Bersih vs Himpun: Double standards

Scott Thong 4:54PM Oct 24, 2011

PM Najib Razak is saying that the Bersih 2.0 rally should have been held - all nice and orderly like - in a stadium instead of invading the streets of KL. Just like how the wonderful and cooperative Himpun rally was held in Stadium Shah Alam last Saturday.

Let's recap why Bersih 2.0 was not held in a stadium.

When PM Najib was forced to accept the breadth and depth of public support for Bersih 2.0, he moved quickly to try and wrest control of the situation. Bersih 2.0 was verbally legitimised and even promised the use of a stadium for their rally. They decided on the historic and symbolic Stadium Merdeka which has capacity for 30,000 people.

Abruptly, their request to use the stadium was turned down and Bersih 2.0 was de-legitimised again - despite PM Najib's overtures and promises - with the excuse that the expected 300,000 attendees would be way over Stadium Merdeka's capacity. That would be ten times too many people for the stadium to hold.

Way to troll the entire population of Malaysia! You can almost imagine our IGP's face scrunched up in a a wry smile, going "Problem?"

Outraged at this about-turn, the rally went ahead anyway, bringing its message of clean and fair elections to streets (and worldwide via sympathetic rallies). After everything, Bersih 2.0 claims 50,000 attendees showed up. Meanwhile, the media estimates between 10,000 to 15,000 people - well within the capacity of Stadium Merdeka. And the police mockingly put the number at a pathetic 6,000.

Wherefore then the justification for denying Bersih 2.0 the use of Stadium Mereka? Can a measly 6,000 people not safely gather and chant their slogans as the tear-gassing, chemical-spraying police in full riot gear close in on the stadium?

Now let's look at Himpun.

The full title of the rally itself clues us in to the hoped-for turnout - 'Himpunan Sejuta Umat', one million people.

Yet Himpun was cleared to use Stadium Shah Alam - in record time nonetheless - even though the venue can only accommodate between 70,000 to 100,000 with some squeezing.

Similar to Bersih 2.0's original planned turnout-to-stadium-capacity ratio, Himpun would have had ten times too many people for the stadium to hold. But Himpun's planned excess of 900,000 people is a completely different paradigm from Bersih 2.0's mere excess of 280,000!

How can PM Najib and the authorities justify and handwave away the blatant double standards shown here? The hypocrisy is insulting enough, but expecting us to swallow it is doubly insulting!

(Don't get me started on the narrow, factional purpose of the Himpun rally - protesting 'apostates from Islam', which carries worrying echoes of the official plus mob persecution of Christian Copts in Egypt which is often triggered by rumours of converts leaving Islam.)

And just for the record, only a paltry 4,000 attendees actually showed up for Himpun. Can we take that as a resounding Malaysian TAK NAK!!! to religiously divisive politics?

So in this Bizarro World, fringe gatherings with disruptive aims are to be commended and legitimised, while broadly-appealing rallies with noble goals are actually lawbreaking riots bordering on rebellion and civil war.

Finally, I'm going to risk making readers fed up with US/Malaysia political comparisons - but US politics offers us key lessons about what might be up with our local politics.

For a few weeks now, Occupy Wall Street and its related protests have been touting their narrow, factional demands which basically amounts to ‘end capitalism for fairness’ but which as a practical matter translates to ‘people who work hard all day should give free stuff to slackers like us’ - complete with plenty of vulgarity, violence, crassness, lawbreaking, hundreds of arrests, and even the occasional defecating on police cars.

However, the media has been coddling the protests with carefully edited coverage, focusing only on the few individuals who seem the least abnormal, ridiculous and unreasonable. The ABC, CBS and NBC networks gave them 33 full stories or interview segments in just the first 11 days of October 2011.

Meanwhile, the massive nationwide Tea Party protests against wasteful government spending - comprising hundreds of rallies, each with thousands of very normal, job-holding attendees - were given only 13 total stories by ABC, CBS and NBC in all of 2009.

Even then, they are usually depicted as hateful, potentially violent and radically extreme - despite the total lack of observational evidence and about zero total arrests. They even pick up their own trash, instead of pooping on the street!

So in this Bizarro World, fringe gatherings with disruptive aims are to be commended and legitimised, while broadly-appealing rallies with noble goals are actually lawbreaking riots bordering on rebellion and civil war.

Wait, didn't I just use that whole paragraph earlier?

You see, it all depends on who is favoured by certain political parties and their crony mainstream media. And who they oppose as a threat to their precious status quo of power and control.

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/179535

人权组织促内长总警长道歉，冀709警察暴力受害者获赔

10月·7日

人权组织人民之声谴责警方滥用公帑，为了镇压净选盟709大集会，滥射262枚催泪弹，耗费逾两万令吉。它更要求内政部长希山慕丁和总检察长道歉。

“这样的举动是一种滥用公帑，以及完全不专业的做法。”

“内政部以及全国总警长必须为净选盟2.0集会所出现的警察暴力道歉。”

它也促请政府给所有遭受警方暴力对待的受害者赔偿，包括在709集会去世的巴哈鲁丁（Baharuddin Ahmad）家属。

人民之声认为，警方使用催泪弹来对付集会者，已明显侵害人民的宪赋和国际公认的言论和集会自由。

促解释逮捕人数为何不同

人民之声在今天文告也要求内政部长希山慕丁和全国总警长依斯迈奥玛解释，为何两个部门所提出的逮捕人数会出现落差。

内政部的数据显示，在709大集会共有1509人被捕，但警方之前却宣称，有1697人被捕。

拒认错则显示无政治意志

人民之声强调，内政部和总警长必须为709当天的警方暴力扛起责任。

它说明，若他们不能够提出合理的解释，或者拒绝承认错误警方的错误，则人民将因此感到失望，同时这也显示政府没有政治意志来兑现其诺言，改善警方的服务。

促顺从民意设警察投委会

人民之声认为，警方内部的纪律局并不足以杜绝警方违反警方作业标准的问题。

“这是因为它是不透明的，而且纪律报告也被列为机密。”

人民之声促请纳吉顺从民意，设立警察皇委会所建议的独立警察投诉与行为不检委员会（IPCMC）。

它认为，唯有设立公正和独立行事的警察投委会，警方纪律才有加强的可能。

内政部昨天公布，警方在709当天，总共使用262枚催泪弹来驱散会群众，并逮捕1509名集会者。

它也指出，警方当中发射了的催泪弹分为2种，分别是226枚催泪弹（Tear Smoke Shell，简称TS Shell），以及36枚手掷烟雾弹（Tear Smoke Grenade，简称TS Grenade）。

来源： http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/177974

709集会发262催泪弹耗2万元，警逮1509人乐龄集会者103人

10月6日

警方镇压709净选盟大集会继续成为国会的焦点。内政部公布，警方在709当天，总共使用262枚催泪弹来驱散会群众，并逮捕1509名集会者。

内政部指出，警方当中发射了的催泪弹分为2种，分别是226枚催泪弹（Tear Smoke Shell，简称TS Shell），以及36枚手掷烟雾弹（Tear Smoke Grenade，简称TS Grenade）。
　
内政部昨日是透过书面方式，这么答覆行动党泗峇沬区国会议员林立迎的提问。
　
每枚催泪弹价格约80令吉
　
内政部指出，每枚TS Shell催泪弹的价格为79令吉76仙，而TS Grenade手掷烟雾弹的价格则是135令吉。
　 　
这意味着，警方当天发射的262枚催泪弹，总共耗费2万2885令吉76仙，其中226枚TS Shell价格为1万8025令吉76仙，而36枚TS Grenade催泪弹则为4860令吉。
　
除此，内政部也指出，709大集会当天共有1509人被逮捕，男性占了1412人，而女性只有97人。
　
内政部警方逮捕数据不同
　
被捕者中，巫裔占大多数，即1435人，华裔则有21人，而印裔则有29人，其他则是24人。
　
内政部也说，761名被捕者的年龄介于11岁至35岁，而645人年龄36岁至60岁，61岁以上则有103人。
　
不过，内政部发布的数据跟警方有出入；吉隆坡代总警长阿玛星7月中旬曾说过警方共逮捕1697人。

来源： http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/177861

Police fired tear gas, broke rules in Tung Shin incident

UPDATED @ 07:19:12 AM 05-10-2011

By Shannon Teoh

October 04, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 — Riot police broke their own standard operating procedures (SOP) by firing tear gas and water cannons when dispersing Bersih 2.0 rally marchers at the Tung Shin Hospital on July 9, a Health Ministry investigation has concluded.

Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam said tonight that errant policemen would be referred to the police’s disciplinary board.

File photo of tear gas in the Chinese Maternity Hospital car park, next to Tung Shin Hospital at the July 9 Bersih rally.

“The investigation results concluded that there were unethical actions which were beyond the SOP of the Royal Malaysian Police when enforcement was performed on rally participants who were wrongly using the hospital premises,” Mahmood said in a statement.

Putrajaya and police had earlier denied any wrongdoing despite proof given by Bersih 2.0 and those at the rally.

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) is now waiting for police to answer questions into the incident after a complaint from Bersih, which held the rally to call for free and fair elections.

The Health Ministry probe confirmed police fired water cannons at demonstrators who were converging at the hospital.

“This action was solely to disperse groups of protesters who were gathering at the hospital area,” said Mahmood.

But Mahmood also said that tear gas was only fired in the direction of a car park outside the hospital compound and not into the hospital itself.

