| I am proud to be Malaysian Posted: 10 Jul 2011 12:52 PM PDT  This was my inaugural march, it will not be my last. I wasn't paid to go. I guess that's why the red-shirts show fizzled out. Perhaps there wasn't enough money thrown around? By May Chee Chook Ying On Friday, after checking into the Swiss Garden Hotel at around 5 pm, I sent an sms to my good friend, Kim, which said: "Just checked into the Swiss Garden Hotel for my second honeymoon. Going for a picnic tomorrow at 2pm at Stadium Merdeka. Please pray for all of us gathered there, that everything will be peaceful." When asked whether he wanted a room with single beds or one with a king-size bed, we were requested to check into the Residence after my husband asked for the latter. Later, we took a stroll down Bukit Bintang Road and I was rather surprised at how things have changed so much. I do go to Pavillion once in a while, but I've not strolled down the street of Bukit Bintang since my varsity days back in the early eighties. It's kind of sleazy now. I've since told my kids not to go there on their own! After taking our dinner at the cafeteria in Lot 10, my husband and I went to Pavillion. After half an hour, we made our way back to the Residence. I was dead beat as I'd been awake since 4 am, leaving Malacca at 5 am for KL, my second home. Since there would be a lock-down at 12.01 am on Saturday, I had to get into the city before then, hence the necessity to book a room at the Swiss Garden. Just before I knocked off that Friday night, my husband read to me a posting on Haris Ibrahim's blog about a 75 year-old Pak Mat who had to do what he thought was his duty despite pleas from his wife. My husband's voice quivered and it was choked with tears even before he reached the end. I think I fell into a slumber then, but my sleep was interrupted now and then by sirens somewhere in the background. The next morning, my daughter who kept watch at our other home in TTDI, smsed us to say that the Swiss Garden Hotel was amongst those hotels raided. She couldn't join us because she was on standby with the Urgent Arrest Team of lawyers. I
had quite a good sleep, considering that I woke up only after 8 am that Saturday morning when I usually am up and about after 6 am on most days. We checked out at 12 noon, then headed for Bukit Bintang again for our lunch. On our way to Lot 10 to use the washrooms, we saw the press and some burly Malay guys loitering around the shops opposite McDonald's. Most of them were sitting on the pavement outside shops that had closed for the day. That was around 1 pm. We met a friend's daughter who was there with a colleague. They were covering the event about to unveil, supposedly at the Stadium Merdeka. We told her we would follow her. However, after a second visit to the washrooms, we lost her. Three patrol cars then, came and lined-up across the road facing McDonald's. A short distance away was a pick-up truck with guys on top of it. They were throwing red shirts with the
word "Patriot" emblazoned across. Many Malay guys then went towards them from all directions, catching those shirts and putting them on. Some stall operators also went forward to collect the red shirts. I overheard someone saying that for the red-shirts, they had police escorts but for the yellow-shirts, they were rounded-up. I didn't see any patriots, just saw goons! After hearing hostile words blaring from a loud-hailer, we decided not to follow this group. We, then, moved forward, stepped into a side lane to continue our journey. I prayed for direction as we moved along. We, then, turned right and lo and behold, we saw a group walking towards us, but away from Stadium Merdeka. We crossed the road, stepped in line with them, not sure why we were heading in the opposite direction. I nudged my husband to ask someone where we were heading. A tall, bespectacled guy said, "Don't ask me anything. I know you want to ask me something." That was quite funny. I wanted to laugh out loud but thought better of it. Another 2 guys were ahead of us. My husband approached the taller one who said, "We are going to Dataran. The Stadium was just a red herring." I thought that made sense. We exchanged pleasantries. The tall one asked us why we were there. My guess was we looked like tourists. I replied, "Because I'm a Christian." Both of them then shook our hands and said, "We,
too." I wanted to add, "Because I'm Malaysian and my fellow Malaysians shouldn't have to walk alone." I actually joined the "Bersih for fair and free elections" march out of a sense of guilt, especially after reading the holy book which reiterates this: "Fear is a bad advisor; it turns cowards into violent people. God comes to the rescue of the person who
confronts the crowd for God's sake. The fear of acting is an insult to God." To me, not to join in this march of justice would be an affront to the God I love so much. To me, to just watch as others march for the truth would make me out to be a plain empty vessel, all talk and no action. To me, to let my fellow Malaysians shoulder this alone would be sheer irresponsibility on my part. I, too, am Malaysian, I told myself, and I can do this! So, I said to my husband, "Let's march." Of course, he was game. He, too, loves God just as much, if not more than me. He loves his fellow Malaysians, too. As we approached the Hentian Puduraya, I saw my friend's daughter again. She had been teargassed. The crowd was now going in the opposite direction, yet there was no panic. I saw a Malay boy rubbing his eyes. Both his eyes and face were inflamed. I handed him a pack of tissues. He took a piece and returned the rest. I told him to keep it. That made him smile. Later, as calm set in, we started to move towards the Hentian Puduraya again. This time, with me was a kakak from Penang. We struck up a conversation. She said, "Kita tidak boleh berundur. Dia orang tak tau kita betapa susah." To which, my husband replied, "Saya tau, saya boleh nampak." Kakak is in her sixties. She walked slowly, aided by her daughter at her side. There was also a regal-looking Chinese man behind me. He limped along with a walking stick. He could easily have been 70, yet he was unaccompanied. Their courage put me to shame. Kakak was really cute. When Dr Tan Seng Giaw came, she nudged me aside. She wanted to shake his hands. She was blind, colour- blind! I lost sight of kakak after a series of teargassing. I even lost my handphone, while running away from my fourth or so shot of teargas. It was a disaster waiting to happen. I was texting and updating my kids and my friend, Kim, now and then. While my husband did the shouting, I texted. At the foot of the slope below Tung Shin Hospital was a small compound where we took a breather. Before that we were teargassed left and right. That was when some of us ran towards the hospital. Someone shouted to us to just run through and not stop. I prayed like crazy. I pulled my cap down, covering my eyes as I ran, beside my husband. We decided to leave a bag of supplies back at the Residence when we read that police were checking backpacks. So, we were without towels and salt but we had water. The pain was sharp but momentary. My husband remarked that my eyes weren't so bad. That was when a young Malay man offered my husband some salt. I took a pinch though the pain had somewhat subsided. We saw an old Malay man beside the young man. He was rubbing his eyes with a towel. Both of them had really inflamed eyes and faces. My husband poured water onto the old man's towel, then gave the young man the bottle. He washed his eyes and face, then returned the bottle to me. I told him to keep it. He asked, "Auntie, bagaimana?" I told him I still have another bottle, so it was ok. Then another teargas came. We had nowhere else to run to except up the slope into the hospital. It was still raining and the slope was slippery. However, two knights in shining armour in the guise of a Malay man and an Indian were at the top of the slope to help us up. We went into the hospital where we managed to use their washrooms. We hung around in their waiting lounge for awhile and decided it was not safe to remain there, too. As we were leaving Tung Shin, we saw Irene Fernandez, seated in her wheelchair, surrounded by 5 youths. We asked if she was ok, to which a girl laughingly said, she was better than the rest of them. Irene was smiling throughout. Nothing was
going to get her down! My husband cautioned them to move along and not be the last one to remain behind. We watched from the balcony when someone shouted it was alright now to go down. They, as the police and the leaders of the movement, were negotiating. So, down we went. At that point, we were at the junction where a lane to the left led to the Church of St. Anthony. Some young boys opted to sit down on the road while "they" negotiated. Then we were told to occupy only one lane, the one further away from the hospital. We were told the police will let us through if we did that. So, we happily obeyed and even sang the NegaraKu. At all times, we obeyed. When it was calm, we were told to move slowly, which we did. When someone shouted something out of the norm, we were told not to aggravate, to which the shouting ceased. We were well-behaved, all of us were. After a good ten minutes of waiting, I heard a young Malay man say, 'Jangan-jangan kita ditipu lagi. Mereka selalu menipu!" So young and so disillusioned! I felt almost sorry for him. Where's Perkasa now? This young Malay man surely does not believe he's a "Tuan". He has no faith in those purportedly fighting for his interests. He's so lost! To my left, another two young Malay men washed their faces, then, rolled out their mats to pray. I, too, said a little prayer, that God will protect His little ones from all evil and harm. Suddenly, we saw water gushing towards us. They were firing cannons of chemical water at us. Like the teargas, this water was targeted directly at us. They meant to hurt. How could they? As we ran towards St Anthony's, I saw another 2 young Malay men kneeling down to pray on my right. They would not know what hit them. Poor guys! My husband told me then, when you write about this, don't forget to say that our government betrayed us! He was rather emotional when he said that, was rather angry, too. As for me, I felt really sad. I make it a point to remind my kids now and then, to always forgive others; to always give them more than a second chance. I believe that everyone deserves more than a second chance. I don't know if he would throw me a punch at me if I said that, then! Guess things don't always work that way. At the gate of St. Anthony's, the caretaker was already unlocking the gate for us. He ushered us to the back gate to escape. On the way, we saw a grotto where we stopped to pray and asked Mary to intercede for us to her Son for protection. We had to cross over a 2 feet-high brick fencing to get to the back gate to escape. I heard a loud thud. Some one had fallen. It was my beloved husband. Running away from teargas and water cannons was a breeze for him but he had to fall as we strolled through the church. The rest of the people there were shocked but not me. I had to stifle my urge to laugh because
it was just like him to be injured over silly stunts. He jokingly wanted to shout, "Police brutality!" I had to shut him up. We were already laughing for I knew we were already safe. How can we not be safe in the house of God? By the way, my husband's right cheek, elbow and shin now bear some scratches due to that fall. He's telling his friends that it was all worth it and that he would gladly go through it all over again. It took us another three minutes to reach our hotel. In fact the whole charade happened just down the road. It was about 4 pm then. We changed, logged onto the net to see what was happening elsewhere when suddenly the police in front of the hotel dispersed. We went across the road to get some drinks from the 168 store. They ran out of coke. A Malay man overheard us telling each other to go to the mamak shop instead. He told us they were sold-out, too. He, then, added that business was brisk and could have been better. He disputed the government's version of how business could have been badly affected by the gathering at the stadium. Honestly, that was how I saw it, too. Had we been allowed to picnic on the Stadium Merdeka grounds, how can business in the city not be better. We would have to buy our stuff from the stores here, in Bukit Bintang
Road. Business would have been roaring! This was my inaugural march, it will not be my last. I wasn't paid to go. I guess that's why the red-shirts show fizzled out. Perhaps there wasn't enough money thrown around? Like I said, I wasn't paid to go. I paid a lot to go. Someone paid with his life. He, you goons in the government, is the patriot you'll never be. You goons now stand responsible for his death. I am proud to be Malaysian because of someone like Baharuddin Ahmad. Though words cannot describe your loss, my dear Rosni Malan, your beloved husband's death will not be in vain. You and your family will be richly blessed for generations to come because of his selfless love for his country. He died for his country, he died for a stab at free and fair elections. Like I said, he will not die in vain. We, the rest of us, will see to that. I am not just proud to be Malaysian. More than that, I'm truly proud of my fellow Malaysians. May God bless you all.
|
| Malaysians Passed The Test, Brilliantly! Posted: 10 Jul 2011 12:38 PM PDT 
M. Bakri Musa I would have thought that after the debacle of 1997 with the grossly inept handling of the reformasi demonstrations, and again a decade later with HINDRAF, the UMNO government would have learned a thing or two on how to deal intelligently with dissent and public demonstrations, two inherent features of a democracy. My expectation is not unreasonable, if not heightened, considering that we are today dealing with essentially the same characters in the administration. [Due to last Saturday's Bersih 2.0 event, for this week only, the serialization of my book, Malaysia in the Era of Globalization, is switched to Wednesday, and my weekly essay to today (Sunday). My usual pattern will resume next week.]
