As things took a turn for the worse during the Bersih 2.0 rally in 2011, a young white-clad paramedic was told not to help the injured protestors around him.

He was in the Pudu area, which had seen the worst of the skirmishes between the police and protesters, and before him was a man bleeding from his forehead after being struck by a hard object.

His orders: You’re not allowed to touch the casualties.

He disobeyed.

Four years later at the Bersih 4 rally, the same paramedic Tan Gengta was back in the field – this time swapping into a black uniform and coordinating a team of 218 like-minded medical personnel to provide care for the protestors.