Roadblocks, negative reports and incessant warnings from the authorities did not stop thousands from swarming downtown Kuala Lumpur to demand clean and fair elections.

The busy junction in front of the Puduraya bus terminal became the focal point of yesterday’s protest as crowds snowballed from 500 in nearby Petaling Street at 12.40pm to a whopping 10,000 just half an hour later.

And while the protesters faced off with the police at Jalan Pudu, just round the corner, mere metres away an estimated thousand more were turned away from the original planned gathering point Stadium Merdeka, which was barricaded by police with barbed wire.

But with so many obstacles in place and the entire city practically locked down with roadblocks and closure of key LRT stations, how did the protesters give the police the slip and organised themselves?