The report also found that smoke bombs were hurled by police at demonstrators who gathered in the car park of the neighbouring Chinese Maternity Hospital.

But it noted that the maternity hospital had ceased operations since September 2006 and would only reopen in December.

Mahmood said the Home Ministry “will not compromise on disciplinary action if it is found that there are (staff) who are proven to have violated operational guidelines.”

Police had absolved themselves of any wrongdoing during the July 9 rally after setting up six internal teams to investigate claims of police brutality that followed after nearly 1,700 were arrested, scores injured and an ex-soldier died during chaotic scenes in the capital.

But Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai ordered a second probe into the Tung Shin incident on July 14 after a group of medical consultants had written to the media refuting the hospital board and police who claimed that no gas canisters or water cannons were fired into the hospital.

The DAP then accused the authorities of sweeping the incident under the rug as its eye-witnesses were told by the Health Ministry in August to join “the police in building an investigation report that will be held soon.”

Police finally admitted on July 21 that Tung Shin was hit with tear gas canisters and water cannons during the rally, but denied shooting directly into the compound.

But this claim flies in the face of various video clips uploaded on the YouTube video-sharing site showing water cannons and tear gas being fired into the hospital.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/police-fired-tear-gas-broke-rules-in-tung-shin-incident/

出动1万警员镇压709集会，4天行动共耗费201万令吉

警方数据709游行者是6，000人，出动超过11，000警员。游行者手无寸铁，而警方荷枪实弹，还需要两人对一人，杀鸡何须用牛刀呀？

________________________

李伟伦 10月4日 上午11点28分

为了应对净选盟2.0集会，警队共派出1万1046名警员在全国驻守，后勤准备耗费了逾201万令吉。

内政部长希山慕丁指出，警方在7月6日至9日期间，从全国各地警区动员警力，以协助吉隆坡警区应对709集会。

他以书面回答行动党士布爹国会议员郭素沁的提问时，也再次以“非法集会”来形容净选盟2.0集会。

“为了确保巴生谷一带的治安，我们总共派出1万1046名警员驻守和值勤，包括2600名警员在全国各地警区驻守，以防情况所需，就可被召唤。”

8446人驻守巴生谷

这意味着，单是在巴生谷一带驻守的警员，就有8446人。

“警队被迫做好万全准备，而这需要添置额外配备、饮食、住宿及其他物流需要，总花费是201万8550令吉06仙。”

在7月9日，逾万名不分种族民众响应净选盟2.0的号召，走上吉隆坡街头，敦促政府落实8点选举改革诉求。

警方派出镇暴队水炮车，并以催泪弹强行镇压集会，逮捕1697名集会者，打破过去的逮捕人数记录，结果引起公民和国际社会的批评。但政府却强调镇压有理，近期更频频援引伦敦骚乱事件来为打压集会自由背书。

来源： http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/177654

RM2m spent on 11,000 cops to stop Bersih rally, Parliament told

Police's figure for 709 participants was 6,000, and cops deployed was >11,000. The participants were unarmed, and whereas the cops were heavily armed. Oh, 2 cops against 1 participant, when you want to slaughter a chicken, why need to use a knife which is for an ox?

________________________________

By Melissa Chi

October 04, 2011

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today a total of 11,046 police officers from all over the country were stationed in the Klang Valley area during the period in question. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 — The government spent more than RM2 million to “handle” the outlawed rally by electoral reform group Bersih 2.0 in July, it was revealed today.

More than 11,000 police officers were also deployed in the days leading up to the rally on July 9.

In a written reply in Parliament to Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh), Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today the total amount spent by the police to “handle” the rally was RM2,018,850.06.

He added that a total of 11,046 police officers from all over the country were stationed in the Klang Valley area, including 2,600 who were on standby outside the city.

“PDRM had to make preparations which included expenditure for additional fittings, food and drinks, lodging and other logistic needs,” he said.

The protest turned chaotic when the police fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of demonstrators, resulting in nearly 1,700 arrests, scores injured and the death of ex-soldier Baharuddin Ahmad, 59.

Bersih estimates that 50,000 people showed up at the July 9 rally for free and fair elections despite government efforts to prevent it from taking place while the police have said there were only 6,000.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has since gone to great lengths to try and win back middle Malaysia after international condemnation of the clampdown on the rally.

In the wake of the rally, Najib had promised to reform the country’s election process, a key demand of Bersih 2.0, followed by sweeping changes to security and press laws, a move he said was to increase civil liberties in the country.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/rm2m-spent-for-11000-cops-to-stop-bersih-rally-parliament-told/

摄记拍安华保镳中弹被问话 律师斥多媒体委会骚扰媒体

2011年8月19日 傍晚 7点40分

公正党喉舌《公正之声》摄记因拍摄一张公正党实权领袖安华保镖以身护主，脸中催泪弹而血流满脸的照片，而受到大马通讯与多媒体委员会传召问话近一小时。
　
该名摄记是现年55岁的尤丝丽娜（Yusriah Yusof），她在律师法迪雅的陪同下，到通讯与多媒体委员会办公室录取口供。

尤丝丽娜是因为把有关照片交给《马来西亚内幕者》新闻网站，经由后者刊登后，才受到多媒体委员会的调查。

质问照片是否没伪造

尤丝丽娜在完成录供后，向记者揭露多媒体委员会的盘问内容。

“他们问我，那张照片是否我拍摄的？照片是否真实？为何会出现在《内幕者》网站上？我是否因此又收钱？”

“我说，摄记朋友之间交换照片是正常的。他们也问我，是否有把照片交给其他人？但我不记得了。”
　
炮轰当局骚扰封真相
　
针对此，也是捍卫自由律师团成员的法迪雅批评，这次传召问话，是媒体在报道警方滥权时，当局反而骚扰媒体。
　
“这是一种根本不会停止的恐吓及骚扰，他们是试图封堵真相。”
　
尤丝丽娜是在1998年通讯及多媒体法令第255条文下，受传召助查。多媒体委员会官员派出官员凯鲁（Mohd Khairul Abdul Kadir）领导4名官员，录取尤丝丽娜的口供。
　
留难阻止律师陪录供
　
法迪雅指称，当她要陪伴尤丝丽雅录供时，多媒体委会官员还说要为她另外录取口供。

“有两名官员进来后对我喝斥，说我若不肯录口供，他们就会报警举报我 。”
　
“他们说‘在这间办公室内不要讲法律，这是我们的办公室，你没有权利谈法律，要讲法律的话，你就上法庭去。’”
　
无论如何，法迪雅坚持留在办公室内，全程陪同其当事人录供。

保镖挺身护主挨弹头
　
安华保镖法耶（Fayyahd Afiq Albakqry）是在警方镇压净选盟集会时，在中环车站地下道内挺身护主，为安华挡了一发催泪弹，结果其左颊骨碎裂受伤。法耶已针对此事报警，并在7月27日向警方录取口供。

来源： http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/173574

We are always an ‘exception’

Wednesday August 17, 2011

Musings
By Marina Mahathir

Malaysian policies often state that we are different and therefore cannot be compared with others. Yet those who join peaceful marches are likened to British rioters. Suddenly we are the same?

ARE we getting progressively schizophrenic? Judging by current responses to events around the world, it would be easy to conclude that we are.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that makes it difficult to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences, to think logically, to have normal emotional responses and to behave normally in social situations.

If you read up on Malaysian policies and statements on various issues, the one striking factor is our insistence on exceptionalism. That is, we are different and therefore cannot be compared with any other country.

Fiery aftermath: The violent riots in London left many properties in ruin. — AFP

In the early years of the AIDS pandemic, we thought we were protected because we were different. If non-Muslims in other Muslim countries use the word “Allah” for God with no fuss, ours can’t because we are different. We are apparently unique and incomparable to anyone else in the world.

Which is why it puzzles me that all of a sudden our citizens, or at least the ones who want to voice their opinions with peaceful assemblies and marches, are being compared to British rioters and looters.

If we are always different, how come suddenly we are the same?

Going by the statements of our leaders, basically we are nothing more than savages who would rob, rape, loot and pillage given half the chance. Therefore, we need all sorts of laws to keep us in check and not venture in groups of more than five outside our homes.

Now, this is why that schizophrenic inability to think logically comes into play. Despite evidence that none of the 30,000 or so peaceful marchers last July robbed, raped, looted or pillaged, our leaders insist that we would have. They must be looking at mirrors.

Just a few days ago the fellow who demonstrated how inconvenient a protest is by inconveniencing everyone in Penang declared that he would burn down two online news portals whose reports he disagreed with. Now if that’s not London rioter behaviour, I don’t know what is.

More disturbingly, after already having insulted all the good citizens who exercised their right to peaceful assembly, our leaders go on to insult them some more.

Instead of being proud that we did not have the type of violence that the UK experienced, instead of talking about how so much more civilised our people are, our leaders liken us to rioters who have vandalised, stolen and killed.

Talk about the inability to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

A certain amount of hypocrisy also rears its ugly head. What if Mark Duggan, the man who was shot by police in London and whose family’s peaceful protest became the original rallying cry for the rioters, was Mohamad Duggan?

Between 1987 and 1993 and 2000 and 2005, the Palestinian people went through two uprisings against the Israeli government, known as the First and Second Intifadas, respectively. Both Intifadas involved demonstrations, protests and, yes, a certain amount of violent rioting.

