Occupy Dataran

This article is about the weekly people's assembly in Kuala Lumpur. For the wider movement, see Occupy movement.

Location of Kuala Lumpur

Occupy Dataran (also known as #OCCUPYDATARAN) is an autonomous grassroots initiative based in Kuala Lumpur^[1], that aims to create a platform to experiment participatory democracy based on the popular assembly model.^[2]

According to their official Facebook page,^[3] they aim to "reclaim Dataran Merdeka as an open and democratic space for people to gather, discuss and explore an alternative to the current representative democracy".^[4] It also aims to "redefine democratic participation beyond representative democracy, and imagine a new political culture beyond race, ideology and political affiliation".^[5] Besides this, it is also for people to get together, hang out, organize activities & spend the night at Dataran Merdeka. Participants of Occupy Dataran have gathered every Saturday from 8pm - 6am at Dataran Merdeka.^[6]

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.^[7]

Background

Occupy Dataran started on July 30th 2011^[8], with a group of people who were inspired by the 15-M Movement^[9] and the 2011 Spanish protests^[10]. The first Occupy Dataran was planned to coincide with the EO6 overnight vigil organised by civil society groups, which was later cancelled due to the release of the EO6.^[11] Nevertheless, Occupy Dataran continued.^[12]

The following Saturday, August 6th, the first official KL People’s Assembly took place.^[13] The procedures and basic structures were discussed and agreed upon based on a collective agreement or consensus. Some of the rules include that the Assembly would be structured in a horizontal and non-hierarchical manner without a leader or governing body^[14], a weekly rotation of assembly moderators, usage of hand gestures to express votes and that each vote is equal and everyone’s voice is heard.^{[15] [16]}

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 and direct participatory democratic processes".^[17] It starts from 8pm to 11pm, every Saturday.^[18]

The Assembly is structured in a horizontal and non-hierarchical manner with no leader or governing council^[19]. 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 process.^[20]

The Assembly is facilitated by a moderator^[21] 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. ^{[22] [23]}

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. ^[24]

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. ^[25]

Hand Signals

Hand signals are used to express opinions during discussion and to vote. This silent expression is used to avoid shouting and disrupting a speaker. ^{[26] [27]}

Decisions

After the Assembly comes to a collective decision, decisions are either implemented immediately, moved to a working group for further discussion and planning, or shelved.^[28] These options address the different levels of complexities to implement a decision. Its complexity usually depend on the topic discussed and type of decisions made. Procedural decisions, for example, can be implemented immediately. More complex decisions was like when members discussed about the 11th Forbes Global CEO Conference hosted in Shangri-La, Kuala Lumpur. A proposal to form an action to demonstrate and educate the people about the growing disparity of wealth and privatization of public interest was voted and passed.^[29] This decision was moved to a working group for further planning and implementation. The action was carried out from Sept 12 - Sept 16, 2011. They included the "I love Capitalism Film Week" and the Shangri-La street installation and theatrical protest.^[30] Members are encouraged to come up with clear and specific proposals during discussion.^[31]

Revising Procedures, Processes or Ground Rules

Members of an Assembly can propose to revise the practiced procedures, processes and ground rules. This proposal can be raised 10 minutes before the Assembly ends. However, this proposal can only be discussed and voted on during the next Assembly.^[32]

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.^[33]

15 October Assembly

As part of the 15 October 2011 global protests, Occupy Dataran held a 12-hour program at Dataran Merdeka on the same day starting from 4:00pm. ^[34]. Over 200 people^[35] attended 15 October's Occupy Dataran, the largest since it started. ^[36]

The following morning, The Malaysian Insider reported that Occupy Dataran is an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street ^[37]. However, the first Occupy Dataran assembly was held on 30 July 2011^[38], one and a half months before the first Occupy Wall Street assembly.

See also

Occupy articles List of global Occupy movement protest locations "Occupy" protests Timeline of Occupy Wall Street We are the 99%

Related articles 15 October 2011 global protests 2011 Spanish protests Consensus decision-making Direct democracy Participatory democracy Popular Assembly

• Social movements portal
• Politics portal
• Business and economics portal
• Society portal
• Malaysia portal

