in 2008, speakers' corner was the scene for meetings held over several weeks by tan kin lian, former chief executive of insurance company ntuc income, to advise people of their legal recourse after structured products they had purchased became virtually valueless upon the collapse of lehman brothers. on 23 january 2009 during an event at speakers' corner, the national solidarity party gave its views on the national budget one day after it was announced, criticizing the government for not doing enough to assist unemployed breadwinners during the recession. the party's secretary-general, ken sunn, said the event was to let singaporeans "participate, speak and hear various views and opinions on the singapore government's 2009 budget statement, and discuss ways to improve our singapore economy". the first public rally by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) community in singapore, called pink dot sg, was held on 16 may 2009. estimates of the number of people who attended ranged from 1,000 to 2,500 people. held every year since, the event was attended by 28,000 people in 2015. on 31 may 2009, more than a hundred people attended a demonstration at speakers' corner organized by human rights advocacy group maruah to call for myanmar's military junta to release aung san suu kyi. participants from myanmar were requested to remain outside a cordoned-off area since only singaporeans and permanent residents may attend demonstrations at speakers' corner.