They were met with an even more violent response from the Israelis that resulted in many deaths and the eventual blockade of Gaza, still in force today.

Our government supported the Intifadas then. Does that mean that our government supports the right of Palestinians to demonstrate, protest and riot, but refuses its own people’s right to do much less, that is to just march peacefully?

Or is the logic that when governments are democratically elected, its people then lose the right to protest against them?

Conveniently ignored, too, is the fact that in the UK, protests and demonstrations are held all the time without the type of violence we saw recently.

One of the biggest was in 2003 when hundreds of thousands of people marched against the Iraq war. At the time we looked benignly at this because we had the same stand. Did we tell the Brits and others round the world that they should not demonstrate against the war?

So what is the message here? We may be trusted to peacefully protest as long as the subject of our protest is in sync with the Government’s. Otherwise, if we should protest for free and fair elections, against corruption or anything else that the Constitution gives us the right to, we are labelled as unpatriotic thugs out to disturb the peace and destroy the economy and image of our country.

Looking at the UK riots, are we even talking about the same thing? What cause was the UK rioters espousing?

Some wide reading instead of political posturing might be more beneficial here. The UK rioters did not loot bookshops, and some have suggested it’s because they don’t like to read.

Perhaps they are not unlike some of our politicians.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?col=musings&file=%2F2011%2F8%2F17%2Fcolumnists%2Fmusings%2F9301335&sec=Musings

Ambiga tells of her ‘lawyerly revolt’

Clare Rewcastle Brown | August 15, 2011

All the violence during the Bersih 2.0 rally came from the police, said Ambiga during a fundraising dinner in London.

COMMENT

Over the weekend, Bersih 2.0 chairman Ambiga Sreenivasan drew a big draw in London, bringing enthusiastic audiences to a fund-raising dinner and to listen to speeches.

The Bersih 2.0 rally had produced an excellent sympathy turnout over here in July, with several hundred marchers clad in yellow making the walk from the Malaysian High Commission over to Trafalgar Square.

The time difference between the two regions made the London event especially poignant, because by the time it got going news had already come through about what had happened to friends back home.

This weekend was the first chance for many to receive a first-hand account of what took place and from the leader of the event herself.

Ambiga manages a rare combination. She is a highly formidable female, but also warm and engaging.

She laid out with clarity and objectivity why she had led her lawyerly revolt.

For us who had been so far away it was a welcome analysis.

Bersih’s concerns had been sparked off by their observation of the Sarawak state election, she explained.

To their horror they witnessed “the dirtiest election ever” with “out and out vote buying”, “intimidation”, “phantom votes” and all the paraphernalia of rigged elections.

The fact that modern technology meant there was solid, recorded evidence of plenty of cheating meant that, in Ambiga’s view, the Election Commission had a constitutional duty to investigate and take action.

However, to her dismay the Election Commission did nothing.

EC’s wilful ignorance

As a former leader of the Malaysian Bar Council, Ambiga couches her arguments in the language of the law and not politics.

Throughout (her speech), she made clear that her core concerns are about the abuse of legality and of Malaysia’s constitution.

She explained how Bersih had appealed to all political parties on the issue, but that support had come only from the opposition.

Yet, her most withering criticism was directed towards officials of the Election Commission for their persistent attacks on the opposition and their refusal to investigate fraud.

“The Election Commissioners just don’t understand that under the constitution they are supposed to be independent of the government,” she sighed.

There can be nothing more frustrating for a lawyer than such wilful ignorance by those who have responsibility for upholding the rule of law.

For those who had been distant from the event, Ambiga’s description of what had happened to her and others at the rally was shocking.

Police had subjected her and the leader of the opposition to an attack of tear gas, fired at them from both ends in an enclosed tunnel.

“(It was) the most frightening experience of my life, I could not breathe,” Ambiga said.

Back in Malaysia, she said, BN politicians are now crowing that their tough handling of the rally had been designed to avoid the rioting and looting that had resulted from the soft tactics against protesters last week in the UK.

Wryly, Ambiga explained the main difference between the two events.

“In Malaysia all the violence came from the police”, she pointed out.

‘Raw abuse of power’

Not a pot had been broken by the peaceful demonstrators, who had turned out because they did not want the illegal practices and improprieties that they had seen in Sarawak to spill over into the upcoming general election in Malaysia.

But, the Bersih 2.0 leader is full of optimism and hope.

Thanks to the foolish handling by the government, their campaign has been successful beyond their wildest dreams.

To begin with, the Bersih Executive Committee had been worried that they would never be able to inspire the people with such a dry and difficult topic as electoral reform.

Would voters appreciate the significance of such matters as electoral registers, boundary delineation and all the little tricks that allow for the manipulation of election results?

But, as they started to mount their protests and demand key reforms, the response of the government took them by surprise and played right into their hands.

“We didn’t expect for a minute the violent reaction. It was so extreme” she said.

In her analysis, it was this “raw abuse of power”: the threats to lock her up under the ISA laws, the lies about funding, the raids on their premises, that woke up the Malaysian public to the rally and the principles that Bersih were trying to protect.

Who could have imagined, for example, that the matter of indelible ink for voting slips could have become such a major political issue?

Yet, the ferocity of the government’s refusal to take this very sensible step has created suspicion throughout Malaysia.

Heightened awareness

Since the rally, explained Ambiga, people have woken up to the fact that the electoral roll is a mess.

“The achievement of that day is heightened awareness of the importance of electoral reform”.

Every day now communities are actively scrutinising their local registers and turning up anomalies they wish to complain about.

Bersih’s crucial campaign for clean elections has taken centre stage in Malaysian politics, just as she wished.

Clare Rewcastle Brown is the founder/editor of Sarawak Report. She is also a FMT columnist.

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/08/15/ambigas-tells-of-her-lawyerly-revolt/

Big difference between Bersih and London riots

Marion Tharsis
Aug 13, 11
5:41pm

The recent London riots and looting is totally a different situation from the Bersih 2.0 gathering on July 9, because one is violent in nature while the other was a peaceful expression against an electoral system that has shown so much of ambiguity and suspicious handling over a long period of time.

Bersih neither had any violent inclinations nor ulterior motive to put the country in disarray and turmoil. Bersih was blown out of proportion by certain groups to make it look like an extremist movement out to create chaos and trouble.

Therefore, comparing what happened in London to that of Bersih's peaceful march for electoral reforms is like comparing an apple to an orange. It does not take an expert to analyse both the situations and conclude that one was purely peaceful in nature while the other had evil and destructive intentions to capitalise on a police shooting incident.

Our leaders are always seen to be quick to seek some kind of absolution and justification for their actions by making statements to intensify any given local situation.

The Bersih supporters did not throw missiles at the police on guard or riot or loot for that matter but in return the supporters were literally attacked by law enforcers with water cannons and tear gas, All these unnecessary use of force for a peaceful march to hand-over a petition to the king?

Most right thinking Malaysians can see the difference between the two situations and are not easily swayed to accept the authorities' mostly jagged analysis and explanations.

As general election draws closer, many attempts to coax, confuse and mislead the public by both sides, can occur at an accelerated pace. Thus one has to be cautious about falling into their game of chance and opportune.

We want people to lead the country with wisdom, justice and fairness to all. We do not want people who use the given power to undermine and persecute the public at the slightest opportunity. We want leaders who lead from the front and not from the rear.

We want a prime minister who takes control and accepts that faults can and do occur and not a Prime Minister who lets his subordinates to do the talking and take individual actions according to their own whims and fancies.

Free and clean election is our prerogative and it is one of the fundamental principles of a genuine democratic process.

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/172922

Minority with a major role

Insight
By Joceline Tan

Christians make up only 9% of the country’s population but their willingness to take political positions in recent years suggests that they will be a factor to reckon with in the new political landscape.

BACK in the 1990s when Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham was still a small fry in DAP politics, his party boss Lim Kit Siang told him that going into politics was not like going to church. The boss further told him he should not manage politics the way the church is managed.

Ngeh, who was then about to become the Perak DAP chief, was seen as too soft and talked like a preacher rather than a politician.

Lim’s implication then was that Ngeh, a devoted Christian, had the tendency to turn the other cheek, a phrase in Christian doctrine that discourages retaliation in the face of aggression whereas politics is often about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Influential voice: The Christian church has had to confront a catalogue of issues over the years and the feeling among many Christians is that their spiritual space is under siege. Picture shows a congregation of the Full Gospel Assembly Church in Jalan Klang Lama.

Ngeh has since gone from small fry to a big name in DAP but he is still as Christian as they get. He is the Bruas MP and Sitiawan assemblyman and his family members have been staunch Methodists for four generations.

But as for that thing about turning the other cheek, well, that was a long time ago. DAP politics has become almost as fierce as that seen in Taiwan, and Ngeh and his equally famous younger cousin Nga Kor Min are known as the most aggressive and combative pair of politicians in Perak.

But Ngeh’s edge over many other Chinese politicians these days is his church background. This is because the Christian vote has become a political factor in the new political landscape.

“Among the non-Muslims, Christians are among the most active and vocal in political advocacy,” said UCSI University don Dr Ong Kian Ming.

A key reason, said Dr Ong, is the way government decisions on religious matters have impacted on them over the last few years, chief of which was the court ruling on what has become known as the Allah issue. The controversy surrounding the High Court decision on the use of the term “Allah” was a tipping point of sorts for the Christian community.

Ngeh: His edge over many other Chinese politicians is his strong church background.