References

1. ^ "‘Occupy Dataran’ demo fizzles out after less than a hundred turn up". The Star, 16 Oct 2011. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/16/nation/9708411&sec=nation. 
2. ^ "Youths congregate in Kuala Lumpur in Occupy-inspired movement". China Daily, 16 Oct 2011. http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/xinhua/2011-10-16/content_4075723.html. 
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ "‘Occupy Dataran’ demo fizzles out after less than a hundred turn up". The Star, 16 Oct 2011. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/16/nation/9708411&sec=nation. 
5. ^ "‘Occupy Dataran’ demo fizzles out after less than a hundred turn up". The Star, 16 Oct 2011. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/16/nation/9708411&sec=nation. 
6. ^ "占领独立广场运动　逾50人参与气氛平和". Kwong Wah, 16 Oct 2011. http://www.kwongwah.com.my/news/2011/10/15/104.html. 
7. ^ "占领独立广场运动　逾50人参与气氛平和". Kwong Wah, 16 Oct 2011. http://www.kwongwah.com.my/news/2011/10/15/104.html. 
8. ^ "'Occupy Dataran' ends peacefully". The Sun, 16 Oct 2011. http://www.thesundaily.my/news/178302. 
9. ^ "大马人反应差 十多人“占领”独立广场". Nanyang Siang Pau, 16 Oct 2011. http://www.nanyang.com/node/390508?tid=460. 
10. ^ "Occupy Protests Spread to Malaysia". The Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/dispatch/2011/10/15/occupy-protests-spread-to-malaysia/?mod=google_news_blog. 
11. ^ S. Arutchelvan (30 July 2011). "EO6 Release - Victory to the people". Parti Sosialis Malaysia. http://parti-sosialis.org/en/node/1959. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
12. ^ Dataran, Occupy (15.10.11). Occupy Dataran 15.10.11 Press Release. pp. 1. 
13. ^ "占领独立广场运动　逾50人参与气氛平和". Kwong Wah, 16 Oct 2011. http://www.kwongwah.com.my/news/2011/10/15/104.html. 
14. ^ "數十民眾“佔領”獨立廣場‧10警員監督沒阻止集會". Sin Chew Daily, 16 Oct 2011. http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/223354?tid=1. 
15. ^ Dataran, Occupy (15.10.11). Occupy Dataran 15.10.11 Information Flyer. pp. 1. 
16. ^ "Occupy Dataran - 6 Aug 2011 - Minutes". Occupy Dataran. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=244860762202513. 
17. ^ "Youths congregate in Kuala Lumpur in Occupy-inspired movement". China Daily, 16 Oct 2011. http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/xinhua/2011-10-16/content_4075723.html. 
18. ^ "大马人反应差 十多人“占领”独立广场". Nanyang Siang Pau, 16 Oct 2011. http://www.nanyang.com/node/390508?tid=460. 
19. ^ "數十民眾“佔領”獨立廣場‧10警員監督沒阻止集會". Sin Chew Daily, 16 Oct 2011. http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/223354?tid=1. 
20. ^ Dataran, Occupy (15.10.11). Occupy Dataran 15.10.11 Information Flyer. pp. 1. 
21. ^ "'Occupy Dataran' ends peacefully". The Sun, 16 Oct 2011. http://www.thesundaily.my/news/178302. 
22. ^ Dataran, Occupy (15.10.11). Occupy Dataran 15.10.11 Information Flyer. pp. 1. 
23. ^ "Occupy Dataran - 13 Aug 2011 - Minutes". Occupy Dataran. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=277156108972978. 
24. ^ "Occupy Dataran - 6 Aug 2011 - Minutes". Occupy Dataran. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=244860762202513. 
25. ^ "Occupy Dataran - 6 Aug 2011 - Minutes". Occupy Dataran. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=244860762202513. 
26. ^ Dataran, Occupy (15.10.11). Occupy Dataran 15.10.11 Flyer. pp. 1. 
27. ^ "Occupy Dataran - 6 Aug 2011 - Minutes". Occupy Dataran. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=244860762202513. 
28. ^ "Occupy Dataran - 6 Aug 2011 - Minutes". Occupy Dataran. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=244860762202513. 
29. ^ "Minutes from the KL People's Assembly". Occupy Dataran. Occupy Dataran. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=277526785602577. Retrieved 10 September 2011. 
30. ^ "I Love Capitalism!". SEA Youth Say So. SEA Youth Say So. http://seayouthsayso.com/i-love-capitalism. Retrieved 12 October 2011. 
31. ^ "Occupy Dataran - 6 Aug 2011 - Minutes". Occupy Dataran. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=244860762202513. 
32. ^ "Occupy Dataran - 6 Aug 2011 - Minutes". Occupy Dataran. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=244860762202513. 
33. ^ "Youths congregate in Kuala Lumpur in Occupy-inspired movement". China Daily, 16 Oct 2011. http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/xinhua/2011-10-16/content_4075723.html. 
34. ^ Photos of OCT15 OccupyDataran, 15 Oct 2011
35. ^ "Singapore leads Asian reticence in denouncing corporate greed". Reuters, 16 Oct 2011. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/16/us-protests-asia-idUSTRE79F08O20111016. 
36. ^ 'Occupy Dataran' group dispersed by police, Malaysiakini, 16 Oct 2011
37. ^ Cops shoo away local ‘Occupy Wall St’ offshoot
38. ^ Photos of the first Occupy Dataran

External links

• @occupydataran - Twitter
• New democratic occupation - Comment about assembly culture of Occupy movement which started in Malaysia by The Star [2]