Around 250 - 300 Cairns residents of all cultural backgrounds congregated at the Esplanade, to pay their last respects to the slain bus driver, Manmeet Alisher. Prayers were offered by a Sikh priest (Kirtan and Ardas), Bhajans by Nepalese/ Bhutanese community members and Christian prayers by Fijian and Polynesian community members.
Prominent members of Cairns community attended and shared their views too. Local MP Rob Pyne spoke about himself as a child growing up amongst Punjabis in Gordonvale, and having a close connection with the community. Speaking about the Indian community in general and especially the Punjabi community, he described them as hard working people who have contributed greatly to Australia.
Ramandeep Singh, who attended the vigil, told SBS, "Rob openly mentioned that this attack could have a racial undertone. He said its hard to believe that there is no racial element in this. Sun bus Cairns representative Mark Simpson paid condolences to family and said its a great loss to Indian community. Rob and Mark talked about much needed safety screens for taxi/bus drivers and strict laws against people who are found guilty of physical & racial abuse/ attack on drivers."
Mr Ramandeep Singh added, "MP Rob Pyne is a great political leader who openly support Immigrants and refugees and he has a big fan following among immigrants and people from all cultural backgrounds. Rob recently resigned from Australian Labor Party due to a disagreement on many matters, including the Party's policies regarding immigrants and refugees".
This vigil was organised by Cairns bus and taxi drivers.