A remarkable thing happened this past weekend. To many, the event on Saturday was nothing more than a massive public demonstration that capped a long brewing confrontation between those advocating "fair and free elections" and those who deemed that our elections are already so.
As with any fight, the drama was played out long before the event, and by the time the actual battle took place, the participants had long forgotten the original issue. Instead, now the preoccupation is who blinked first, who outsmarted whom, and most of all, who lost and who won. These then become the new overriding divisive issues, eclipsing the original one.
The losers would return to their corner with their new resolve: "Next time!" And the battle continues; they never learn! There were plenty of losers this weekend but few winners. The winners may be few but their achievements scaled new heights.
To me, this weekend was one of those moments (much too frequent, I hasten to add!) that test our nation. This time however, Malaysians acquitted themselves well. The same cannot be said of the Najib administration.
If this was an academic exercise, I would grade the performance of Malaysians as represented in Bersih an "A," while the Najib Administration flunked badly. So dismal was its performance that the Najib administration should have no recourse to a remedial course or supplemental test; expulsion is the only option.
Terrible Trajectory
I would have thought that after the debacle of 1997 with the grossly inept handling of the reformasi demonstrations, and again a decade later with HINDRAF, the UMNO government would have learned a thing or two on how to deal intelligently with dissent and public demonstrations, two inherent features of a democracy. My expectation is not unreasonable, if not heightened, considering that we are today dealing with essentially the same characters in the administration. Most of the ministers who were in power during the reformasi and HINDRAF (now dubbed Bersih 1) are still there in Najib's cabinet.
Obviously they, individually and collectively, have a flat learning curve. They are incapable of learning. There is a clinical term for that, but since this is a lay article I will resort to street lingo: idiots.
Their flat learning curve is even more incomprehensible considering that the consequences to them were so severe. The 1997 reformasi mess resulted in Barisan being thrashed in the 1999 elections, with Najib nearly being kicked out of his safe seat in Pekan that his father had held for many years.
The price escalated with Bersih 1.0. The general elections of 2008 saw Barisan being humiliated with an unprecedented loss of its two-thirds parliamentary majority, along with five states, including two of the most developed: Penang and Selangor.
I will let readers plot the trajectory as to the consequences of this weekend's mess should the next general elections be held soon, as is widely predicted.
The iconic image of the reformasi debacle was of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar's battered face; that of Bersih1.0 was of Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin frothing at the mouth, babbling incoherently in front of the international news media trying to justify his government's brutal suppression of its people. It was a classic demonstration of that uniquely Malay mental malady, latah (verbal diarrhea). It was also a display of amok, another peculiarly Malay affliction, albeit in this case only of the oral variety.
The iconic image of Bersih 2.0 was refreshing; that of its leader Ambiga Sreenivasan, former Bar Council President, serenely leaving the Istana after an audience with the King. The symbolism could not be overstated, for the Najib Administration had earlier declared her organization illegal! Only those retarded would miss the message, and they are precisely the types we are dealing with here.
Winners and Losers
My award for courage and excellence in Berseh 2.0 goes to those brave Malay masses who defied their government, their imams, and the party that had long proclaimed and presumed to speak on their behalf. In taking a very active part in a movement led predominantly by non-Malays, those Malays showed that they are no longer trapped by tribalism; they had escaped the clutches of chauvinism. There is now no going back.
This significant milestone is not acknowledged, much less appreciated. However, leaders who ignore this do so at their peril. For aspiring Malay leaders, it is now no longer enough for you to display your nationalistic zeal or ethnic instincts. You have to articulate the issues that matter most to the Malay masses: fairness, honesty, and justice, in elections and on other issues. I would also add competence. Those incidentally are also the concerns of all Malaysians.
Yes, there was a time when you could garner Malay support by justifying that the victims of your corruption, injustices and unfairness were non-Malays. Those days are now long gone; get used to it! Malays now realize that while in the past those victims may be mostly non-Malays, today they are increasingly Malays too.
The comforting corollary to my observation is that those capable non-Malay leaders would be assured of Malay support, if they were to address the central issues facing the masses.
Yes, Bersih 2.0 had strong non-Malay support especially abroad. Unanswered is whether a similar movement with equally noble objectives but with predominantly Malay leadership would garner the same enthusiastic support from non-Malays. If reformasi was any indication, the answer would be a reassuring yes.
I am especially heartened by the responses of Malay NGO leaders like Marina Mahathir. When Najib, and others who took their cue from him, began demonizing Ambiga by maliciously injecting ugly racial and religious accusations, Marina unambiguously and passionately defended Ambiga. Marina was of course all smiles and gentleness, as is the traditional halus (fine) Malay way, but there was no disguising her contempt for such odious tactics and their purveyors.
The biggest loser was of course the Najib Administration, specifically Najib and his fellow UMNO ministers. Their inanity was typified by Home Minister Hishammuddin complimenting the police for keeping the peace and stability. Yes, with the streets blockaded, stores closed, and citizens bludgeoned – the 'peace' and 'stability' of a prison "lockdown." That was KL all week leading to last Saturday.
The conspicuous silence of other Barisan leaders was noted; that reflected solidarity not out of courage but cowardice. In contrast, even UMNO Youth defied Najib in declaring that it too would stage a counter demonstration.
Despite its defiance, UMNO Youth was also the loser, together with that ultra-Malay organization led by has-been politicians and past-their-peak professors, Perkasa. Good thing that the government had banned their leaders from KL; at least they had a ready excuse for their dismal performance.
The list of losers is long; there is little merit in mentioning more except for just this one, and I do so with profound sadness. A few weeks before the event, all the mosques in Kuala Lumpur, including the National Mosque, were warning their Friday prayer congregants of the evilness of those who led Bersih 2.0 and the sin that would befall those who would participate in it.
At a time when our community is divided, as with this central issue of fair and free elections, I would expect our ulamas and religious leaders to be our healers, to bring us together, to be the balm to our collective wounds. Instead they became only too willing instruments of the state with their canned state-issued sermons demonizing those who saw merit in the objectives of Bersih 2.0.
Obviously to the thousands of Malays who took part in Bersih 2.0, including one particular old man in his jubbah who had to be helped to walk, those characters cloaked in their flowing robes standing at their mimbar every Friday noon are less pious ulamas to be revered but more propagandists for the state to be defied. They may be Imams, but to the thousands who took part in Berseh 2.0 last Saturday, they are carma imams, to borrow National Laureate Samad Said's term. Carma is the Malay contraction of cari makan, seeking a living. Idiomatically it refers to those who prostituted their honored craft or profession.
Those GI Imams (Government-issued) have flunked their test; there is no remedial course for them either. That is one of the great casualties of last Saturday's event. For those carma imams, there is no corner they can return to or hide in. |
| The day I was tear-gassed by my Government Posted: 10 Jul 2011 12:28 PM PDT 
The Sarawak contingent was led by YB Baru Bian and YB See Chew How. By Being Vernon Even as I write this, the after-effects of being exposed to tear gas earlier today are still lingering; a throbbing headache and slight nausea. Yes, I sucked on rock salts to neutralise the tear gas, I covered my face with a wet towel and I wore a mask. But being a 'virgin activist', it was all a very real shock for me and more so to my system. We began the day by assembling at the entrance to Petaling Street around 11.30am. Huge crowds were already gathering and soon enough, the signal came for us to begin marching. The Sarawak contingent was led by YB Baru Bian and YB See Chew How. The pictures below were taken at the start of the march, around 1pm.
We marched peacefully and chanted "Bersih! Bersih! Hidup Bersih!". We reached the junction in front of Menara Maybank, where we were joined by throngs of people coming from Bukit Bintang on the right.
As these pictures incontrovertibly reveal, the streets of KL were NOT quiet as suggested by the state-controlled mainstream media. In our vicinity at Puduraya alone, I estimate at least 10,000 people. Nevertheless, the mood was joyous yet orderly. Marshals were posted at various points to keep the crowd moving at a steady pace. It really was very safe and almost carnival-like. There were even tourists joining us and cheering us along. It also began to drizzle lightly.
This video of the thousands who thronged Menara Maybank was taken by Paul Bian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=&feature=player_embedded Minutes after I took these pictures and Paul shot the video, the horror began.
The police began shooting water cannons. People began to move away from the police line, but it was still orderly as the marshals began re-routing us. And then suddenly canisters of tear gas began flying through the air. That was when all hell broke loose. People began running. As the canisters were shot from way up front, I didn't think they would reach us. So we stood our ground and tried to take pictures of the flying canisters. Then suddenly one canister flew right over our heads and landed just a few feet from where we were standing. That was when we began to run. But it was too late.
Paul Bian had already taken out his towel and soaked it in water and wrapped it around his face. Lynette and I were just too shell-shocked by the whole spectacle. Baru was busy trying to organise everyone. So we just ran! The gas got into our eyes and into our noses. We made a mad dash for the ramp leading down to the basement of Puduraya Station, the closest escape route we could see. It was frightening! I reached for my left pocket and fumbled for the packet of rock salts Lynette had distributed earlier in the day and popped a few stubs into my mouth. Big mistake! More gas got into my lungs. Panic had set in and all we could think of was just getting away from the tear gas. I managed to cover my face with a towel. All this while running! As we reached the ramp, another canister fell right in front of us! We just ran right through the toxic smog which was thick and horrible. Just horrible! I kept pouring water over my face with one hand while the other hand was desperately trying to shield my nose from the noxious fumes as I put on and adjusted my face mask.