More recently, said Fui Soong, CEO of the Cense think tank, the Christian community has been “completely stirred up” by the politics of Bersih.

Christian sentiment has not been this politicised in years and many congregations had prayed over the Bersih issue while church members and even some pastors were known to have joined the protest. The thing is, Bersih’s call for free and fair elections resonated with biblical concepts of justice and righteousness.

A widely circulated article by Rev Eu Hong Seng, chairman of the National Evangelical Christian Federation (NECF), defended the aims of the protest and said it was “time for the moderates to speak up, be heard and play their role in this nation.”

This weekend, former NECF secretary-general Rev Wong Kim Kong is giving a talk titled “Christian response in the midst of political confusion and uncertainty”.

The online version of the recent Catholic Herald newsletter said a lot about where its editorial team stands politically.

A sampling: GE13 our thanks to Bersih; Police tried to kill Anwar; Firm wins RM620,000 from ‘PM aide’ in cheating case; After Bersih, Pakatan sets eyes on expanding rural votes; Malaysian police arrest four for wearing Bersih T-shirts.

The church, or the Herald, at least, also seemed intent on downsizing the significance of the Prime Minister’s meeting with the Pope, going by the headings of the related news items: Catholics won’t suddenly change; Allah row drags on despite Najib-Pope meet; Holy See and Malaysia agree to establish diplomatic relations; Vatican visit alone won’t solve Christian problems.

All these are a sign of the times, it has been said.

Soong: ‘Christians have been completely stirred up by the politics of Bersih’

Even the formation of the NECF itself was a consequence of the times. NECF is the umbrella body for some 20 or so Christian denominations, many of which are of the newer variety. They congregated under NECF in 1983 because of issues relating to the Malay language Bible and difficulty in finding suitable sites for worship.

NECF is one of three main Christian umbrella bodies. The other two are the Roman Catholic Church which reports to the Vatican and the Christian Churches of Malaysia (CCM) which comprises denominations such as the Methodist, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Syrian Orthodox and so on.

The three groupings claim about a third each of the total Christians in the country. Yet, together, they make up only 9.1% of the country’s population and even a smaller percentage of voters.

“They are not big but they are generally educated, articulate and willing to take positions,” said Dr Ong.

The new middle class

Many of them are professionals and part of the new middle class. They travel, are informed and their economic situation also allows them to put into action what they believe in.

They are vocal, which makes them seem bigger than they actually are and their views are easily disseminated because there is a pulpit to preach from and a captive congregation to preach to. They are also into social networking where they take their message far and wide.

Ong: ‘The Christian community is generally educated, articulate and willing to take positions’

In Peninsular Malaysia, they are too widely spread out to be the king-maker in an election, except perhaps in Selangor.

The parliamentary areas of PJ Utara and PJ Selatan, said Dr Ong, have the highest percentage of Christians in Peninsular Malaysia. Christians make up 20% of the population and 14% of voters in these two seats, which fell to DAP and PKR.

In the 2004 and 2008 general elections, St Francis Xavier Church in Petaling Jaya invited the opposing candidates to address church members. Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Donald Lim had won in PJ Selatan in 2004, but by 2008 the mood had changed and although Lim’s challenger was the rather unremarkable and wooden Lee Hoy Sian of PKR, the audience’s hostilities were directed at Lim.

The bulk of Christian Malaysians are still to be found in Sabah and Sarawak. Christians make up 40% of the people in Sarawak and over 25% in Sabah.

The Sibu by-election in 2010 provided the first inkling of what could happen when the Christian vote moved en masse. DAP deployed its Christian leaders like Ngeh, Teresa Kok and Hannah Yeoh to campaign among Christian groups in Sibu; PAS MPs like Khalid Samad went to meet church goers after the Sunday service; and Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin received a standing ovation for attending a forum for Christian voters.

“It was a big gesture on the part of PAS. I don’t recall an Umno MP doing that,” said Soong.

The Sibu by-election was where the game plan changed.

But no one comes close to Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud in terms of connecting with the Christians. He officiated at the opening of a new Catholic church at the height of campaigning for the Sarawak election, speaks openly of having studied Bible knowledge and is not afraid to enter a church.

Comparatively, Barisan does not have as many politicians who identify closely with the Christians, or Muslims leaders who are willing to engage the Christians. The Christian Kadazandusun leaders come closest to being the Christian face of Barisan.

Cabinet Minister and Upko president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok is one of them. He is Catholic and when he is at home in Penampang, he attends prayer meetings, supports the Monfort Youth Training Centre and helps raise funds for church groups.

Dompok has emerged as a credible leader among the Christian Kadazandusuns and he was a natural choice to accompany the Prime Minister to meet the Pope.

“Christians want to see genuine respect for our religion. In Sabah, especially, we have to be very sensitive about religious issues because people here are not afraid of opposition politics,” said Dompok.

Or as Soong put it: “The Christians used to be more complacent when they were less challenged by the political landscape. But so much has changed.”

The Christians have had to confront a catalogue of issues over the years and the feeling among many of them is that their spiritual space is under siege. It began with misgivings over issues of conversions and body-snatching and culminated in the Allah issue.

“Things like that made people decide they have to assert their political rights to defend their religion,” said NECF’s Wong.

If it is any consolation to the Barisan, the Christian vote also overlaps to some extent with the Chinese vote which the ruling coalition already has problems with. But a point to note is that the Christian vote also comprises Indians and other minority races.

“Some of the older Christians are still afraid of PAS. The younger people have less hang-ups. They have seen that PAS has been trying to be more pragmatic,” said Dr Ong.

A point of no return has been reached for many of them. They are undeterred even though they know that PAS will never abandon its Islamic agenda.

Nor do they seem worried by survey findings which show that young Muslims support the Quran rather than the Constitution as the highest law, that an overwhelming majority agree with whipping for those guilty of alcohol consumption and cutting off hands for convicted thieves.

The Christians are too small in numbers and, in the peninsula, too spread out to be considered a powerful vote.

But, said Dr Ong, they are influential because they know their rights and have become very vocal about it.

As Puah Chu Kang would say, don’t pray pray (play play) with these people. They may be a minority but they are a part of the emerging third force.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/7/24/focus/9149291&sec=focus

Trapped, ambushed and gassed

July 21, 2011

'I was coughing really hard. It was getting harder to breathe. The only thing that was flashing on my mind was the thought of death.'

COMMENT

By Fadiah Nadwa Fikri

On July 7, while I was lazing around at home after work, I got a call from my friend, N Surendran saying that my name was on the list of 91 individuals who were restricted from entering Kuala Lumpur on July 9, 2011.

Nothing surprising. It was just that I couldn’t wrap my mind around the paranoia displayed by the government over a planned peaceful assembly to demand for clean and fair elections.

This whole scare tactic definitely was funnier than any comedy show I’d ever watched on TV.

It was July 9, the day plethora of right thinking Malaysians and I had been waiting for. It felt like waking up to Aidilfitri morning. Serenity filled the air. Peaceful. I packed my bag. Salt, checked. A bottle of water, checked. My friends, Latheefa Koya, Eric Paulsen and Renuka Balasubramaniam and I went to KL Hilton to meet with the rest of the group.

When I got into the room, I saw Bersih leaders, Ambiga Sreenevasan, Maria Chin Abdullah, Wong Chin Huat, Haris Ibrahim and Zaid Kamarudin, all getting ready to lead the march.

I also saw Pakatan Rakyat leaders, Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Lim Kit Siang, Hadi Awang, Tian Chua, William Leong, Nurul Izzah and our respected national laureate, Pak Samad Said, standing firm next to Bersih leaders, to give their undivided support to the cause.

I looked at my watch, it was 1.30pm. After finishing our Zohor prayers, we put our yellow Bersih t-shirts on.

The room was filled with laughter, the worrying thoughts on the highhandedness of the police in dealing with this planned peaceful assembly seemed to fade away for a little while.

I could feel the strong conviction to freedom, freedom to march on, to assemble peaceably to demand for free and fair elections. We couldn’t wait to meet with the rest of right thinking Malaysians so that we could walk together to Merdeka Stadium on this historic, most awaited day.

We started marching on, we held each other’s arms so tightly. We chanted “Bersih!Bersih!Bersih!”.

A strange feeling suddenly embraced me. A pleasant strange feeling. I believed this was what solidarity, strength and conviction felt like.

I was holding Wan Azizah’z right arm. Nurul Nuha was holding my left arm. As we were walking, I could feel more hands were holding my arms, the hands of amazing people I hardly knew.

When I looked around, all I could see was police. My heart was beating so fast, in between the chanting and the thought that all of us would not make it to Merdeka Stadium as it was almost certain that we would be arrested, judging from the heavy police presence around us.

Sudden attack

From KL Hilton, we proceeded to KL Sentral train station. At this juncture I kept asking myself why we weren’t arrested yet.

The police were there, surrounding us, waiting and watching our single move. I just ignored the question that was lingering on my mind. From KL Sentral train station, we had to go down the escalator to the underpass to reach the main road.

After going down the escalator, we then walked through the dark and confined underpass. Suddenly I heard the wail of police siren behind us, there was a police truck that was trying to pass. We stopped and gave way to the police truck. We then continued walking.

As we were still walking in the underpass, people in the forefront abruptly stopped. It was puzzling as to what was happening. I saw Anwar Ibrahim turning around and asking the people who were standing in the back to step back.

