New Nation

New Nation tried, but still couldn’t find the organisers of #occupyrafflesplace that became #occupyorchardroad

Belmont was wrong. There weren’t no protesters at #occupyrafflesplace. Yours truly was there at 2pm and boy was it a letdown.

So I was at Starbucks, enjoying the air conditioning while waiting for the crowd to gather. Except that no crowd materialized. 2pm came and went, then 230pm. Soon after that there was a message that #occupyrafflesplace had become #occupyorchardroad.

Not a surprise, considering how no one bothered even to indicate that there was a protest in the first place. A sign saying: “we are I am the 99% of singaporeans!” would have been mighty helpful.

Even the most suspicious looking pair of dudes claimed they were only hanging out on the grass before another Ben & Jerry’s event at Marina Square.

Nope, nothing much here. Just two dudes picnicking at Raffles Place on a nice Saturday afternoon.

Orchard Road was markedly different. Crowds turned out with posters, people were milling around…except that no one was there for any protest.

Boxing anyone?

Nor did anyone get any notification about any protest from facebook.

Free fanta giveaways - something the #occupyrafflesplace organisers might want to think about

But the single most iconic landmark on that Saturday afternoon was this tent outside Takashimaya.

Singapore Jewelfest occupied orchard road

Read more about what wasn’t occupied in the rest of Asia here.

Read the orginal articles here and here.

At Occupy Hong Kong: Hey bro, you from Anonymous too?

Singapore is one of the world’s wealthiest nations and a regional base for many banks and fund managers. So it’s no surprise that there was a no-show for the #occupyrafflesplace protest on Saturday. Reuters (where we got this article from), reported that:

“The pro-government Sunday Times appeared to take pride in the non-turnout after a call to gather at Raffles Place in the financial center failed to materialize.

“What’s missing in this picture?” it asked on its front page above a picture of three policemen patrolling an almost empty Raffles Place.”

which is a more PC way of saying: the government’s gloating about the no-show, but it’s probably also because protests are banned in all areas except a tiny Speaker’s corner.

The Malaysian chapter drew a larger but still modest crowd of 200 in Kuala Lumpur. Organizers blamed the poor turnout on a lack of communication and fears of a police crackdown.

Comparatively, more than 10,000 people took to the streets in July in anger over the slow pace of political reforms.

Rain curbed protests in South Korea and according to Reuters, there was only a small turnout in the southern Chinese city of Hong Kong.

Yet Bloomberg reports a crowd of 200 at the Occupy Central movement.

Protests went into their second day as 40 demonstrators slept overnight in a foyer beneath the Asian headquarters of HSBC Holdings Plc.

Armed with tents, bullhorns and a gas-powered generator used to help them recharge their laptops, the protesters occupied the public thoroughfare under the building as about a dozen police stood by.

But the anonymous organiser insists the leaderless movement will carry on as planned this weekend.

The Singapore police has issued a warning to anyone planning to attend a demonstration in the city-state’s financial district this weekend that their involvement would be deemed “unlawful” and they are advised “not to be misled” into participating in an unlawful activity.

The anonymous organiser of the Occupy Wall Street-style demonstration in the Central Business District this weekend said the demonstration would include a march to the Singapore Exchange building.

Police action is not unexpected as Singapore has always been heavy-handed when it comes to public protests, with organisers required to apply with the police for a permit.

Permits are mostly rejected by the authorities, owing to reasons pertaining to law and order risks

However, to minimise doubts that this leaderless protest is set to continue, a Facebook posting on the Occupy Singapore Facebook page at 11 a.m. on Oct. 14 read: POLICE TRYING TO SHUT US DOWN! WE CANNOT LET THIS HAPPEN. THE OCCUPY RAFFLES PLACE MOVEMENT IS GROWING. STAND WITH US AT 2 PM TOMORROW TO DEFEND YOUR FUTURE.

“#OccupyRafflesPlace is still happening!” proclaimed another earlier post.

The police said in a statement: “Police received reports that a netizen is instigating the public to stage a protest gathering at Raffles Place on Saturday, 15 October 2011 in support of a similar protest action in New York”.

“Police urge members of the public not to be misled and participate in an unlawful activity.”

It is unclear who is behind the call for the mass action, which exhorted would-be participants to bring placards, musical instruments and other devices to “make as much noise as possible”.

But the organiser also urged protesters to refrain from violence and not to bring political party or trade union banners, drugs or alcohol.

“We are occupying Singapore’s Central Business Districts to demand accountability and change,” said the Facebook posting, which also criticised state-linked investment firms Temasek Holdings and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp.

A Facebook community site set up by the anonymous organiser with no political affiliation, received 272 “likes” so far at this time of posting.

The Occupy Wall Street protests in the US were launched on Sept. 7 by Americans protesting “greed” in the country’s financial district.