When we finally got to the safety of the basement, we were coughing our lungs out! Breathing was difficult and for a moment there I thought I was going to suffocate to death! Our eyes were stinging and it felt like someone was spraying acid into our eyes! My nose was runny and my mind was racing! What if they shot more canisters down the ramp into the basement? What if the exit was blocked and more canisters were on their way from the other side?
Finally, after about 15 minutes, the panic had dissipated and we settled down to take stock of the situation. YB See Chee How and several others had been separated from us in the chaos. Now the Sarawak contingent was well and truly dispersed all over the place.
All around us, people were helping one another and offering rock salts and mineral water bottles. It was amazing and heartening to see various races united in one cause and looking out for each other. I tried to tweet but apparently there was no internet connection.
Lynette Tan Ping, Baru Bian and Paul Bian
We began to move along with the crowd, and found refuge across the street at Tung Shin Hospital.
Internet connection was restored and so I began tweeting again, and sending bbms. We took more pictures as we rested and planned our next move on how to get to Stadium Merdeka, the rallying point.
I began updating my facebook, and then...
The police began firing tear gas canisters into the grounds of the Tung Shin Hospital! So we ran again! Read more at: http://beingvernon.blogspot.com/2011/07/day-i-was-tear-gassed-by-my-government.html |
| The Day I Walked for Electoral Reforms Posted: 10 Jul 2011 12:19 PM PDT 
As I was running past the gates of the hospital, I saw two tear gas canisters hurtling towards me from the skies. By the time they landed, I was already some distance away. Out of nowhere, this brave guy ran towards it with a yellow cloth. While running, he bent down and wet the cloth in a puddle of water, then proceeded to wrap the canister with the cloth and diffuse it. Another guy did the same thing with another canister and threw it down the drain. It was freakin' awesome!!! By Kavi It was Friday, 8th of July. Packing lightly, my friend dropped me off at work. I was nervous and excited the whole day as Twitter was buzzing with the main topic being the proposed Bersih 2.0 Rally on the next day. When my working hours were over, I walked from my office to the Bukit Jalil LRT station and headed towards the Bandaraya LRT station. The air was calm, almost too calm. My fellow passengers sat down and looked at each other and smiled. I didn't know who was for Bersih, and who wasn't. Upon reaching my destination, I checked into my hotel along with Padma, Jo Ling and a bunch of other activists. This hotel was very near to Sogo. Raaja joined me in my room sometime later at night and we prepared ourselves with talks on how to handle possible agent provocateurs in the rally and making jokes about certain pea-brained politicians to ease the growing sense of worry. Truth be told, we were all scared and do not know what's going to happen on Saturday. Tweets were already circulating on how the police were raiding hotel rooms looking for Bersih supporters. 9th July 2011. We woke up early to have breakfast and we ate while whispering to each other the plans of the day. Some people who newly followed me on Twitter asked me where I was and what was my plan – I couldn't breathe a word of it because you'd never know who's that person really – it could be those freakin' cybertroopers or worse, Special Branch moles. I kept with neutral answers and by then it was 10am and time to move out. We came out the hotels in parties of two and naturally, Raaja was with me. We headed out of the hotel and walked around a bit, to survey the situation. Police has started cordoning off the streets and instructing the public to move away from their barricades. And herein comes the most comical moment of the whole episode. Knowing that we stuck out like sore thumbs in an area filled with Arabian and Indian nationals, we headed into Haneefa Textiles and into the saree department. We each bought a saree from the clearance bin and walked out of the building. Our plan was to tell the cops (if they stopped us) that we're here in KL shopping for a wedding and the saree was proof. **facepalm of the highest order**  Thank you, Mr. Haneefa! We followed an Indian family (they looked like tourists) until we were behind Sogo, and then we managed to get to the Bandaraya LRT Station. We boarded the train and got down at Plaza Rakyat then proceeded to walk towards Central Market. It was there when I planked on the sidewalk (coz I promised Bong and Bumi that I'd do it).  Taxpayers' money! YEAHHH!!!  Planking - Indian style (Hands out in front) Just before we reached Central Market, I called Adzliyana (Yan) and found out that a bigger group was having drinks at the Cafe Petaling in Swiss Hotel. So Raaja and I backtracked and Yan was there to wave at me excitedly. I just burst into a big smile as I saw Yvonne, Aiyook, Zul, Fathi, Ahmad, Naim, and Raja there. I also met a bunch of new friends there (I'm sorry I couldn't remember your names here, peeps). I had a drink and spent some time exchanging racial stereotype jokes with the boys (as usual) and we laughed around, trying to mask our shaky knees as knew the hour of reckoning is close at hand. We then started moving along Petaling Street till we reached the crossroads of Jalan Sultan and Jalan Petaling. That's when we saw a group of lawyers in suits walking and we followed behind them, straight along Jalan Petaling. We reached the junction to enter Jalan Stadium and were greeted by a police blockade, complete with barbed wire. The lawyers began to engage the police while Yan, Fathi, Ahmad, Naim and I planked (in defiance of the cops) while Yvonne took a picture (at the time of writing, it got more than 7000 views).  Mass Planking Yan then suggested we move towards Kg Atap and so we did. We sneaked into a stall to have some drinks and plan our next move once we saw a Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) truck parked there. That's when Puvanan joined us. After refreshing ourselves, we moved back to the barricade at Jalan Stadium and stood with the crowd contemplating our next move. We then decided to move back to Jalan Petaling when we spotted a huge crowd there. Twitter updates informed us that Cental Market was under siege by the cops and this only made our resolve stronger. We converged with the crowd and moved into Jalan Sultan towards Jalan Pudu where the Maybank building stood. Out of nowhere, people began joining us from alleyways and before we knew it, we were inside a large crowd moving towards the Maybank building. Zul unfurled his Sarawak flag and we marched on as the crowd cheered "BERSIH! BERSIH!". The atmosphere was electric, to say the least. It was then when I got my first taste of the tear gas. Loud bangs were heard and I saw the canisters fall into the crowd about 100 metres away. That was enough to bring a sting to my eyes but I managed to brush off the effects with a bit of water. The crowd didn't let up, though. We pushed on into Jalan Pudu and spirits were still high. I got separated from everyone but I managed to rejoin Puvanan and Raaja. It was then when another barrage of tear gas was fired into the crowd but I was too far behind to feel the effects. Shout of BERSIH, Reformasi, Bersihkan Pilihanraya were going on non-stop. The tear gas made the crowd disperse for about 5 minutes before they converged back and continued chanting. I was feverishly tweeting the updates and sending a couple of snapshots to share.  Can you give me directions to Merdeka Stadium please? Then we sang Negaraku and my heart was beating fast. No because of the fear, but because of the camaraderie. The marshals were there managing the crowd and we were in high spirits. When I turned around, Aiyook was standing right beside me and I hadn't noticed! We started cheering and the crowd was relentless as well. Then it started drizzling and that's when we thought, THANK GOD! Now the tear gas wouldn't have any effect! The rain then slowly started to become heavier and from nowhere, Padma and Jo Ling were there! We hugged and congratulated each other and started to move deeper into Jalan Pudu, towards Berjaya Times Square. Then I heard the crowd cheering and I turned around to see my friend Vickna pushing a wheelchair. And in that wheelchair, sat none other than Irene Fernandez! With permission, I took her picture and tweeted it. Looking at her, there on a wheelchair, braving the weather and the tear gas with fellow Malaysians, gave me a huge boost and lifted my spirits sky high.  Shades. Never out of style. Then the rain fell hard, and I had to store my phone away in a plastic case. At that time, I was near the Tung Shin Hospital carpark building. Quite timely, as it was then when another barrage of tear gas and chemical water spray fell. This time the gas hit me hard. Smoke all around me, and a brush of chemical water on my back. My eyes were almost blind from the tears and I couldn't breathe in or out. My lungs had spasms and I was coughing uncontrollably. I lost my friends and I was running aimlessly. It was then when I reached a pillar some distance away and leaned onto it, all the while coughing and gagging. Someone shoved a bottle of 100Plus mixed with salt into my hand and shouted "MINUM! MINUM! Kasi pass around!!!" (Drink it! And pass it around!) I took three gulps of it and my energy returned. I could breathe and the rain helped wash off the sting. A good Samaritan was holding out a bag of salt and shouted "GARAAAAMMMM!!!! GARAAAAAMMMMM!!!". I walked up to him and grabbed a pinch of salt to eat. Just as he appeared, he vanished into the disoriented crowd, helping others in need. By the time I found Puvanan and Raaja, they were safe. Puvanan and I put our phones in plastic and into Raaja's bag. It was right after that when another round of tear gas was fired and the crowd panicked. I ran with Puvanan and Raaja got split up from the group. We saw the police spraying chemical water into the car park building. Then the rain stopped. The crowd was segregated. A old man, dressed in plain white tee and slacks and a white skullcap looked at me and said, "Kita ni bukan orang Malaysia ke? Salah ke kita tuntut pilihanraya bebas?" (Aren't we all Malaysians? Is it wrong for us to demand free elections?) By then Puvanan and I took some time to catch our breath at the Chinese Maternity Hospital carpark. There, we met YB Ravi (ADUN Port Dickson) and YB Sivakumar (ex Perak State Assembly Speaker). The situation appeared calm so Puvanan and I went back to the roads where YB Sivarasa Rasiah was engaging the police. Once done, he came to us and addressed up on the update. It seemed that the police had relented and allowed us to march, on the condition that it is done peacefully and only on one side of the road. We were all squatting there, listening to him while the members of Unit Amal PAS were all around passing the info and keeping order. There, Puvanan and I met Durai and Danny and we were elated.  Our Muslim brethren performing their solat outside a church. (Photo by Danny Kumar) The sun began to shine brightly. The crowd began to gather back. Danny read out a report from Malaysiakini saying that we'd be allowed to march. Three guys behind us, dressed in long sleeve shirts, black slacks and leather shoes, were too reading out some positive news. We were jubilant. That's when the most horrifying scene struck. The police shot tear gas at the gathered crowd. Puvanan, Danny, Durai and I, along with countless other, ran helter-skelter. It was all so sudden. We felt cheated. They fired WITHOUT warning. They made us gather and they screwed us big time. Expletives were heard. I cussed as I ran towards the Chinese Maternity Hospital car park. I managed to see the police chase the front-liners and beat them before arresting them. It was there that I saw probably the most epic act at the rally. As I was running past the gates of the hospital, I saw two tear gas canisters hurtling towards me from the skies. By the time they landed, I was already some distance away. Out of nowhere, this brave guy ran towards it with a yellow cloth. While running, he bent down and wet the cloth in a puddle of water, then proceeded to wrap the canister with the cloth and diffuse it. Another guy did the same thing with another canister and threw it down the drain. It was freakin' awesome!!! Read more at: http://myseedstories.com/the-day-i-walked-for-electoral-reforms/ |
| Why did I join Bersih 2.0? Posted: 10 Jul 2011 11:46 AM PDT 
