A brief commotion erupted outside the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya when several pro-Anwar Ibrahim supporters set ablaze two pro-Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan T-shirts and then attempted to storm the barricades placed around the court complex.

However, volunteers from PKR Youth intervened quickly in the 11.40am incident to stop the group and escorted them away.   

"We are here to support Datuk Seri (Anwar), don't tell us to leave.

"Whose side are you on?" one of the gate-crashers was heard wailing as he was marched away from the rest of the crowd.

The incident took place as the Federal Court heard the PKR de facto leader's appeal against his conviction for allegedly sodomising his former aide Saiful.

Some 500 pro-Anwar and 100 pro-Saiful supporters gathered along Persiaran Perdana outside the court to show support.

The numbers dropped from about 1pm onwards as temperatures reached 30 degrees Celsius with light breeze and little cloud cover.

The supporters were separated by about 300 metres, as the area in between them had been cordoned off by about 60 members of the police force.

When the commotion started, police including the Light Strike Force rushed towards the steel barricades but otherwise did not intervene.

Meanwhile, shouts of "Relax! Relax!" were heard, and then cheers as the group left the crowd. The entire episode lasted under 10 minutes.

Respect the public

PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad later took a megaphone to call for calm.

"I know everyone is suffering due to the heat. We have all come to support Anwar, so I ask you to remain calm. We have come with our own spirit, each wanting to show support.

"We do not want untoward incidents, so I ask all of you to be calm and respectful; respect the volunteers and respect the public," he said.

Earlier this morning, a t-shirt seller was also seen urging the crowd to stomp on pro-Saiful t-shirts, and many obliged.

The hawker Kamarul Hatta Mohamed Ali told Malaysiakini that a customer had stopped by his stall to buy his pro-Anwar shirts, and gave him the pro-Saiful shirts he bought from the Saiful supporters.

"He was showing them to me, so we stomped on it," he said, alternating between urging the crowd to stomp the shirts, promoting his own wares, and shouting pro-Anwar slogans.

Apart from these incidents and sporadic shouts of slogans, the situation remained calm.

The pro-Saiful crowd came mostly dressed in yellow t-shirts that read "Justice for Saiful" and blue t-shirts that read "Uphold justice through law".

'We want swift justice'

Belia 4B Malaysia committee member and Saiful supporter Shuib Azmi said the presence of the group is to urge for a swift judgement for the Sodomy II case.

"We ask that the court expedite the decision on Anwar. We the people urge for a swift decision because we want justice. We want to defend the judiciary," he said.

Another Saiful supporter Tony Tan said he believes that Saiful is innocent and wanted to show that Chinese Malaysians support him too.

"We as Malaysians have to respect the law and the sultan. We have come to support Saiful. We hope that the court can give him justice," he said.

Meanwhile, many Anwar supporters wore black t-shirts featuring a portrait of Anwar and the words "The people are judges of the country", and occasionally chanted "Long live the people!" and "Free Anwar!"

Anwar supporter and kindergarten teacher Najiha Ismail told Malaysiakini that she took leave because she wanted to be present as the court announces its decision.

"The government is afraid of Anwar, that's why they want to put him in prison. I believe that if Anwar lands in prison, there would be a second wave of Reformasi protests," she said, referring to the protests in 1998 after Anwar was sacked from this deputy prime minister post.

The supporters had gathered outside the court as early as at least 7am, but most of them spent their time seeking shelter from the heat, chatting amongst themselves, or even falling asleep under the nearby trees.

Asked about the low turnout, both Nik Nazmi and PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli attributed it to the fact that today is a work day, and believe that the turnout would be higher tomorrow when the court is expected to announce its verdict.

"I am happy with the turnout because they come from many states and today is just the first day, so the crowd is still building up…

"Today is a work day. Tomorrow there will be more. Actually some had said they would come for both days, but most said they would come tomorrow," Nik Nazmi said.

Rafizi added that although many PKR parliamentarians are in Putrajaya today, the party's work in the Dewan Rakyat is not interrupted because there will be nothing there but policy debates on the budget until the middle of next week.

"We have already arranged a schedule for PKR parliamentarians to speak, so I think we have got that covered.

"There is no voting and they can’t table emergency motions. It's just policy debates," he said.

Apart from himself and Anwar, other PKR MPs present were Batu MP Tian Chua, Gombak MP and Selangor Menteri Besar  Mohd Azmin Ali and Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul.

Heavy rain

Meanwhile, heavy rain had managed to disperse pro-Anwar supporters who had been waiting outside the court complex today.

By 5pm , Anwar’s supporters had decreased from 500 people to 200 while pro-Saiful supporters ceased to be seen from 3pm onwards.

Police officers who had monitored the supporters earlier also decreased in number to only 60 personnel.

Although it is unclear whether pro-Saiful supporters will be outside the court complex tomorrow , pro-Anwar supporters are set to have their Subuh prayers at the Iron Mosque in Putrajaya tomorrow morning.

They will then walk towards the court complex to wait for Anwar’s arrival. Another round of the Rakyat Hakim Negara programme will be organised in front of the PKR headquarters at 9pm .

Regardless of whether Anwar gets imprisoned or otherwise, the programme will go on as planned, claimed the Rakyat Hakim Negara mobilisation committee.

Related stories

From K-Y jelly to carpet stains to conspiracy theory

KJ: Anwar, not gov't on trial in Sodomy II

Anwar's counsel zooms in on K-Y jelly

Lawyer: Lower courts failed to note conspiracy

'Join me in the dock if not enough chairs'

Don: I didn't lead students to storm UM gates

Student leader 'safe for now' as UM starts probe

'UM blackout is third world mentality'

This is my last sacrifice, says Anwar

'Anwar prisoner of conscience if jailed'

Rise if Anwar convicted, Kit Siang tells Malaysians