I was still puzzled as to what was happening at that particular moment. In a split second, I saw the dark and confined underpass filled with tear gas. I couldn’t breathe. My eyes were all teary. Everyone was coughing. Panic struck.

I kept asking myself these questions. “Why did they fire the tear gas directly at us while we were still in the confined underpass? Why didn’t they arrest us right before we headed for the underpass? Could this be a trap?”.

Every one ran towards the escalator to escape. Haniza Talha fell on the floor and Sharifah Shahidah picked her up. I saw one man was holding Lim Kit Siang’s left arm, trying to help him to get onto the pavement. I quickly grabbed Lim Kit Siang’s right arm and helped him get onto the pavement.

I was coughing really hard. It was getting harder to breathe. The only thing that was flashing on my mind was the thought of death.

The voice inside my head was getting louder and louder-“God, I’m going to die, I won’t be able to join any peaceful assembly in the future as this would be my last. How are people going to survive this brutality in the future?”

The use of tear gas on us, in the confined underpass was severely criminal. The thought that the same tear gas would be used on peaceful demonstrators in future peaceful assemblies was killing me.

I dragged myself to the wall and leaned against it. I was struggling to find air. A woman gave me water and held my hands. We were trapped in the middle of the underpass, we couldn’t escape from where we came. It got harder and harder to breathe.

I tried to drag myself to the escalator in my attempt to escape but my steps were getting heavier. I saw tear gas was also shot from the back of the underpass and that made me realize that I would never make it to the escalator. The dark and confined underpass was filled with tear gas which was shot from both directions, leaving every one trapped in the middle.

I just stopped as I couldn’t move, not even an inch towards the escalator. At this point in time, I couldn’t open my eyes. Everything around me seemed so distant. I couldn’t hear a thing.

Light, I suddenly saw light in between the wooden walls that were blocking off the adjacent construction site.

I told myself to get to the light and try to escape. I suddenly saw Wan Azizah and Elizabeth Wong running towards the construction site. I ran towards them and we managed to get through the gap in between the wooden walls into the construction site.

‘Welcome to Malaysia’

We ran and crossed the main road in the rain. We stopped to catch our breath. We were still coughing. Our eyes and skin were all red. I couldn’t touch my skin as it was burning.

Two American journalists were standing next to us. They too were hit by the tear gas. One of the journalists asked us “Are you okay? The police were brutal”. I replied “Welcome to Malaysia!”.

There were also a few men standing around us, passing a bottle of water to us. Elizabeth Wong drank the water and threw up as she couldn’t stop coughing.

We then sought refuge at a chapatti shop nearby. At the shop, I started calling everyone to ask whether they were alright. Some were severely injured, some were arrested and some managed to escape.

I received calls from my lawyer friends, Farhana Abdul Halim and Afiq Mohd Noor who were on their way to the police station to give legal representation to peaceful demonstrators who got arrested. They told me that they were caught in a middle of sea of people, attacked by tear gas and water cannons in Puduraya.

The whole city was under siege.

Why did they have to launch this brutal attack on us, the unarmed, peaceful citizens of this country?

Why did they have to launch this brutal attack on us, the unarmed, peaceful citizens who were just exercising our constitutional and democratic rights?

Why did they have to wage this war against us, the unarmed, peaceful citizens who were just marching on to demand for free and fair elections?

I might not have the answers to these questions but I am certain about one thing. We, the people have won this war the authority waged against us.

We stood tall in dignity, weathering this brutal attack, standing up for one belief, a belief that would never be taken away from us.

Yes, we, the people have won.

Fadiah Nadwa Fikri is from Lawyers For Liberty.

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/07/21/trapped-ambushed-and-gassed/

From Queen E and now the Vatican, Najib's book gaffe triggers sniggers

Written by Chiifen Hiu, Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

Oh no! Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has done it again.

At the top international circles, where understatement is de rigueur rather than bombast and self-aggrandizement, Najib's latest gaffe in presenting a book about himself to the Pope could not but raise a round of giggles and rude snorts.

It looks like the Malaysian leader could have taken a lesson or two in subtlety from the British Queen, who gave him a stunning snub last week. Elizabeth II wore the yellowest of yellow summer dresses during an audience with him and his wife Rosmah Manor during their 4-day official visit to the UK.

Just colour of Her Majesty's attire sent shockwaves through a red-faced Malaysian entourage, cascading down the diplomatic channels and all the way back home, where the Queen was cheered and blessed for remembering everyday Malaysians as they struggled to transform their society.

The royal disapproval was made clear to Najib for having ordered a violent crackdown on a peaceful civilians march, leaving thousands injured and one dead. What better way than to wear the colour of the Bersih rally T-shirt that Najib had outlawed in a bid to suppress the movement for free and fair elections?

Beginning or end of a legacy

Indeed, Malaysians are shuddering at their first couple's disastrous European outing.To them, it is obvious the world has moved on and civil liberties and social justice are now increasingly considered with equal if not greater importance than business and economic outlooks.

But not so to the 58-year old Najib, who preaches 'moderation' in his speeches abroad and rules by 'extremism' at home.

Hogging the limelight is not the news of his establishing diplomatic ties with the Vatican, but rather the thick coffee-table book with the letters 'N a j i b' prominently displayed on the front cover.

The book, after some help from Google, has been identified as the 2010 not-quite bestseller Najib: Beginning of a Legacy.

The MPH online description of the RM199 (US$66) book depicts the Prime Minister as an illustrious yet unpretentious leader, one who walks “alongside his people instead of ahead”. The irony of this statement with regards to the Bersih rally is one that isn’t easily missed.

Will Christian issues be resolved now?

Nonetheless, the meeting with the Pope concluded with Malaysia and the Vatican agreeing to establish formal ties, though exactly what this entails remains unclear.

Although boastfully described as a “multi-ethnic and multi-religious country” that “draws on the values of moderation to ensure continued harmony, stability and prosperity” by the Prime Minister, Malaysia is still reeling from many a religion-related uproar.

Malaysians, especially of the Christian faith, would ask how would this newly formed alliance with the ecclesiastical state align itself with Islam conversion cases such as that of Lina Joy, a Malay who was forced to go into hiding after she tried to get the courts to recognize her switch from Islam to Christianity.

What about the attempts to ban the Catholic Church of Sabah and Sarawak from using the word Allah in their newspaper, The Herald, and the more recent torching of churches in the peninsula?

And what about the extremist religious and racial rights groups endorsed by Najib's political party UMNO? How would they react to such zingers of issues?

Few Malaysians, let alone of the Christian faith, would believe UMNO would let go of its traditional political weapons just to please the Vatican. It is also hardly likely that the Vatican will not insist on greater human rights for their followers.

The Najib book - the greatest satire?

So it looks Najib's much-glorified foray into the Holy See will turn out to be another expensive public relations exercise to benefit himself.

What was agreed at the Vatican may not be inked yet, and what is expected to be finally formalized a mere 'exchange-of-smiles-and-handshakes' pact.

Deep-seated and entrenched religious rows will stay unresolved in Malaysia and Christian 'bashing' will continue as and when it suits Najib and UMNO to play up their political game.

In light of today’s political climate in Malaysia under Najib’s regime, one must wonder if the description of the PM in the book presented to the Pope as a “truly inspiring leader … one all Malaysians look up to for the future of their society” is really satirical. - Malaysia Chronicle

Source: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=16077:from-queen-e-and-now-the-vatican-najibs-latest-gaffe-triggers-sniggers&Itemid=2

Taken to the cleaner

Political affray in Malaysia

An overzealous government response to an opposition rally

Jul 14th 2011 | SINGAPORE | from the print edition

MALAYSIA is one of South-East Asia’s stabler nations; but a rally in Kuala Lumpur on July 9th in demand of electoral reform turned surprisingly nasty, leading to the arrest of more than 1,600 people. The police fired tear gas and water cannon into the crowd, and one man died of a heart attack. All those arrested were released fairly quickly, but Amnesty International, a London-based human-rights group, called it “the worst campaign of repression in the country for years”. The government’s reaction showed a lot of nervousness about how much opposition it can tolerate.

In fact the crackdown started a few weeks ago after “Bersih 2.0” announced that it was going to stage the rally. Bersih, also known as The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, is a loose alliance of NGOs and activists (bersih means “clean”). It argues that all candidates should be given access to the mainstream media and that indelible ink should be used to stop people voting more than once. It all sounds uncontroversial, but not to the government. Bersih was declared illegal on July 1st and about 200 activists were rounded up. The march itself was then banned, although the authorities offered Bersih a stadium to meet in—and then withdrew the offer.

Perhaps the government was looking back nervously to the first Bersih march, in 2007. On that occasion, too, thousands protested against the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government and demanded reform. Subsequently, in the 2008 general election, the BN lost its largest share of votes since 1957 when it started ruling the country after the British left. The current prime minister, Najib Razak, deputy prime minister in 2007 before taking over the top job in an internal party coup, must have feared that the second Bersih rally might be a similar portent. He has to hold an election before 2013, but wants to do so earlier to win his own mandate. Opposition politicians were quick to join Bersih. The pre-eminent leader of the opposition, Anwar Ibrahim, was shoved to the ground and injured in the affray.