Yes, if we are not satisfied with the current government, we can always vote them out in the next general election. But how are we going to do that when our election is not as free and fair as we think? By by Lukas, frustrated electorate Bersih 2.0 is the first demonstration of my life. Before this, I had never dreamt of joining a demonstration to voice my opinion, and I never believed demonstrations could change anything. Now, what made me change my mind? The first Bersih demonstration, demanding for free and fair elections, was held in 2007. It was a historic event as about 50,000 Malaysians marched to the King's palace to hand over the reform memorandum. Malaysia was stunned by what Malaysians could do. It was an unthinkable event before this. The demonstration's success led to the opposition taking over 5 states in the 2008 general election. The series of shocking historic events opened up my mind. What was impossible before was possible now. Frustration was the deciding factor for me to join Bersih 2.0. It has been more than 4 years since the 2008 political tsunami hit Malaysia. I thought BN would wake up after the shocking election results and start listening to us, the Rakyat. But things did not change at all. Promises were made every now and then, but none fulfilled. Campaign after campaign had been launched, but most were just merely show and tell. The Rakyat's money was not spent wisely with mega projects. Worse, there are certain parties in Malaysia who tried to stir up racial tension among Malaysians, and nothing was done by the government to stop them. I am just tired of our leaders who don't walk the talk. And I believe a large majority of Malaysians are tired of their lies and empty promises as well. We are the new generation of Malaysia. We are the 2.0 generation. We know how to judge and decide what's best for us. Mainstream media's propaganda doesn't work with us. Yes, if we are not satisfied with the current government, we can always vote them out in the next general election. But how are we going to do that when our election is not as free and fair as we think? This is not something new. In 2007, Bersih had been demanding for electoral reform. The 4 reforms – use permanent ink on voters, remove entries that are no longer valid such as deceased people, the abolishment of postal votes and equal access for all candidates to print and broadcast media. The 4 points demanded by Bersih were valid. The points did not require the EC to revamp the entire electoral system. But after 5 years, the EC has not done anything to reform the electoral process. The current system favors certain parties. It helps them to stay in power. Hence, no matter how the rakyat tries for change through the ballot box, BN will still stay in power. To change Malaysia for the better, we first need to tackle the root problem – fix the electoral process. By reforming the process, then will Malaysia be a true democratic country. A country will only develop and move forward through democracy. And this is what the Rakyat is demanding. But why is it so hard for the authorities to understand this? Why are they so reluctant to reform? Bersih 2.0 is only demanding 8 points of reforms – clean the electoral roll, reform the postal ballot, use inedible ink, free and fair access to media, minimum 21 days of campaign period, strengthen public institutions, stop corruption and stop dirty politics. Why is the government not on the Rakyat's side? The Government should be taking care of the Rakyat. And does it make sense if 1Malaysia is about "Rakyat didahulukan, pencapaian diutamakan"? So if the authorities are not listening to us, what should we do? We take it to the streets. Hence, Bersih 2.0 rally was held on the 9th July 2011. Since our voices were not heard by anyone, we marched peacefully on the street to send out a clear message to the authorities. Do not undermine the power of the Rakyat. We are the new generation and we do not keep quiet when something is completely wrong with our country. I hope the authorities got the message now and will start fixing the electoral process. More than 50,000 Malaysians went down to KL on 9th July for the rally. Ignoring us will just anger us even more. I plead with the EC to start looking into this matter and the government to push the reforms for the Rakyat. It is s not our choice to choose street demonstrations to convey our message, but it is the authorities who gave us no choice. If our demands were answered before 9th July, there would not have been a Bersih 2.0 march, and I would have been sitting at home and reading a book. |
| Someone Did Win on July 9th Posted: 10 Jul 2011 11:23 AM PDT 
I went to the rally as a spectator. I returned a believer. And I had ice cream with the FRU. By Charis Ding I went as an individual rather than as a supporter. Whenever asked throughout the day, I told people "I just wanted to see what's going on". And that was the truth. In the weeks leading to it, I was undecided whether to support the rally. Right up to yesterday I couldn't decide. But I knew I didn't want to stay home or watch from a distance. I didn't want to just follow the news online. I had to see it with my own eyes. So I decided to do a walkabout, and I thought perhaps it would take being there to help me make my stand. And so as I was there I considered myself an observer – a reporter. The police presence at the Pasar Seni area was overwhelming. In front of Central Market, four or five blue trucks in a row. Tension on the streets. It was eerily quiet. On Petaling Street, I walked past a small sized aunty in a yellow shirt (: I overheard her words to a few young boys around her – "We must stay united" she said - "that's why we must wear yellow, to show we are united". I smiled as I passed. I saw that the flower shop was open and bought a bunch of daisies. There was tension in the air, the sense of waiting for something to erupt. At Masjid Jamek, there were more policemen than civilians. I took note of their batons, their weapons. The air was oppressive. I caught myself seeing the men in uniform as the antagonists – weren't they on the other side? But then I realized they were supposed to be our friends. It is their job to protect people like me. I sat with the other people from various media. On the side of the road leading to the stadium, huge intimidating FRU trucks were lined up. POLICE barricades. After a while hanging around, I decided to wander across those borders. Some of the police, leaning against their truck, looked straight at me. I smiled, they smiled back. Phew. I walked by a bunch of intimidating looking FRU people staring at me. Right across the road from Dataran Merdeka, I stole a picture of one of them leaning on the back of his truck. He called me over. We chatted. It's tough, he said. They've been here and there all week, hardly with any sleep. Staying watch to make sure everything's alright. Sometimes they sleep in the trucks. They were there until the wee hours of the morning yesterday, and came back early in the morning. If he could, he'd rather just have a quiet Saturday, stay at home, watch TV. I nodded because I understood. I spoke from my heart – it shouldn't be this way. We should all be friends … we are friends. Apa nak buat? There is always a chance of those who will cause trouble, he said. Don't hang around here, he advised. It's not that safe today. A motorcycle tried to pass, carrying packages in plastic bags. Not wanting to distract him or get him into trouble, I took my leave. Told him to jaga baik-baik. He said "nice to meet you". I started back across to the other side. Halfway, I came across a bunch from the FRU surrounding an ice cream man, buying ice cream in buns. "Ais krim!" I kinda exclaimed. I was beside myself. "Ambik lah", they said. "Which one do you want? Cornetto?" Just realizing that I had pretty much imposed upon them to belanja me ice cream, I said – "Takpe takpe, saya beli sendiri". "Takpe, bayar sama sama" – one of them said. They insisted I pick one. "Where you from?" – they asked in English. "Here", I said – "saya orang sini saje". They laughed, "oh, ingatkan orang jepun!" As we stood around with our ice creams, they asked me who I was. Did I come for the rally? "saya cume seorang gadis biasa" I said. They found that very amusing. "jangan-jangan ada t-shirt kuning dalam beg tu". I laughed – "tak de lah…". Then what was I doing there? "Saje mau tengok", I said. "cume ingin tahu". "Baguslah tu", he said. "But you shouldn't hang around today, it might not be safe". I asked them, "Apa khabar?". "Ok", they said. A bit tired, they hardly had any sleep. Ada rase tension? "Tension tu, sikit-sikit mesti ada lah". We finished our ice creams, and I said goodbye. "Jaga diri", I said. "Jumpa lagi". I just had ice cream with the FRU. Right after I crossed the barrier there was a commotion and the media was running towards where I had just came from. They were apparently mobilizing. About twenty minutes later, I was in the middle in front of the Maybank Tower with the throngs of people on my right and the FRU line on the left. The crowd had just gathered, they weren't even moving forward yet. The FRU shot water cannons. It was unprovoked. Then the gas came. When it hit, I couldn't see, I couldn't breathe. And it hurt. I grabbed some water from my bag and washed my face with it. I covered my face with my baju. In the chaos, one, two people offered me salt. "Makan", they told me. It really helped. I crumbled and sat on the corridors for a minute, eyes and nose watering. I got up and kept walking, now amongst the people. Some looked me in the face, Chinese ladies speaking in Mandarin, Malay men in Malay, they seemed shocked and concerned. I must've looked a mess. "Are you ok?", they asked me. I tried to smile and nodded. Soon, people started running. From a distance I saw the men in dark blue chasing the marchers. So many of them. People were running down the hill slope at the Maybank Tower compound. Nowhere to run, they jumped down the hill from some height, scampering across the streets. I ended up in Pudu, watching the marchers and listening to their shouts of "Hidup Rakyat!". When we had to run later, at one point it was tricky to escape and we had to climb a railing at Pudu station. In the huru-hara, the man beside me, instead of just climbing up himself, was yelling to his friend – "Tolong amoi ini dulu!" He seemed more anxious for me than he was for himself, or even I was for myself. Then it started to rain, and I thought – God Himself has intervened. Once more, I had brothers who were concerned enough to ask me if I was ok. I followed the crowd and met some young men who had come all the way from Pahang for this. We ended up in front of the Chinese Assembly Hall, where a huge crowd had gathered. The police formed a human barricade, arms crossed, and barbed wire at the entrance of the road just a short distance from the Stadium. A. Samad Said came and talked with the policemen. Such a frail man, but so strong. We sang Negaraku … and we sang it from the heart. We dispersed soon after. I heard someone asking others to kutip sampah before we left. Retreating, suddenly part of the crowd broke into a run. There was a big group of police chasing from behind. Just as soon as we wanted to run instinctively, others said jangan lari … bertenang. Relaks saja. And we all calmed down again. It was like that the whole day – anytime there seemed to be a chance for rowdiness or chaos or violence, the people themselves would calm each other down, keep things in check. Meeting up with my friends who were in the KLCC group, we exchanged stories. My friend Jagadev was at the frontline. He had been hit by teargas seven times that day, and he has a battle wound from where a canister hit his leg. But the bulk of what we spoke of wasn't of hatred or anger – but a sense of passion, of new hope, and of solidarity as a people. "It seems we've got pretty decent people", I mused as a passing comment. I didn't know how true it would turn out to be but it was immediately confirmed. So many stories. My friend, caught in the rain, had a Malay man hand her some papers for her to cover up from the rain. Hit by the full brunt of the tear gas, Jagad, along with a few others, stopped to help a man who had fallen down. He was heavy, too. When someone tried to shout, incite others and burn a Patriot t-shirt, the rest immediately stopped him, silenced him and removed him from the group. We are a decent, civilized people. What we experienced that day - Malaysia. Later on at dinner with a different group of friends, the conversation was about our nation. This was rare. In the fifteen years I've known them, I don't think we've ever talked together about politics, or our nation, or playing a part in it. At least, not like this. But that night, they said to me – because of you guys, we've decided we are going to register to vote. They too caught the passion. The unggun. They too were upset over how the government had reacted to the rally, and the statement made by the Bersih marchers is loud and clear. I think it was a statement of hope that they caught. Tens of thousands of Malaysians who went out for a better nation. It's a call that we can no longer disown or detach ourselves from, because we are in no way a lost cause. In the midst of this conversation with my friends, something amazing happened. Following Bersih stories on Twitter, we talked about how good Malaysians can be … we remembered certain events and openly admitted those from other races who have been kind to us. And we confronted our stereotypes of always painting them a certain way. A distinct thought came home to me then: Malaysia, I do love you. That night we said cheers, to a better Malaysia. By the end of the day, I discovered I referred to the marchers and myself as 'we', no longer 'them' and 'I'. It is because we were there together, as Malaysia. We helped each other and cared for each other as Malaysia. There was no political agenda with the people there – I was there, I experienced it and I know it. It was Malaysia, embracing in our hearts and our actions the hope for better government. What I experienced on the 9th of July is Malaysia. We are decent people, we are a people of quality. Those in power who are selfish or bigots or who try to divide the people – that is not Malaysia, and they are not deserving of Malaysia. Those who try to taint and politicize the beautiful events of that day, are not deserving of Malaysia. We are a people who deserve much more than that. We came out and proved that yesterday. It has proved to me, to the marchers who were there, to my friends, what Malaysia is. And so, on 9th July, Malaysia won. |
| Questions surround Baharudin's death despite police denial Posted: 10 Jul 2011 11:05 AM PDT 
(Harakah Daily) - KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 11: The family of the late Baharudin Ahmad, one of the protesters at Bersih's massive rally on Saturday whose funeral was attended by Pakatan Rakyat top leaders yesterday, has disputed claims by police that he had died of heart problems. Earlier reports said Baharudin, 56, had suffered difficulty in breathing after the police charged tear towards him to disperse crowd of people near KLCC. He then collapsed, but was denied immediate care due to ambulance being prevented from arrival. Following the release of Baharudin's body from Kuala Lumpur Hospital which conducted a post-mortem, speculation has been rife over the circumstances surrounding his death, even as Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Amar Singh, the man tasked by the force to answer questions on police highhandedness, took pains to claim that police played no role in his death.
