Motion Rejected - Barb-wires, Dogs, Road-Blocks, a "Closed-Parliament", Court Order - 'Ops Padam' what?(Updated)

Update (12.44pm) - The no-confidence motion has been rejected by the Speaker...

A no-confidence motion in Parliament - not even sure whether it will see the light of day as the Speaker allegedly has the power to reject it summarily in chambers (or in Parliament) . So sad really... for a democratic process should allow at least a debate openly in Parliament and this should be followed by a decision of the MPs - not a decision by the one who chairs the meeting, who should just be playing a facilitating role ONLY. The decision to allow one motion and not another, should be the decision of the MPs present in the Dewan.

I did not hear of any protest or rally in Parliament - did you? There may be persons who would want to be in Parliament to see what happens with that 'no-confidence motion' - and that is perfectly all right. So, where is the wrong? Why the panic? Why the making of an ant-hill into a mountain??

Gone OVER-BOARD with barbed-wires, dogs, road-blocks and a "Court Order' naming Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat --- and 5km, that really is very far away from Parliament, is it not - maybe even going to the Jalan Travers police station may also be a problem (it could be within that 5km radius, and would it not be a violation of a court order..)

I turned on the TV to watch the direct telecast from Parliament - and there I see the commentator talking with PM's son-in-law, and I wonder whether this is that 1-hour live telecast from Parliament like. We do not need interviews at this time - all we want is to see the proceedings live - just plug us into the CCTV link that allows us to see what is happening in Parliament - no need for comments and interviews. In Thailand, the live-telecast is from start of Parliament until it ends --- we should have that in Malaysia too...

Anyway, was there any interview with Wan Azizah explaining why she had tabled the said no-confidence motion? mmm..

Barbed-wires and K9 units

Barbed wire was strung along the main road leading to Parliament House, while a K9 unit truck was parked near the security house. - Police mount road blocks on all roads leading into Parliament area, NST (14/7/2008)

Road-Blocks

At 9:30am, traffic from Jalan Tun Razak near Menara Dato Onn into Jalan Mahameru was reduced to a crawl as the main road leading into Lake Gardens was blocked by a police patrol car was placed across the road....

The roadblocks in the city have been in place since Saturday, and were instituted following information received by the police about a “security threat” from an illegal demonstration planned today by Pakatan Rakyat supporters.
- Police mount road blocks on all roads leading into Parliament area, NST (14/7/2008)

Most major roads into the city experienced traffic jams yesterday as police continued an operation, codenamed Ops Padam, which began at 2pm on Saturday.

The roadblocks, mounted at 12 entry points, including the Federal Highway near the Kota Darul Ehsan arch and the Damansara-Puchong Expressway, reduced traffic to a crawl.

It is learnt that policemen at the roadblocks were told to be on the lookout for buses or vehicles carrying Parti Keadilan Rakyat flags or banners.

Any vehicle with people wearing T-shirts or carrying posters was stopped from entering the city. - Police get court order to ban Anwar rally, NST(14/7/08)

Some journalist are being barred from entering Parliament

A number of journalists who have arrived in Parliament this morning were also stopped from entering the Parliament building.

They include foreign reporters and those who work for international news agencies.

- Malaysiakini, Police roadblocks cause gridlock in KL (14/7/2008)

Court-Order

"...the police yesterday have obtained a court order barring Anwar from the vicinity of the Parliament today.

The court order will allow the police to arrest on sight if Anwar and opposition supporters are spotted within five kilometres of Parliament..." - Malaysiakini, Police roadblocks cause gridlock in KL (14/7/2008)

Really, this is Malaysia - and here all protests have been very peaceful - the only violence that I have seen is the violence of the police who many a times do use what I believe is very unreasonable force in dispersing and arresting persons who peacefully protest.

Parliament is and should at all time be open to the public - and the closure of the public gallery and the preventing of even guests of MPs is really going over-board and definitely wrong...