Occupy Dataran assembly on the 15 October Global Day of Action

Occupy Dataran was an

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

grassroots movement based in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, that aims to create a platform to experiment

participatory democracy Participatory democracy, participant democracy or participative democracy is a form of government in which citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected repr ...

based on the

popular assembly A popular assembly (or people's assembly) is a gathering called to address issues of importance to participants. Assemblies tend to be freely open to participation and operate by direct democracy. Some assemblies are of people from a location ...

model. ''The Malaysian Insider'' reported that Occupy Dataran was an offshoot of

Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest movement against economic inequality and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district, in September 2011. It gave rise to t ...

. The online news portal also reported that the Malaysian protesters were expressing solidarity with the New York protest movement as part of the

15 October 2011 global protests The 15 October 2011 global protests were part of a series of protests inspired by the Arab Spring, the Icelandic protests, the Portuguese "Geração à Rasca", the Spanish "Indignants", the Greek protests, and the Occupy movement. The protes ...

. However, it is widely acknowledged that the first Occupy Dataran assembly was held on 30 July 2011, seven weeks before

. The movement says that it aims to "redefine democratic participation beyond representative democracy, and imagine a new political culture beyond race, ideology and political affiliation". Besides this, it is also for people to get together, hang out, organize activities & spend the night at

Dataran Merdeka Independence Square ( ms, Dataran Merdeka) is a square located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is situated in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. It was formerly known as the Selangor Club Padang or simply the ''Padang'' (meaning "field" ...

. Participants of Occupy Dataran gathered every Saturday from 8pm - 6am at

. Part of Occupy Dataran is the "KL People's Assembly" where participants gather to share ideas, address problems, explore alternatives, propose solutions and make decisions. It is also open to other activities. Since October 2011, the movement had spread to Penang with Occupy Penang and other new occupations in Kota Bharu, Johor Bahru, Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya, Dungun and Batu Pahat. As of June 2012, Occupy Dataran had continued to engage in organized meetings, events and actions.

Background

Occupy Dataran started on July 30, 2011, with a group of people who were inspired by the 15-M Movement and the

2011 Spanish protests The anti-austerity movement in Spain, also referred to as the 15-M Movement (Spanish: ''Movimiento 15-M''), and the Indignados Movement, was a series of protests, demonstrations, and occupations against austerity policies in Spain that began aro ...

. The first Occupy Dataran was planned to coincide with the EO6 overnight vigil organised by civil society groups, which was later canceled due to the release of the EO6. Nevertheless, Occupy Dataran continued. The following Saturday, August 6, the first official KL People’s Assembly took place. The procedures and basic structures were discussed and agreed upon based on a collective agreement or consensus. Some rules include that the Assembly would be structured in a horizontal and non-hierarchical manner without a leader or governing body, a weekly rotation of assembly moderators and that each vote is equal and everyone’s voice is heard.

KL People's Assembly

According to the official Facebook page, the KL People's Assembly aims to be "an open, egalitarian and democratic platform for people to share ideas, address problems, explore alternatives, propose solutions and make decisions on any issues collectively through

consensus decision-making Consensus decision-making or consensus process (often abbreviated to ''consensus'') are group decision-making processes in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the aim, or requirement, of acceptance by all. The focus on e ...

and direct participatory democratic processes". It starts from 8pm to 11pm, every Saturday. The Assembly is structured in a horizontal and non-hierarchical manner with no leader or governing council. All members of the Assembly have equal standing and rights. The procedures, processes and ground rules were discussed and agreed upon collectively by the Assembly during their first meeting on 6 August 2011 based on a

Consensus decision-making Consensus decision-making or consensus process (often abbreviated to ''consensus'') are group decision-making processes in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the aim, or requirement, of acceptance by all. The focus on e ...

process. The Assembly is facilitated by a moderator that is weekly rotated. Other roles that are weekly rotated are minute-takers, time-keepers, photo documenters and info person. Every member of the Assembly is free to express an opinion or propose an idea to be discussed and voted upon during Assembly.

Topics & Discussions

The Assembly usually begins by accepting topic proposals from members for discussion or debate. Topics that are voted and passed by everyone will set the agenda for an Assembly. Members take turns to speak by raising their hands and getting speaking approval from the moderator. If the discussion for a topic exceeds the allotted 20 minutes, the Assembly would then decide whether the topic should be extended for another 10 minutes or moved to a working group. Everyone is invited to join the working group which will meet outside of the Assembly period. The findings from the working group will be presented at the next Assembly to be debated. They avoid using delegates or representatives to make decisions for the Assembly. The final decision rests with the Assembly. The allotted 20 minutes per topic allows participants to discuss, debate and come up with proposals to be voted on.

Voting

The Assembly makes decisions through consensus to ensure that all opinions, ideas and concerns are taken into account before committing to a collective decision that work for everyone. Voting is done through the show of hand signals. Currently, a proposal is passed when there are no blocks from the Assembly during voting. Members who block a proposal are required to provide a justification.

Hand Signals

Hand signals Hand signals are given by cyclists and some motorists to indicate their intentions to other traffic. Under the Vienna Convention on Traffic, bicycles are considered 'vehicles' and cyclists are considered 'drivers', a naming convention reflec ...

are used to express opinions during deliberation and to vote. This silent expression is used to avoid shouting and disrupting a speaker.

Decisions

After a proposal is passed by consensus, the Assembly will form a working group to implement the decision and carry out the task of planning for action. Some decisions that have been turned into action includes the "I love Capitalism Film Week", the Occupy Parlimen protests to oppose the Peaceful Assembly Bill and the Shangri-La street theatre protest.

Other Activities

Besides the KL People's Assembly, Occupy Dataran is also an open platform for people to run activities or hang out. Activities usually commence after the Assembly has ended. Previous activities include workshops, games, potluck picnics, music performances, poetry reading and more.

15 October Assembly

As part of the

, Occupy Dataran held a 12-hour program at Dataran Merdeka on the same day starting from 4:00pm. Over 200 people attended 15 October's Occupy Dataran, the largest since it started. The following morning, ''The Malaysian Insider'' reported that Occupy Dataran is an offshoot of

. However, the first Occupy Dataran assembly was held on 30 July 2011, one and a half months before the first Occupy Wall Street assembly.

V for Merdeka Flash Mob Protest on New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve, 200 people participated in a "V for Merdeka" flash mob protest at

organized by Occupy Dataran wearing the

Guy Fawkes mask The Guy Fawkes mask (also known as the ''V for Vendetta'' mask or Anonymous mask) is a stylised depiction of Guy Fawkes (the best-known member of the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt to blow up the House of Lords in London on 5November 1605) created ...

, a symbol of popular resistance that have appeared in many Occupy protests around the world. They were protesting against the Peaceful Assembly Bill, a piece of legislation enacted by the Malaysian government that bans street demonstrations and against the injustices that they saw happened in Malaysia throughout 2011.

References

External links

Occupy Dataran Official Facebook Page

@occupydataran - Official Twitter

New democratic occupation - Comment about assembly culture of Occupy Movement which started in Malaysia
by The Sta

YouTube video clip, advertising the Occupy Dataran Saturday assemblies
Aug. 13th 2011 {{Malaysian protests and rallies Occupy movement, Dataran Nonviolent resistance movements Protests in Malaysia