A nephew of Baharudin, Azhar Kassim told Harakahdaily: "Four of his chest bones were broken and 3 teeth were also broken," said Azhar Kassim, during funeral services at his house in Taman Keramat.
According to Azhar, his uncle had once served in the army and then as member of the police's reserve force.
"He has no asthma, heart problem nor diabetic, he only had high blood pressure. He was healthy," he added. As press time, the hospital had yet to release the post-mortem findings even though the go-ahead was given for the burial.
Efforts by Baharudin's second child Nazrul also failed to retrieve the report. Nik Aziz leads du'a at Baharudin's home Baharudin's wife Rosni Melan said her husband had left home after the Zohor prayer for KLCC, while she had gone out earlier to attend the rally with her friends. Large crowd at funeral
Earlier during his funeral, there was a continuous stream of visitors, including Bersih chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan and Pakatan Rakyat top leaders. Among them were Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang, Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, vice president Husam Musa, central committee members Nizar Jamaluddin and Kamaruddin Jaafar, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, vice president Nurul Izzah, among others. Later, a long procession accompanied Baharudin's coffin to the cemetery. READ MORE HERE. |
| Terror funders under watch Posted: 10 Jul 2011 10:45 AM PDT By Terence Fernandez, The Sun PUTRAJAYA (July 10, 2011): The registrar of societies (ROS) has a new role to play – identify societies that are being used as a front to fund terrorism activities. Its director-general, Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman, said apart from doing house cleaning in deregistering dormant societies, the registrar has also been tasked with identifying societies which support subversive elements and that can pose a threat to national or global security. "The registrar is party to discussions on terrorism links to societies in Malaysia, alongside other government agencies like the Companies Commission of Malaysia and Bank Negara," Abdul Rahman said last week. He said the registrar had previously identified fronts for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and groups like Jemaah Islamiyah. However, he said the registrar is powerless when it comes to Islamic organisations as they fall under the jurisdiction of the state Islamic authorities. He said the registrar had taken part in an Asia-Pacific regional conference in March which opened its eyes to the possibility of terrorism groups using harmless-looking societies to fund their activities. "Based on experiences heard at the conference, the ROS is gearing up to monitor non-profit organisations that have been used to launder money for terrorism activities," he said. "We heard that monies are banked into individual accounts usually." Abdul Rahman said the registrar is cleaning up its rolls and deregistering dormant societies; up to 500 organisations a month. These include societies that do not hold annual general meetings for some time. The registrar receives around 2,500 new applications each year. He added that political parties were also under the purview of the registrar which had deregistered two Umno branches and one MCA branch for breaching various codes under the Societies Act. "There are 30 applications to form political parties and we are considering them. If they follow the rules, there is nothing to prevent us from approving the application." On organisations such as Bersih being declared illegal, Abdul Rahman said at times the registrar must also adhere to instructions from the Home Ministry, especially if the authorities feel such movements may be detrimental to national security. |
| It’s not just about 5,000 or 50,000, Najib Posted: 10 Jul 2011 10:24 AM PDT 
By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Even if it is the voice of one man, you listen. That man does not live alone in this world. He has family, he has friends and he has colleagues. His friends have family, friends and colleagues of their own and his colleagues have family and friends of their own. The point here is: The thousands that gathered at the capital city yesterday, whether 5,000 or 50,000, did not mean that only 5,000 or 50,000 Malaysians are aware of or support Bersih 2.0's purpose and demands. In all likelihood, many of the 5,000 or 50,000 had left behind like-minded family members, friends, friends of friends, colleagues and so on, to join this "illegal" street rally. The 5,000 or 50,000 who thronged the streets and traversed the stretch of the city centre, fleeing through plumes of tear gas and finding themselves itching from chemical-laced water, would have returned home on the night of July 9 with horror stories to tell. To their friends, family and colleagues, the 5,000 or 50,000 will tell the story of a bald man seen with a bloody gash on his head being carted away by blue-uniformed men, stories of people locking themselves together in a tight knot on the ground as policemen try to tear them apart, dragging them away in arrest and beating some who resisted, stories of men in red helmets backed by fire-red trucks standing in lines and firing gas canisters at close range and without tilting their guns. They will relate stories of the thousands of other protestors who stood together in groups, linking arms and marching on, daring to defy those who have defied them. They will describe tales of strangers becoming fast friends with one another, helping those who could not run as fast from the shower of chemical water, offering salt and wet pieces of cloth to those whose eyes were badly stung by the tear gas. They will tell the story of an elderly lady, garbed in a yellow T-shirt, holding a long-stemmed flower and bravely marching along with protestors despite the rowdiness and chaos that surrounded her. Above all, they will tell the tale of the 5,000 or 50,000 Malaysians who left the comfort of their homes on a rainy Saturday afternoon, to get gassed out and sprayed at in their own capital city, people who risked the possibility of violence, injury and arrest, just to march for one simple goal — free and fair elections. If each of the 5,000 or 50,000 who gathered had told these stories to at least 10 others, whether their family members, friends or colleagues, then 50,000 or 500,000 Malaysians would now know the truth of what transpired between 1pm and 5pm on July 9, 2011. And if each of these 50,000 or 500,000 Malaysians, in turn, repeated these stories to at least 10 others, then 500,000 or five million Malaysians would now also know what happened. No one could ever say for certain what these people would think of these stories, whether they would condemn the protestors or the cops. READ MORE HERE. |
| Malaysia's 'Ali Baba' system causes ethnic tension Posted: 10 Jul 2011 10:00 AM PDT By BBC News In the sleepy village of Kampung Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, a new Malay business class is making its mark.
Mohd Khalil, 45, is building three villas. A decade ago he didn't have any skills in the construction industry. But as part of the government's plan to help the Malay majority he received training and contracts.
"Without the government's help, I would still be working in a low paying job at a small restaurant as a cook," he says.
Today, Mr Khalil runs his own business with a staff of 40, and no longer relies on government jobs.
This is how affirmative action is meant to work, but not everyone has benefited.
The Malay majority have historically lagged behind other ethnic groups in commercial skills. Affirmative action is supposed to help them catch up - by giving Malays and indigenous groups priority in education and business opportunities.
But after four decades of privileges, they still lag behind the ethnic Chinese and Indians. According to the 10th Malaysia Plan the average Malay family earned 38% less than Chinese households in 2009. Although they represent about 60% of the population, Malay ownership of corporate equity is only about 22%.
Alternate system
Government officials blame the lack of advancement on abuses of the system.
The most common way is where a Malay company gets a government contract through affirmative action. But then the real work is sub-contracted to another company for a profit, usually a non-Malay firm which is more skilled. This practice is known as the "Ali Baba" system. Ali being the Malay, fronting a Baba or Chinese or Indian company.
We are not discouraging different races from doing business together, says Idris Jala, the minister overseeing the government's economic reform programme.
"But when you get into a condition where the Ali and the Baba get together to manipulate the social and political system to gain an unfair advantage over others and don't add value, that's when it's not OK," he says.
Deals that get subcontracted multiple times may mean the government ends up paying twice as much for projects, says Paul Low from Transparency International.
He says the contractor which ends up doing the work may cut corners if the profit margin is not high enough, causing safety risks.
"We had a school roof falling down," he says. "We had a stadium that collapsed."
The government estimates that it loses $3.3bn (£2.1bn) a year on Ali Baba deals and other abuses of the system. Social unrest?
The number is worrying at a time when the country is fighting to cut back its budget deficit, which ballooned to 7% of gross domestic product in 2009 - the highest level in two decades.
But it's the smaller Malay companies that lose out the most, failing to pick up the skills needed to operate in an increasingly competitive market.
Legitimate Malay businesses could go bankrupt if the 'Ali Baba' practice goes unchecked, says the president of the Malay Contractors Association, Mokhtar Samad.
"That will cause more economic imbalance between the races, possibly leading to social problems within the country," he says.
That fear is very real. The economic disparity between the Malays and Chinese led to violent clashes in 1969, leaving dozens dead and a state of emergency. Affirmative action was brought in shortly afterwards.
This policy of favouring the Malay majority has bred resentment among the Chinese and Indian community. But over the years, non-Malay companies have learned to work around the system using 'Ali Baba' deals.