None of this bodes well for Malaysia. The heavy-handed police tactics have provoked a lot of anger; the government has conceded an official investigation into claims of police brutality. In one instance (caught on film), police seemed to fire tear gas and water cannon into a hospital where protesters were sheltering from a baton charge. Few old laws were left untouched in the attempt to round up suspects before the march. It was reported that 30 people arrested in Penang were investigated under Section 122 of the Penal Code for the charge of waging war against the king. Dragging in the constitutional monarch, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, seemed particularly desperate, reminiscent of the abuse of the monarchy’s position in neighbouring Thailand. On the eve of the rally, the king came out with a statement reminding everyone that “street demonstrations bring more bad than good, although the original intention is good.”

Mr Najib defended the police and accused the marchers of sowing chaos. Dismissing the motives of Bersih, he cast it as a desperate attempt by Mr Anwar to grab power. The immediate upshot is that Mr Najib may choose to delay calling for an election for some time, to let things settle down. He presumably hopes that if he waits long enough, people will have forgotten about this ugly incident. But the longer-term effects are hard to judge. It might also help to unite a fractious opposition against what they portray as an assault on democracy.

Source: http://www.economist.com/node/18959359?fsrc=scn%2Ftw%2Fte%2Far%2Ftakentothecleaners

My Bersih 2.0 Experience -- Marina Mahathir

Sunday, July 10, 2011

So I went.

I have to say that the night before I had many many misgivings, especially after reading about the army doing exercises with the FRU. Could the government seriously be contemplating shooting their own people? Who knows? My stomach was in knots thinking about the many young people I knew who were intent on going, including my daughter. Would I be able to forgive myself if something happened to them?

After seeking advice from various friends, I finally decided that I could not stay safely at home while my daughter, friends and colleagues faced possible danger. I had to walk with them. Besides even if I stayed home, I would have spent all my time worrying. So I had to go.

A friend who lived in the city offered to be my protector and together we devised a plan on what to do. Hubby was supportive and gave some advice on how to stay safe. My neighbours also wanted to come along. So fairly earlyish, my friend drove over to get me with no problem and we headed back into the city. Despite the roadblocks in some areas, we encountered no problems. In fact driving into KL was so pleasant because the roads were so clear. The police directed traffic where they had to and were generally cooperative ( except for one we saw arguing with a man trying to get into his own condo). We got to a roadblock in the KLCC area and my friend explained that he lived in the area and they let us through, four people in a car dressed as if we were going hiking!

From my friend’s apartment block, we walked to Times Square and parked ourselves at the Starbucks for a coffee while we waited. A cursory look around the outlet and mall revealed that many people were doing the same thing. Meanwhile a whole van of police was stationed outside the mall but after a while they all went off.

We kept in touch with various friends around the city to find out where they were and what the situation was. At about 12.30 we started to walk up Jalan Hang Tuah towards the stadium area. We were not in big groups, just people out on a weekend stroll. We thought we would encounter police in front of the big police headquarters in front of Pudu Jail but there was nothing. When we got to the corner of Jalan Hang Jebat, we saw some police motorcycles and only a couple of cops. Lots of people were just sitting on the curbside under the eye of the cops. It was pretty clear what all these people were there for.

We walked along Jalan Hang Jebat in front of Stadium Negara towards the OCM and found many other friends waiting there. Apparently at one point the cops had given chase even though there was no reason to and caught some people and hauled them off. But from then on we could sit and wait by the curb without anyone disturbing us.

Jalan Hang Jebat and the small road that led up to Stadium Merdeka stayed pretty quiet. Members of the Bar Council (who had to suffer wearing their suits in the heat just so that we could spot them easily) walked around observing what was happening. At one point one woman in a suit sat herself at the intersection to take notes.

One lone woman lawyer at her station, Jln Hang Jebat

We all debated whether to stay there or move down to Petaling Street but we were afraid that we wouldn’t be let back up again. Then it started to rain. My friend and I sought shelter under some hoarding along with young people. Just then I got a message that we were to go to KL Sentral. After confirming this with a friend at Sentral, my friends and I started to walk down Hang Jebat just as a large group of people started walking up. The rain was pouring at that point and I didn’t know quite what to do, whether to tell people they should turn round or not.

Seeking shelter for a while under a shop five-foot way, I talked to various other friends and eventually decided to head back to the stadium area where I found my daughter and lots of other friends there. The main group earlier had gone up to Stadium Merdeka, did some chanting in front of the FRU and then headed down again. But many people hung about just to observe everything and soak in the atmosphere. One group of young people had yellow ribbons on sticks and started a little dance. Others were buying ice cream from a bicycle vendor who came by. There was a real carnival atmosphere.

Here's a video of the rally yesterday taken by my daughter. As you can see, it was peaceful. And every time some people started chanting 'reformasi', someone else would start a louder chant of 'Bersih'.

I have to say that I never felt safer than when I was in the crowd. People recognized me and said hello. Some wanted to take photos. It didn’t feel any different from any other Saturday out. And to be perfectly fair, the cops and FRU in my area showed admirable restraint. They saw that people were not doing anything more than chanting and nobody was harming anyone so they just stood there and left everyone to do their thing. We came across a whole FRU unit blocking a lane next to the Chinese temple at the roundabout at the bottom of Jalan Maharajalela, waved at them and they waved. Cool cops!

Of course not everyone had the same experience. Here’s an account from a colleague who was in a different street:

Unfortunately my experience wasn't so benign. I was part of the marchers (along with A and others) who were effectively kettled by the police in Jalan Pudu. FRU units to the front and back of us prevented us from leaving, and we were trapped by the walls of a construction site opposite Tung Shin Hospital after the FRUs pushed us back. It was probably the worst of the hotspots because of that: when the police started firing round after round of tear gas at us, we had nowhere to run to. I think they were determined to make an example out of us, because they bloody well tear-gassed and sprayed us with water cannons when they had no reason to do so.

We were all tear-gassed at least three, four times. An NGO staffer was hit by a canister. V told me that she saw people jumping off the second floor of the Puduraya bus terminal because the police had released tear gas too close to the terminal and the wind carried the fumes into the enclosed building. When the marchers ran for shelter in Tung Shin Hospital, the police fired tear gas and water cannons INTO the hospital grounds. Later the police lured us into re-assembling on the road on the pretext of negotiating a peaceful dispersal. They arrested the MP (Sivarasa) who was doing the negotiating, then -- after ordering us to sit down so (as we realised later) we would be sitting ducks -- they fired more tear gas and water cannons at us. A, myself and our companions eventually managed to find a way out from the trap via the Santo Antonius church and (irony of ironies) the car park of the Hang Tuah police station (near the monorail station). There were so many very brave people yesterday.

I now know that smearing toothpaste under the eyes to reduce irritation caused by tear gas actually works (thanks, A)! I'm still itchy and short of breath from all that tear gas, which is a bit annoying. But really, mostly what I remember of the rally was how moving it was: the solidarity among the protesters, how people looked out for one another. Whenever I was tear-gassed there was a stranger running along at my side and offering me and my friends salt to counteract the effects. When the police sprayed chemical-laced water cannons into the crowd and the people affected cried out for water to wash the stuff away, others turned and ran back toward the cannons with bottles of water to help. People helped others climb up a hill towards the hospital to escape (some guy helped me up the steep slope). Someone always stepped up to make sure that a panicked run doesn't turn into a stampede, including an elderly woman who took it upon herself to guide the marchers to safety. She's a first-time marcher to boot! Actually there were lots of first-time marchers, and more young middle-class urbanites than I've ever seen at any other rallies including the 2007 Bersih rally. At one point people started picking up the tear gas canisters and throwing them back at the police, or kicking the canisters safely away from the marchers and bystanders. I heard via the #bersihstories Twitter hashtag when the police fired tear gas into Tung Shin, there were people who grabbed the canisters and wrapped them in their own towels, then threw the canisters into the drain so there wouldn't be so much fumes.

And another one, about people’s goodness:

My group has a lovely little story to tell as well, of how we escaped from the Tung Shin hospital area after one of the tear gas attacks. We took a little alley uphill between the shophouses, and there was a block of flats there. One of the residents told us to go through the building to get out through the back! We climbed upstairs and then along the opposite corridor a woman shouted and pointed, "That way, go that way, there is an exit out the back!" and we scuttled along our corridor, down the back stairs and found ourselves safe outside on Changkat Tung Shin or something like that.

Rakyat all contributing in their own ways!

There are many stories and photos, both good and bad, of the whole event. But to me what was most important was that Malaysians proved two things: one, they can assemble together on a common cause peacefully and two, therefore showed that they are a mature people. The fact is that there were all kinds of people there, young and old, all races and religions and all classes and creeds. I bumped into many young people, the children of my friends, who had come to see what it was all about and decide for themselves what to think about the issue.

Do these people look like hooligans to you?

Whatever one thinks about the issue that Bersih is espousing, we should all be proud of our fellow Malaysians who did not, despite dire predictions by some, behave like hooligans and destroy property and hurt one another. There were people hurt and one death but people who had participated in the rally did not cause them. The restaurants and shops around the area were doing roaring business as people got thirsty and hungry.

There are also some people claiming that the world now has a bad impression of Malaysia because the foreign media (and the local media for that matter) reported only about the teargassing and water-cannoning. I think people are confusing the government with the people. Yes, the world now has a bad impression of the Malaysian government because it has handled this whole issue so badly. They don’t have the same impression of the Malaysians who stood up for their rights and their cause.

This is what gives a good impression: protestors and police shaking hands before dispersing at 4pm.

