).

Ito of Blues Gang sings their hit single, Apo Nak Dikato. He came up earlier to sing another song penned for the current political climate.

These young dudes knew the song, too!

Nurul Izzah Anwar, Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai.

Mat Sabu, deputy president of PAS. He always has the most entertaining speeches.

Everyone was asked to turn on their phones or lighters, as the spotlights went out. It was an amazing spectacle to see! I only wished I was way up on the hill, from where I was earlier, to take this same picture.

The night ended with Opposition Leader Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim‘s speech.

I will blog about my experience as a Polling Agent/Counting Agent during the 13th General Elections of Malaysia soon – I just need more time to cross-reference the laws.

More reading:
Election Cam-pain
Election Math
KL Wants One Too!
Konsert BERSIH 8T: Inside
Konsert BERSIH 8T: Outside
Democratic Promise
Bersih 3.0
Vote For Cleanliness!