"It's a matter of survival," says one ethnic Chinese contractor who did not want to be named because of racial sensitivities. He admits he has paid a Malay businessman to take over a government contract because the profit margins are higher. Cracking down
The government has pledged to crack down on this practice. It is planning to bring in tougher laws and enforcement to make the system harder to manipulate.
All government contracts are now posted online to increase transparency. Authorities will also ban the use of support letters from influential people, which are often used to pressure civil servants to circumvent government policies in obtaining contracts.
But those who resent a policy based on race are pushing for more, asking the government to allow companies to compete on merit alone.
That is something many Malay companies say they are not ready for yet.
Affirmative action has given birth to a new class of Malay businessmen, especially in the construction industry, says the President of the Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce Rizal Faris Mohideen.
But many have trouble securing financial backing from banks to compete for contracts in the private sector that is dominated by non-Malays, he says. That also stems from a perception that Malay companies are incompetent or unskilled to do the job.
"It is not a level playing field," says Mr Rizal.
The debate about affirmative action has often been racially polarized. But many Malay businesses know they cannot rely on the government forever.
Some who have prospered under affirmative action like Mr Khalil say decades of government assistance is enough.
"If we are given too much help then we will start getting pampered," he says.
Mr Khalil now openly competes in the private sector with Chinese and Indian companies.
The government hopes more Malay businessmen like him will venture out on their own. |
| ALERT: Guidance on BERSIH Rally (RAHSIA) Posted: 10 Jul 2011 06:46 AM PDT 
By most accounts, the Bersih 2.0 protest on July 9 could turn out to be massive and will certainly go beyond issues of fair and free elections. With over 100 political, NGO and right groups could be joining the "March for Democracy", we expect them to champion a slew of issues ranging from inflation to Teoh Beng Hock and Lynas. The protest, if not countered, could undermine the government, the economy and national security. This note sets out the policy guidance and the do's and don'ts in managing the issue. NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin Attached please find the guidance/messaging on the Bersih issue for your attention and action, where necessary. This follows the UMNO Political Bureau meeting where this issue was also discussed and that this material be circulated to all bureau members. Please note that the usual confidentiality rule applies. Please do not forward or disseminate it to unauthorised person/persons. Thank you and best regards
Head, National Communications Team, PMO ************************************* GUIDANCE ON KEY ISSUES No 8/2011
Issue: BERSIH 2.0
By most accounts, the Bersih 2.0 protest on July 9 could turn out to be massive and will certainly go beyond issues of fair and free elections. With over 100 political, NGO and right groups could be joining the "March for Democracy", we expect them to champion a slew of issues ranging from inflation to Teoh Beng Hock and Lynas. The protest, if not countered, could undermine the government, the economy and national security. This note sets out the policy guidance and the do's and don'ts in managing the issue.
Advisory
The process of mind-conditioning will continue in the run-up to July 9. The process will include:
1. Discredit the organisation and its key leaders. Bersih is neither registered with ROS nor ROC. It is NOT an election watchdog but a group of politicians and politically inclined individuals who lack credibility.
2. Label the rally as "perhimpunan haram" or "illegal assembly", and that the people behind Bersih are trouble shooters and going against the Constitution and the law to gain political mileage.
3. That they are just a front for the opposition.
4. Since DSAI is already "out of the race" for premiership, he has to resort to street protests because PR can't win GE13 through ballot boxes. He is seeking a "short-cut" to Putrajaya via undemocratic and unconstitutional means. Remind people about his Sept 16 bluff.
5. DSAI is also using this to shift the public attention away from his legal and moral woes.
6. Create anxiety that Bersih is working for the interests of foreign elements, who are out to destabilise the country.
7. That BERSIH is not bersih (clean) after all as it is an illegal group out to create havoc.
Do's and Don'ts
1. KDN Minister, IGP, DIG and Internal Security and Public Order Director to brief media editors at KDN. Use the meeting to reinforce the branding as "perhimpunan haram", that Bersih is an unlawful organisation and the perpetrators are out to create chaos.
2. KDN, which has jurisdiction over all print media, needs to exert its authority in ensuring the press toe the line.
3. Confine politicians to just making political statements. Let the police do their job.
4. PDRM can start calling up Bersih organisers based on the hundreds of police reports lodged so far.
5. Encourage the use of 3rd party validators.
6. Pre-empt chaos and disorder (fear paradigm). The "show of force" by UMNO or silat groups well before July 9 may be imperative to deter demonstrators.
7. The soundbytes in our favour MUST come from across the country and across the ethnic lines. The soundbytes should not just be confined to the Malays or those residing in the Klang Valley.
8. We must not allow the rally to be exploited by international elements.
9. As a pre-emptive measure, the authorities should stop the launch of Perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 scheduled for 19 June at the Chinese Assembly Hall. Likewise, a related Perkasa event called "Lawan Perhimpunan Bersih" at the Sultan Sulaiman Club on the same day should also be halted.
10. SPR should counter Bersih demands for free and fair elections by highlighting the various initiatives it has undertaken so far. Use the highly successful Sarawak PRN as its model. It should not meet up with Bersih people.
Recommended media treatment
1. Media to highlight stories of how businesses, retailers, tourists, shoppers, motorists and ordinary people will be affected. (July is the peak month for Arab tourist arrivals; plus the top three EPL teams will also be in town in July). Malaysia will be in bad light if the teams skip KL on security grounds.
2. Question the source of funding for Bersih.
3. The media will primarily be targeting the trio: DSAI (who is capitalising on this ahead of his July 15 Sodomy 2 trial), the newly minted PAS deputy chief Mat Sabu (who is the budak suruhan DSAI and tali barut DAP) and Ambiga.
4. We will encourage the media to use file photos of Ambiga with PR leaders to highlight her close association with them. Ambiga has the history of leading street protests when she was Bar Council president.
5. The media to use less of the same old faces (eg Zul Nordin, Zahrain, Ibrahim Ali) as "attack dogs." Try to tap fresh faces (eg BN Youth leaders, some NGOs).
6. Friendly bloggers and cybertroopers will continue to be mobilised.
7. TV stations to constantly play up images of ugly demos in other countries.
Desired outcome
1. Neutralise the opposition noise.
2. Reinforce the view that public sentiment is NOT with Bersih and the opposition.
3. Send a strong message that the government is full control of the situation, that it will not tolerate trouble makers and those who undermine the rule of law.
4. No apparent adverse impact on investor confidence or Malaysia's political risks.
17 June 2011 |
| My Bersih 2.0 Experience Posted: 10 Jul 2011 06:32 AM PDT 
RANTINGS BY MM 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. READ MORE HERE |
| BERSIH 2.0 overcomes the police state Posted: 10 Jul 2011 06:26 AM PDT 
NEW MANDALA We fear UMNO no more! Malaysians and their supporters gathered in capital cities around the world today in Bersih 2.0 Global solidarity walks as the Opposition leader in their home country lay injured after a violent government crackdown on a peaceful Kuala Lumpur call for electoral reform. An estimated 50,000 Malaysians took to the streets of KL in defiance of a government ban and even as Bersih 2.0 leaders were arrested. Helicopters hovered over the capital amid heavy rains and Federal Reserve Unit troops blocked KL's main arterial roads, but Malaysians proved unstoppable in their determination to stare down a belligerent government that had disallowed and demonised a public gathering for free and fair elections. They staged an advance-retreat-advance street strategy against a massive police and riot squad presence, sustaining tear-gas and water-cannons attacks, overcoming roadblocks and the cancellation of all public transport across Malaysia's richest urban centre. Tear-gas canisters were also fired into Tung Shin Hospital in Jalan Pudu, KL, as riot squads targeted marchers who kept trying to avoid the roadblocks. Developments in the violent state crackdown on the peaceful Bersih 2.0 rally were relayed to crowds across the world via Twitter, Facebook, mobile phones and wi-fi driven laptops and iPads. PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar told New Mandala, "Malaysia is effectively a police state," speaking after the riot squad attack that left her father, Anwar Ibrahim, injured. Australian state capital cities were among the first worldwide to answer the clarion call to support the second Bersih rally in KL; the first was held in 2007. More than 750 Malaysians and their supporters in Victorian capital Melbourne were the first Down Under to hold their Bersih 2.0 rally. By day's end, Sydney, Canberra Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane saw politicians, union officials, Singaporeans and friendly NGO representatives add their voices to the widely embraced KL call to return democratic integrity to Malaysia's electoral system. Malaysian anti-Lynas campaigners from Kuantan on Malaysia's east coast joined the Town Hall rally in Sydney's Town Square, which saw nearly two hours of speeches, personal stories, skits and music on a wintry but sunny mid-afternoon. As Australians joined hands with Malaysians, the Bersih 2.0 Global roll call drew in Geneva, London, Cork (Ireland), Paris, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Jakarta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC. Bersih 2.0 leaders said at least 50,000 people took to KL byways, alleys and lanes, many pouring out of hotels they had booked into days ahead to avoid having to manoeuvre past blocks on arterial roads. National laureate A. Samad Said, arrested mid-week and later released, said at Merdeka Stadium that their rally was a "great success". "I have never seen all the races in Malaysia so united for one cause before," Samad said. Anwar Ibrahim was hurt in the head when tear-gas canisters were apparently fired directly at him. Daughter Izzah said her father had "sustained head injuries, receiving urgent medical attention". "The FRU had fired tear gas canisters directly at him, and I fear for the worse," Izzah said soon after the attack. "YB Khalid Samad underwent six stitches at the back of his head after being hit by a tear-gas canister. They were all in the tunnel at KL Sentral in Brickfields. "It was a blatant show of brute force by the police, under orders of the Minister for Home Affairs and the PM. "Malaysia is effectively a police state." "All my sisters, my mum, my husband were with me – concerned citizens who will continue the fight alongside so many courageous others to ensure we realise a truly fair, clean and transparent election system." Another Bersih 2.0 walker who survived the attacks said: "I am enraged. We must vote out UMNO-anchored Barisan Nasional. "They are liars and cheats. There is nothing honourable about them. READ MORE HERE |
| Patriot pledges to continue protecting national sovereignty Posted: 10 Jul 2011 05:51 AM PDT 
(The Malay Mail) - The Patriot group will always be firm and uncompromising in facing any attempt by traitors to threaten national sovereignty, said one of its senior leaders, Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim today. Abdul Azeez, who was among those detained with Umno Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin when the Patriot group opposed the street demonstration at Bukit Bintang yesterday, said the aim of the Patriot group was not merely to participate in the street demonstration but as a protest to any group trying to create chaos in the country. "Our struggle is to defend the Istana Negara and Merdeka Stadium from being tainted, and most importantly, we want to face those who are going against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and our beloved country. "Patriot is always firm, if there are any group wanting to challenge the national sovereignty, we will be in the front line and we will assemble hundreds of thousands of youths if necessary," said Abdul Azeez. Besides Abdul Azeez and Khairy, others who were detained yesterday included Umno Youth assistant secretary Datuk Megat Firdaus Megat Junid and Umno Youth Exco member Lokman Adam. |