And by the way, I can’t believe some of the mean things being said about the man who died after being teargassed! My goodness, every time I read totally uncompassionate things like that, I know that I’m on the right side.

Source: http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/

YB Nik Nazmi Bersih Story

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad is the state assemblyman for Seri Setia and Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Communications Director.

My Bersih story

July 16, 2011

JULY 16 — I marched at the first Bersih rally in November 2007, but Bersih 2.0 was a whole different experience.

First, the level of BN paranoia and intimidation was way more intense than what it was in the first gathering. Secondly, there were more “newbies” — particularly the young and the middle class. The crowd was also more multi-racial.

I will be frank. Like many Malaysians I too was anxious and a little scared a few weeks beforehand as the atmosphere become more charged as the Umno-BN elite got more agitated. It reached such ridiculous heights that when Wardina Safiyyah came to an event in my constituency and spoke about (physical) cleanliness and someone in a Bersih T-shirt was spotted, she was vilified by Umno cybertroopers.

But as it became more Orwellian, absurd and idiotic — my mind reached a tipping point when the fear, while still there, was overwhelmed by a determination to stand up to all this. Maybe it’s just the adrenaline, but I felt that it was God’s way of giving us the strength to face all this.

I spent Friday night in Kuala Lumpur — dropping by Nurul Izzah Anwar’s aqiqah for her son in Segambut (where everyone chatted anxiously about what would happen the following day) — before retiring to a hotel quietly to ensure that I would be able to take part in Bersih the next day. While the city’s access points were choked due to unnecessary roadblocks by the police, the city centre’s streets were eerily empty.

As I woke up the next day and went down for breakfast, journalists and Bersih activists dominated the coffee house. We traded the latest gossip — one shocking piece of information from a journalist was that the city’s mortuaries were being emptied in case there were casualties on July 9.

I would not have taken it so seriously had I not been told by a policeman a few days before that their instructions were clear if the people stood their ground: they were to use tear gas, followed by rubber bullets, with the third and final option being “live” bullets.

In retrospect, after what happened to Baharuddin Ahmad who died and what the police did to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his security team, Khalid Samad, Mohamad Sabu and many others, this does not sound so far-fetched.

Still, the stories of courage from the day abound. A few friends — from non-political backgrounds — texted me asking how they could participate. A doctor at a government hospital who was on call on Friday night was nervous but wanted to join: “Even if it’s just me, I’m adding one more Malaysian to the cause.”

Another MCKK senior, working at a government agency, was supposed to join me at my hotel to go together but due to the road closures decided to pray elsewhere and join the crowd there.

A college friend — who is now a banker — was not sure about joining as he had not been in any demonstrations before and did not know anybody there. When I suggested that he to come to the city by LRT and accompany me, he immediately did so.

One of my Keadilan Kelana Jaya members warned me that the Special Branch was moving into the hotel in large numbers to monitor the guests. As we tried to gather bits of information through our handphones and the Internet, we concluded it would be best not to join the senior leaders at KL Sentral as the police would be in full force there and instead go to Jalan Hang Tuah.

We left at 1pm. Forgetting that Khairy Jamaluddin’s red shirts were gathered at Bukit Bintang, we drove straight into the police cordon and had to use another route. Zigzagging through the city, we found ourselves in Jalan Hang Tuah but saw a huge contingent of police at Masjid al-Bukhary, where we planned to pray.

It was then we saw Dr Yaacob Sapari, the Selangor state exco who told us it would be safer for us to pray at the fire station’s surau instead. Having completed our prayers, we walked into the rain towards Pudu station. It was hujan rahmat, I thought to myself as rain would make the tear gas and water cannons less potent.

A small crowd of Bersih supporters was gathered near the Bukit Bintang-Pudu junction. Many were PAS members from the east coast with a smattering of city dwellers who decided to join the fun. We were amused at the curious sight of a small number of red shirts with Malaysian flags. Some of the Bersih supporters were even given red shirts as Umno Youth tried hard to boost their small numbers!

At the head of the crowd, I saw Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa. Realising that no other Pakatan leader was there I decided to go to the front as well, although I had little experience in leading demonstrations (being at the front and being a follower are two different things). After being informed that the back lanes behind Pudu were clear, we decided to walk through the back lanes.

Most were in normal shirts to avoid being stopped and harassed by the police. But we marched with gusto in the rain, chanting “Bersih”, “Daulat Tuanku”, “Hidup Rakyat”, “Reformasi” and “Allahu Akbar.” Tourists and Malaysians in the nearby eateries cheered us on while we asked them to come and join us. I decided to don the Bersih T-shirt that I had kept in my bag.

We twisted and turned through the roads and back lanes of downtown Kuala Lumpur as we marched, while the group grew steadily. Other groups from different gathering spots merged seamlessly with ours. The group was incredibly diverse, urban young Malays rubbing shoulders with non-Malays from different age groups.

Veteran demonstrators mixed with first-timers. My subsequent conversations with friends confirmed what I saw — middle-class families including those with children in private schools and students of private colleges, GLC managers and government officers came out in large numbers for Bersih 2.0. The class divide, at least in the urban areas, appears to have been breached.

This was Middle Malaysia. It is difficult to imagine this multiracial and diverse crowd engaging in violence or being a threat to national security. But they cared for clean and fair elections, as well as the freedom of assembly and standing up to the authoritarian tactics of BN and the police. This was also the Facebook generation, as many took photos as a memorabilia from history, legacies for their children and grandchildren in a better Malaysia hopefully.

Finally, as news of police violence in KL Sentral and barricades in other parts of the city filtered in, the crowd decided to head towards KLCC. The crowd — now numbering at least 15,000 to 20,000 in my group alone — turned around to head towards KLCC on Jalan Ampang.

We wound up at the back of another group that had got there earlier, so I ran to the front to help marshal the crowd forward. Some wanted me to hang back in the rear for my own safety, but I answered: “If a YB is scared to lead by example, he does not deserve to be called one.” I said this not out of pride or recklessness but rather a determination to not let fear control me and hopefully motivate the rest in a small way.

As we marched towards Dr Mahathir’s towering monument, we realised that the police personnel nearby could not do anything due to the size of the crowd. Helicopters hovered above us as more police were watching from a distance. I waved at them, to show them that in spite of the massive arrests, brutality and roadblocks, the rakyat was not cowered.

We had a sit-in at the Jalan Ampang–Jalan Yap Kwan Seng–Jalan P. Ramlee junction in the shadow of the Petronas Twin Towers. Without the stadium that we agreed to assemble in, we had to opt for such a place as it would give the people room to retreat if the authorities reacted with force.

Without a PA system or a stage, we made do with what we had to help the leaders — Bersih 1 chairperson Syed Shahir Mohamud, Pakatan leaders Dr Hatta Ramli and Datuk Seri Chua Jui Meng and Nasruddin Tantawi — speak, with Badrul Hisham Shaharin (Che’ Gu Bard) acting as the moderator. I stood beneath the makeshift stage, waving a copy of the Federal Constitution that was handed to me by a fellow demonstrator.

After nearly half an hour of the sit-in, the FRU was making its way on Jalan Ampang, coming from Jalan Sultan Ismail. We dispersed. I thought of going into Suria KLCC but the police were already there.

Finally, I decided to go through the KLCC Park with a few of my local Keadilan members that I met during the march. I was still wearing my yellow Bersih T-shirt, feeling motivated after our impromptu KLCC rally. Heck, if the police wanted to arrest me now, please do so I thought. I was exhilarated but tired.

As we made our way back to my hotel, we bumped into other people. Some were still walking towards KLCC but I warned them that the FRU was out in full force. Others like me were heading back. I felt satisfied.

My thoughts were of my young family. I am fortunate to be blessed with a loving and supportive wife. Our first child has just been born, and more than anything else, my determination stemmed from a desire to fight for a better Malaysia for him. I played a part, no matter how small, in fighting for change.

Something important happened in Malaysia on July 9, 2011. For many ordinary Malaysians who had never bothered about politics, it was their first demonstration. The intimidation and brutality, rather than breaking them, actually extinguished their fear and strengthened their determination that things must not be the same again.

While the government’s 1 Malaysia campaign is floundering in spite of the millions of ringgit being paid to overseas consultants, the real Middle Malaysia showed that we could fight for a cause that is bigger than what divides us on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/article/my-bersih-story/

Pastor Took to the Streets for the Next Generation

I am a Pastor. I am not affiliated with any political party, but instead I cared about the country over the years about the abnormal things surrounding us. I wrote in the newspapers for the past three decades, and had been a columnist and a feature writer, criticizing about inappropriate policies and practices by both the ruling and opposition parties. And I would provide constructive ideas. In the process of writing, the freedom for my expressions was getting narrower by the day. Thus subsequently I wrote less recently!

I looked forward to the July 9 BERSIH 2.0 Assembly. I figured out how to participate in it, because the Federal Government and the Royal Police Force had been making ​​a lot of scared actions and distorted information. When Bersih complied with the King to take into account the social order and were willing to hold a rally at Merdeka Stadium instead of a street march, people thought that was good news and they could be assured of free participation. Who knows the Government and the police have classified Bersih as an illegal organization and refused to grant a permit! Finally, the IGP called upon them to change to the Shah Alam Stadium. It was strange, since Bersih was an illegal organization, why they were allowed to hold it in another stadium?

