The moment Ambiga Sreenevasan announced the date, I knew this time I had to do it right. I was there for Bersih 1.0 in 2008 but arrived late because the police had shut down all transportation to the city.

I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice, so I booked a room for the family in town and boarding for the dogs.

Did I think twice about going alone? No. My husband and 11-year old son knew that this was important to me and supported my decision.

Even then, Hubby was ready to take leave on the Monday in case I was imp(r)udent enough to get arrested. It appeared my stories about police brutality these years had sown the seeds of fear in them - well, better to know the truth than not.