| WIKILEAKS: 9th Malaysia Plan: ambitious agenda and challenging implementation Posted: 10 Jul 2011 01:00 AM PDT 
Non-government economists support these goals publicly but deplore them in private. Some challenge the reliability of the government's data. For example, a significant amount of publicly listed shares are held under nominee accounts, many of which are bumiputera-owned, but the government considers all of them non-bumiputera. Others decry the added cost of business the NEP policies place on private investors and the disincentive they pose to FDI. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin 
SUBJECT: 9TH MALAYSIA PLAN: AMBITIOUS AGENDA AND CHALLENGING IMPLEMENTATION REF: 2005 KUALA LUMPUR 03692 Classified By: Economic Counselor Colin Helmer. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY 1. (C) Prime Minister Abdullah recently unveiled the Ninth Malaysia plan (9MP) which envisages spending RM 220 ($60 billion) of government and private development funds during 2006-2010 and targets an average economic growth rate of 6.0%. 9MP identifies five key areas, such as improving Malaysia's human capital, becoming a knowledge-based economy, and investing in key infrastructure, in which Malaysia must improve to achieve its goal of becoming a developed industrialized nation by 2020. Analysts are confident that the infrastructure projects, projected rate of economic growth, and some technology projects will unfold as planned, but deem projects in other areas, such as education and agriculture, to be unrealistic. While laudatory in their public comments, Malaysian economists we have spoken to in private are disappointed with the plan. They also question the GOM's ability to implement the reforms needed to attract a higher level of foreign direct investment. 9MP calls for Malaysia's private sector to take the lead in further developing the country, but our sources doubt Malaysian leaders will give private industry the freedom to transform the economy. Prime Minister Abdullah views 9MP as his top economic initiative, is aware of the challenge of implementation and is taking steps aimed at improving follow up. End Summary. Five Key Thrusts 2. (U) The 9MP lays out five broad goals that Malaysia is to meet by 2010 to keep on schedule for the "Vision 2020" goal of becoming an industrialized, developed nation by the end of the next decade. The economists with whom we met agree that these goals are well laid out, pragmatic, and correctly describe the path Malaysia needs to travel. They are: to move the economy up the value chain; to raise the capacity for knowledge and innovation and nurture a "First Class Mentality;" to address persistent socio-economic inequalities constructively and productively; to improve the standard and sustainability of quality of life; and to strengthen institutional and implementation capacity. Show Me the Money 3. (U) The 9MP will provide about RM 220 billion (US$60 billion at RM 3.65=$1) of government and private development spending during 2006-2010. Approximately 40% of this is allocated to what the GOM defines as economic programs, 40% to social programs, 12% to security and 8% to general administration. Funding for the subsectors that follow will come from either the social or economic segments of 9MP. Although the 9MP budget is 17.6% higher than the previous plan, 35% of 9MP's budget is earmarked for finishing up 8MP projects that were not completed during the last five year plan. 4. (SBU) About 23% of 9MP funding will be devoted to infrastructure and utilities development projects, an increase of 21.2% over the 8MP. As compared to Mahathir-era plans with their large infrastructure projects, PM Abdullah chose to cut the pie into many small projects so that more construction contractors might participate. According to Dr. Yeah Kim Leng, Managing Director and Chief Economist at RAM Consultants Group, the GOM conducted cost/benefit analyses to identify projects that would produce a higher return on investment. This apparently was not done in the past. 5. (U) Although human capital development has been one of Abdullah's stated priorities, and despite media reports suggesting education was one of the big winners in the plan, education and training will receive only about 20% of the total budget. This is about the same as in the preceding 5-year plan (8MP) developed by Abdullah's predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad. New initiatives include strengthening the national (public) schools so that they become the "School of Choice" for all races in Malaysia. 6. (U) Agriculture, one of Abdullah's favored sectors, will receive about 6% of the funding -- a 70% boost over 8MP. However, 9MP sets a goal of transforming Malaysia into a net food exporter by 2010, which outside analysts believe is impossible given control over land use by the individual states and the higher returns from land uses other than food and livestock production. Biotechnology will get 1%, 2.5 times more than it received in 8MP. Ambitious Growth Targets 7. (U) In its last five-year plan, the GOM projected an average economic growth rate of 8%, but the actual rate during 2000-2005 was about 4.5%. In the background to the 9MP, government analysts place partial blame for the shortfall on the U.S.: "Global growth slowed due to a decelerating United States of America economy, and dampened electronics demand, exacerbated by the attacks of September 11, 2001. Overall economic performance remained sluggish until the second half of 2003, weighed down by the invasion of Iraq and the regional outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome." 8. (C) The government is targeting a more modest average annual growth rate of 6% during 9MP. The economists that we interviewed (a mixture of academics, investment advisors, consultants, and think tank researchers) voiced a variety of opinions about that target, with Yeah of RAM asserting, "this is eminently achievable." Dr. Mohamed Ariff of the Malaysia Institute of Economic Research presented a study to the GOM where he argued for a 5-6% growth rate as opposed to the 7-8% that many ministers supported. He maintains that it is better to aim lower than to fail to meet the target. The chief economist at CIMB agrees that 6% is within Malaysia's grasp. Wong Chee Seng, chief economist at ECM Libra Securities, is much more negative, saying "The government will not meet its targets. It moves too slow." University Malaya professor Andrew Sheng (formerly chairman of the Hong Kong Securities Commission and Bank Negara Assistant Governor) disagrees. Looking at regional growth estimates from the International Monetary Fund, he wonders why the GOM did not set the growth bar higher. He believes that Malaysia should link its growth to China and India by exploiting complementary business opportunities. Seeking Private Help 9. (C) The 9MP calls for the private sector to lead growth, aided by the public sector in its role as facilitator and regulator. Our economic contacts agree with this idea, but observe that it will require a significant increase in private investment, both domestic and FDI. Under 9MP, the GOM projects private investment to grow at an annual rate of 11.2% and public sector investment at 5% -- rates that are inconsistent with recent trends. Under the 8MP, private investment actually contracted about 1% each year. Changing this situation would require the GOM to give the private sector more freedom from regulation and control than its socioeconomic objectives for the bumiputera (ethnic Malay) community currently allow. For example, the current requirement that 30% of equity and employment be reserved for bumiputeras is a significant investment disincentive. As Yeah put it, "Why would you want to do all the work of setting up a business in Malaysia only to have to turn 30% of it over to someone else?" 10. (SBU) One of PM Abdullah's signal economic achievements has been to shrink the government's budget deficit, now down to 3.8% of GDP. 9MP appears likely to slow further progress on deficit reduction. According to Wong, Abdullah concluded that too many people depend on government contracts to keep applying the screws to expenditures. At the end of the 9MP, the overall federal government fiscal deficit is forecast to be RM 107.6 billion, or 3.4% of GDP, assuming the government can meet its growth targets. The majority of our contacts are not overly concerned with this change in fiscal stance. Sheng argues that it is reasonable for a developing country such as Malaysia to pursue deficit spending on infrastructure projects that will generate growth. The difficulty in the past, he says, has been large public projects that do not offer a good return on investment. Ambitious Development Goals 11. (U) Some examples of the sort of investment that University Malaya's Sheng sees as positive are biotechnology research, ICT infrastructure (such as high-speed internet and more training in schools), and development spending on tourism. Sheng sees these as high-growth projects with the potential to leverage more investment and business for Malaysia in the future. Pointing to India and its back-office outsourcing, Sheng asks, "Why shouldn't Malaysia be able to offer similar services at a competitive price? We have the education, English language, and with this type of incremental investment, we can do business with New York via the internet." He is similarly enthusiastic about the plan to promote the tourism sector, which in 2005 drew 16.4 million tourists and generated RM 32.4 billion (US$ 8.8 billion) -- 80% more than export earnings from palm oil, six times more than rubber, and only 30% less than the oil and gas industry. 12. (C) Some of 9MP's ambitious goals are so lofty as to appear unachievable in five years. For example, the plan calls for Malaysia to increase the percentage of university professors with PhDs to 60% from the current level of 20%. Time and resource constraints, coupled with the fact that highly educated workers can do better elsewhere, make achieving this goal unlikely. As Wong of ECM Libra noted bluntly, "I tell my children to stay in New Zealand. What opportunity does a Malaysian educated abroad have here?" 13. (C) Some of the agriculture goals seem equally unrealistic. For example, the government proposes to increase rice production by approximately 50% by 2010. According to Ministry of Agriculture Deputy Secretary General Zulkifli Idris, the prime minister pushed for sharp production increases to benefit Malay farmers in the politically sensitive northern states. Traditionally, Malaysia has grown about two-thirds of the rice it consumes domestically, importing the remainder from low-cost producers like Thailand and Vietnam. Although the cheap imports allow the GOM to maintain low fixed retail prices for urban and rural consumers, the government loses money on every ton of rice produced domestically: it pays direct subsidies to farmers while Bernas (the government-linked monopoly rice importer and the main marketer of domestically produced rice) buys locally produced rice at a higher price and sells it at low, government-fixed retail price. Working-level contacts indicate that the sharp rice production increase in 9MP is unrealistic, and Zulkifli admitted as much in his statements. Nonetheless, the planned investment in such areas as improved irrigation, mechanization, and farmer organizations in the northern states will likely have a political payoff for Abdullah. NEP Rides Again 14. (U) With the publication of the 9MP, Prime Minister Abdullah also went firmly on record in support of maintaining the National Economic Policy (NEP). The NEP was introduced in 1970 with the goal of transferring at least 30% of Malaysia's equity and wealth to bumiputeras through affirmative action policies favoring the Malay majority's participation in the economy. The NEP was initially intended to have been completed in 1990, but when the target was not met the government replaced the NEP with the National Development Policy (NDP). With 9MP, Abdullah has pledged to continue these policies through 2020 with the hope of finally achieving the 30% goal. 15. (U) The 9MP will try to raise the bumiputera equity stake to 20-25% in 2010 from 18.9% in 2005. The plan also seeks to narrow the income gap between bumiputeras and ethnic Chinese from a ratio of 1:1.64 in 2004 to 1:1.50 in 2010, and between bumiputeras and ethnic Indians from 1:1.27 in 2004 to 1:1.15 in 2010. It also sets a target of halving the country's overall poverty rate from 5.7% in 2004 to 2.8% in 2010, and completely eliminating "hardcore poverty" in 2010. 