At 9.59 this morning, I received a call alerting me that some “fundamentalists” were protesting against the Public Forum on the Federal Constitution at the Cititel Hotel, Penang.

The forum is organised by a group of NGO calling themselves “Article 11″ together with Aliran.This was the third stop of their national roadshow to bring the message “Protection For All” under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution to the people.

As I was about to leave for Sunday worship, I called Chong Eng to see whether she was going to support the forum.

She said she could only be there after 10.30am. I was later informed by her that she was too late as the police had dispersed the gathering when she arrived at the hotel.

The police said they were unable to ensure the safety of the participants as the protesters had outnumbered them. By 10.45am, the meeting was stopped.

The presence of Zaid Ibrahim, UMNO MP for Kota Baru invoked much displeasure among the protesters, believed to be UMNO and PAS members.

Finally, this has come and I can feel it will come sooner or latter.

The Star reported this morning about a five-day Meeting of International Experts on Human Rights in Islam will be held in Kuala Lumpur. Attorney General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said the meeting would serve as a platform to examine Islamic principles of human rights and to help inculcate greater tolerance and peaceful resolution of conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims.

If an international meeting could be held to discuss such important issues, why can’t local citizens from various ethnic and religious groups get together to discuss their constitutional rights.