Bersih chose Merdeka Stadium was right move. The venue had a special meaning in it, that is, Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1957 declared Malaya an independent country at that stadium, and he became the first Prime Minister. Independence speaks of freedom. The purpose of the rally was to urge the government to implement a fair and clean electoral system and to submit a memo the King at the palace. So Merdeka Stadium is most suitable for that purpose.

Since it was not permitted, which means people will be hampered by the authorities! In recent days newspapers and radio and television broadcast were overwhelmed with news about road closures, roadblocks, arrests, calling people not to go to gatherings, and other like information. Malaysians are generally afraid of going against orders, so such information will certainly reach a certain level of scared effect.

When the date approached, the government further announced that on July 8 Puduraya Bus Station would be closed for buses from outstations, and public buses to stop operating on July 9 in Kuala Lumpur city center. Two years ago I participated in the Anti-ISA rally. With the experience about the action by the authorities, I expected that KTM, LRT and Monorail transports would encounter unexpected difficulties for the public on July 9. And it came to pass! So two other Pastors and I made arrangement to put up a night on July 8 at the vicinity of Jingwu Hill. Over at the place we lodged we had a pleasant surprise to see the Bishop from a certain denomination was there with a Pastor from one of its Churches. They will participate in the rally too! It was a full-house at the building that evening being occupied by a group of Christians who were participating in the rally, we were not alone!

Oppressed by fear

At evening we bought a night-issue "China Press", and found the heading that says "Will Arrest Everyone on Sight". That had really frightened us off. We were still flesh and blood! On Sunday 8.30 am I would be preaching in Petaling Jaya. If KL was to be declared a state of emergency on Saturday, or if there is no public transport to go home, or I was being arrested, who will take over my itinerary? For Malaysian Christian Churches, currently it is rare for making bold speech, if Pastors were to be arrested, would you get appraisal from church leaders and believers or would you be rebuked? I let the readers to judge about it! A few days ago the Federal Reserve Unit had done training with the Army, thus would they open fire on the crowd? Thousands of Malay martial arts fighters had pledged to fight with the people who joined the rally, would they deliberately cause trouble? Oh if I die let me die! If the late Rev. Martin Luther King did not come forward to confront the authorities boldly over discrimination of the Blacks, there would not be a black man President like Barack Obama today. I went to bed early that night; maybe it was an act of trying to bury my worries. I woke up middle of the night praying. Saturday morning when my eyes were opened seeing the first ray of sunlight, I felt a deep peace that had surpassed understanding. Fear no longer oppressed me! I knew God will do great things in this country now!

We go out for breakfast at Kota Raya around Sultan Street area. We saw people who were here and there, and we knew these were our fellow partners. We returned to our rooms and watched live TV coverage. Maybe it did not strike the authorities’ minds that the live broadcast had in fact become a good source of information for the rally participants to plan for strategic actions. Reports also said many people were arrested at the train stations and many were barred from getting out of the gates.

Our rooms were at a high floor which enabled us to have a bird’s eye-view on crowd movements. At 1.00 pm we saw people flock to Petaling and Sultan Streets with shouts of slogans. A Pastor and I got down and joined the crowd, and whereas another Pastor had gone down earlier. By then we lost contact with him. Our group could not break through the Hang Tuah Road which was heavily guarded by FRU police, so we turned back and headed to the Maybank Building. There, whenever we heard of an applause it was because of a large group of people been successfully breaking through the police barricade. In a short moment more and more people had converged at Pudu Road area. Our group had a lot of people, roughly estimated as at least twenty thousand people, right? People who were bold wore yellow Bersih shirts. If not, some held yellow balloons, flowers, and other yellow things instead. Most people did not dress up in yellow so as to avoid being arrested without first accomplishing our missions! Like a carnival here, we met old and new friends, regardless of race. Then who say we were not Sons of Malaysia? Who say we were not a peaceful assembly? We had three major races of West Malaysia and people from East Malaysia. I am pleased to see many young people there, including many teenage girls. Seeing those young people who had a heart for pursuing democracy would mean there is rescue and hope for Malaysia!

Tensions likened to a battlefield

Our plan was to hold a rally in the Stadium instead of a street march. Since we could not get near to the stadium we had to rally in the streets. The crowd gradually walked to Puduraya along Pudu Road. I did not know who made decisions for the lead. I thought we would make a detour to head to the Stadium by passing by the old Pudu Jail. We were forced to halt when there was a FRU barricade at Bukit Bintang Road in front of the traffic lights. We could not cross the "Red Sea" (the red helmets of the FRU police were like the Red Sea). Where is Moses then? FRU were carrying rifles, my God, we were unarmed, why they needed to heavily arming themselves? Police were stationed at back and front of the crowd as if we were in a battlefield. The police had caused unnecessary tensions in KL city center.

Soon I came to see water cannon trucks arrived at Maybank. To my previous experience at the Anti-ISA rally, I knew the police would soon launch a water cannon and tear gas attack simultaneously! I cautioned my Pastor friend to run. I believed many of us were first-time participants, and that was why they did not guard themselves against the police’s swift action. True enough, jets of water were being shot onto the crowd and were followed by sounds of bang bang bang – tear gas was fired. Many people were trapped in thick smoke, and then the victims suffered teary eyes and running noses. Their visions were hindered and they sprawled in panic trying to escape out of the messy scene. Though others who were not trapped in the thick smoke, they too were infected by the gas. We passed around mineral salts to each other and we sucked in our mouths and were thus relieved. Many used it to wash their eyes and faces. Because too many people were using mobile phones, we were unable to connect with our other Pastor friend. When we were backed to the room in the evening, then only we knew that he had encountered a miserable experience, that he was hit badly by water cannon and gas at Maybank area. I knew how terrible it was when two years ago how I was hit by them at Tuanku Abdul Rahman Road inside the mall. So let me express my empathy to all of you who were victims at the 709 Bersih Rally.

At about 2.20 pm, it began to rain, it was quite heavy, but we said it was God who helped us because the rain will extinguish the smokes. Yes, the police had indeed stopped firing tear gas by then! And water from the water cannons was lchemical-laced which would cause irritations on the skins. Now the rain water had helped to flush off the chemicals, Hallelujah! Some people wanted to leave for shelter when it rains, but we heard voices shouting, "Do not be afraid, and do not run away!" People then stood in the rain and some others even sat down on the road. The rain had made us more encouraged! We were sand-witched in between by the police at Pudu Road.

The rain was getting heavier, when it was the heaviest, water cannon trucks, police trucks and the FRU sped down from Bukit Bintang junction. The crowd fled for their lives, dashing to the nearest place they could hide. My friend and I fled into the small lane next to Tung Shin Hospital. Almost immediately we carefully moved back and peeped. The atmosphere was too tense, and police were moving up and down Pudu Road. Water cannons and tear gas were fired, and even hospitals were not spared. Many people had fled intoTung Shin Hospital and Chinese Maternity Hospital. As police were hunting for the participants in the hospitals, some of them risked their lives by scaling wire-barbed walls and in order to cross to the other side where I was. We helped them. I got numbed, and I thought why in the world the police wanted to treat us like criminals and terrorists? What wrong had we done? We were peacefully people who just wanted to make petitions for a fair and clean electoral system!

Marched by five-star hotels

More people had joined us at the lane. Some guys asked and directed us to go to Bukit Nanas. Some people were being dispersed by the attack just now and they did not get to connect with us again, but we still had a long queue of people, say, maybe at least 10,000 people, right? We're really marching in procession now, and this was not our original plan. We passed by residential areas, Ampang road, and Raja Raja Chulan Road. Wow, there were so many five-star hotels and commercial buildings along the way, and the procession had attracted many foreign tourists, staff and the passers-by. They stood outside their buildings, and many of them were busy taking pictures and videos! That was definitely one more way God was helping us! Those spectators would certainly spread the news back home. As we marched we repeatedly shouted slogans such as "Bersih Bersih, Pilihan Raya (clean clean, general elections); Bangkit Rakyat (Rise up People)." At this time, many police had just looked on, there were no actions from them, and perhaps they did not want the tourists to see the negative image of the Malaysian police force, right?

Finally, we marched to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) Square, next to the Twin Towers. It was already 4.00 pm. We all sat down, and several leaders gave their speeches for about 20 minutes. Suddenly the police pounced on the people from KLCC side, and everybody rose up and fled. Many people were arrested! This time people were scattered in different directions. So the people dismissed themselves. Wow, our group had walked 20 kilometers, right? By now my Pastor friend and I had to walk back to our room before we headed off to the KTM station.

We only came to know about the situations of gatherings in other places later. If we estimated that there were 50,000 people on that day, it was not something exaggerating. If not because the authorities had used all means and avenues to suppress the rally, we could have several fold more in the crowd.

I got home at 9.00 pm. After a shower, as I sat down relaxing, I felt a cleaner atmosphere that was engulfing Malaysia. One of the major achievements of the rally was the elimination of fears in most of the hearts of Malaysians. Those who did not participate would be inspired by the big crowd, and subsequently they were awakened! Malaysians will be more positive now in upholding the Federal Constitutional right in freedom of assembly. The success of the Bersih 2.0 Rally was just the beginning, now the real mission is to pursue on in making sure that the Government get the 8-point petition done. For any electoral candidates, it is only a true victory when their seats were won through fair and clean elections. It was clearly the People Power that had enabled the success in this rally. I knew my involvement in activism is worthwhile. I had contributed a little effort for the sons of Malaysia. And now I can also tell my children that I cared for their future, and I took to the streets for my next generation!