16. (C) Non-government economists support these goals publicly but deplore them in private. Some challenge the reliability of the government's data. For example, a significant amount of publicly listed shares are held under nominee accounts, many of which are bumiputera-owned, but the government considers all of them non-bumiputera. Others decry the added cost of business the NEP policies place on private investors and the disincentive they pose to FDI. Implementation - GOM versus Private Industry 17. (U) Since the 9MP roll-out, the government has generated a steady media buzz about the importance of effective implementation of the plan. Abdullah has publicly promised to fire any civil servants who get in the way. But the GOM and industry have different ideas of what constitutes good implementation. The GOM has announced that 9MP will feature better governance, world class project management, increased due diligence, less corruption, and speedy disbursement of funds. In a recent speech, Effendi Norwawi, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Economic Planning and Abdullah's point man for the 9MP, explained that the GOM wants to work in partnership with the private sector. He emphasized Abdullah's personal commitment and noted the creation of a new agency, the National Implementation Action Body (NIAB) to monitor the performance of agencies implementing major projects under the 9MP. Abdullah will head the organization, with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak as deputy chairman and ministers with specific 9MP authority sitting on the council. It will meet every two weeks and, according to Effendi, Abdullah will be demanding progress reports. 18. (C) The prime minister's own office is set to receive a large allocation under the 9MP. Although there is no detail as to how the funding will be spent, 9MP sets aside RM 26.5 billion (13.2% of the total) for Abdullah's department - a threefold increase over 8MP (RM 7.3 billion and 4.3%). The public spin on these figures is that the resources will enable the prime minister to focus on his key goals and move the process along. In private, however, economists voice concern over the potential for abuse of funds. 19. (C) When the private sector talks about good implementation, they hope the GOM will remove the mass of government red tape and regulation that increases costs and scares away investment, both local and foreign. Minister Effendi himself related a story about a hotel venture that required 73 different licenses before it could open. Some took so long to obtain that the operator needed to repeat the application process because they only lasted for a year. Yeah detailed a similar process in Penang, saying "at least at the international level, there is MIDA to be one-stop shopping for the licenses. A Malaysian investor must deal with both state and local regulations and the government needs to move to change this quickly." But few economists believe that the GOM will move decisively to cut red tape and reduce its economic meddling. Sheng compared Malaysia to China: "In Shanghai, they were trying to take some business from Hong Kong and the manufacturer asked if they could move his product from China to the distribution point, including customs, in 24 hours. Shanghai's mayor was able to make this happen. Would that be the case in Malaysia?" Economists Not Overly Optimistic 20. (C) Comment: Successful implementation of the 9MP is Abdullah's top economic priority, but the economists we surveyed are not optimistic that he will be able to achieveall his goals for the plan. While they see some good initiatives, they do not see bold steps that would lift Malaysia back up to the growth rates of the late 1980s. There is a sense of urgency in both the senior levels of the government and among senior economists that Malaysia is at a crossroads. Wong suggested that, "there are two camps in the government, the ones who see that if we do not make changes that we will settle into second class and the others who are happy with the way things are." Sheng, in a presentation to senior business leaders, government managers and economists, argued that Malaysia was in a similar situation as the U.K. and Japan in the early 1980s. The U.K. was not doing well and opted to open its financial sector to bring in FDI and investment. Japan, in contrast, tried to hold onto its manufacturing lead and did not open to foreign investment. He suggested that Malaysia might want to examine how the two nations are faring today and consider its options. End Comment. LAFLEUR |
| Anwar warns Najib of popular revolt Posted: 09 Jul 2011 10:31 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider PETALING JAYA, July 10 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told his rival Datuk Seri Najib Razak today to carefully consider the tension on the ground in the aftermath of the chaotic Bersih rally yesterday instead of covering up the situation with lies. After a bruising clash between police and demonstrators yesterday which saw 1,700 arrested, one dead and scores including himself injured, the opposition leader accused the government of lying over the number of protestors and making the false claim that no one was hurt. Speaking at a dialogue with young professionals today, the opposition leader was asked if Malaysia was about to experience a "Hibiscus Revolution", a reference to the national flower. "We have no confidence left in (the government), so it is important for Najib to consider seriously, we are close (to a revolution)," Anwar said, adding that racial tension was also simmering. The PKR de facto leader told reporters later that it was time that Najib "listen and not be so arrogant with the use of brute force. The people have become impatient. They have submitted memorandums, they have even gone to see the king. What else can they do now?" Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said yesterday evening that only 6,000 attended the rally for free and fair elections and no one was hurt but Bersih claimed an attendance of 50,000 and several Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders were hospitalised after yesterday afternoon's events. Bersih has also blamed the police for the death of Baharudin Ahmad, the husband of Setiawangsa PKR division chief Rosni Malan, who was said to have died because the police had withheld medical aid from Baharudin after he collapsed while running away from tear gas and water cannon fire. READ MORE HERE. |
| Bersih wants Suhakam probe into police conduct Posted: 09 Jul 2011 10:26 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has urged the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) to investigate the alleged use of excessive force by police against Bersih protesters yesterday. "What took place yesterday should not have happened," she said after visiting the family of Baharudin Ahmad, who died yesterday after collapsing during the rally. "I have already spoken to Suhakam and they will take further action." PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu said he too is considering taking legal action against the police for allegedly knocking him over while riding pillion on a motorcycle headed towards Masjid Negara yesterday. He reportedly sustained injuries to a ligament in his right knee during the incident and was seen sitting on a wheelchair at Baharudin's home here earlier. "The police acted brutally by hitting, kicking (protesters) to the point where one was suffocated to death from the tear gas. This shows the Third World standard of our police," he said in reference to Baharudin's death. Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, said the chaos seen yesterday could have been avoided if the police had given protesters "two or three hours" to disperse. "This... shows that the Najib administration is primitive and uncivilised," he said. READ MORE HERE. |
| Electoral Reforms, Good Governance and Statesmanship Posted: 09 Jul 2011 10:13 PM PDT 
By batsman Sometimes it is the small things that matter. When talking about big things like electoral reforms, good governance and statesmanship, the critical things are in the small details. Too often people do not grasp the details and therefore find it hard to express themselves well. They know something is wrong, but they are unable to pinpoint the problem. Lets us discuss statesmanship. When our Prime Minister accuses an electoral reform grouping of threatening national security because it has given up hope of achieving free and fair elections through institutional channels and feel compelled to make their case through a public demonstration, the Prime Minister himself gives a fiery racially tinged speech to hysterical silat exponents on the eve of this public demonstration. In terms of statesmanship, it is similar to a Hutu call to arms. It is very similar to lighting the fires of Hutu – Tutsi hatred in Rwanda that bypassed the police and army. Not only are ordinary Tutsis endangered by such incredibly retarded brinkmanship, the moderate Hutus are also threatened in the hundreds of thousands by the fires of racial genocide. As if control over the entire police force is not enough. As if control over the entire army, navy and air force is not enough. The Prime Minister seems to be trying to ensure his personal position by preparing hysterical silat exponents in reserve. Such a non-statesman then accuses an electoral reform group of being a threat to national security for planning a peaceful rally. As a consequence the police force locks down the capital city causing grid locked traffic jams, and eventually tear gassing and water cannoning peaceful demonstrators calling for democratic electoral reforms. Such is the quality of statesmanship of our Prime Minister. Instead of being more like King Mohammad VI of Morocco, the PM seems to be trying to be more like Gaddafi of Libya. Instead of being more like Mandela, our PM seems to be trying to be more like Netanyahu. Such is his quality of statesmanship. It all seems to be in the fine details of character and decision making. Judge for yourself how much alike the treatment of Bersih 2.0's peaceful struggle is to the treatment of Palestinians struggling for their rights - Put Palestinians on a Diet (Residents of KL are punished by a blockade of KL in order to blame Bersih 2.0 for threatening national security) and Discourse on Palestinian resistance(Israel's use of violence is a constant just as Malaysia's tear gassing of peaceful demonstrators is a constant). Of course the level and acuity of struggle is not the same but in principle, the suppression meted out to people struggling for their rights is very similar. Somewhere in the articles in the Guardian and Al Jazeera linked above, there is mention that it is not possible for an oppressed people to initiate violence. This is an important detail which many people cannot express accurately. Bersih 2.0 is not the oppressor. How can it be the oppressor when the Prime Minister controls the police force with their tear gas, water cannons, batons, steel tipped boots and if needs be, rifles and guns? The Prime Minister also has control over the army which does not need tear gas and water cannons, but have high powered guns and real cannons in plenty. As if these are not enough, according to Bersih 2.0's complaints, the Prime Minister also controls the judiciary, the civil service and the mass media which are all biased in a party political manner. On top of all these the Prime Minister also finds a willing and hysterical audience amongst silat exponents ready to back up the police and the military as the 3rd defence force in reserve. Against all this raw brute power is tiny peaceful Bersih 2.0 headed by a frail woman from civil society and the PM accuses Bersih 2.0 of being a threat against national security. This is not only bad statesmanship but bad governance. If this is the quality of governance that comes from a bad statesman who whether competently or incompetently, consciously or subconsciously courts racial genocide, Malaysia it seems is heading for failed stateship. Electoral reforms are a necessity for a truly united Malaysia as opposed to a Malaysia ruled by narrow racist Malay nationalism for the last half a century. All the institutions of the state have been compromised by racism and narrow Malay nationalism. Without free and fair elections, a free and fair media, a neutral civil service, police and judiciary which have no interest in which political party wins the elections, Malaysia cannot be a truly united country. Suppression of electoral reforms is bad for the country, yet people who seek to suppress electoral reforms give themselves the appellation "Patriots". This is really turning things on their egotistical heads. This is a classic example of bad governance made to look good by a compromised media controlled by the Prime Minister and his cronies. Malaysia seems to be a country ruled by dirty tricks and too much dirty tricks such that dirty tricks have now run riot and no one is able to control them any more – from dirty elections to dirty frogs to dirty sodomy charges to dirty videos to dirty TV stations, to dirty press to dirty judges and dirty policemen to dirty MACC officers to dirty EC officers, not least dirty politicians. Such small details need to be expressed and expressed well. It is really sad to read reports of survivors of the Bersih 2.0 rally saying things like "we tried our best and gave it our best, but eventually it is the masses of people in the rural areas mind controlled by the media which is controlled by the cronies of the Prime Minister who will decide the future of the country". Somewhere in this statement is the important realization that the struggle for electoral reforms is linked to a wider struggle for good governance and eventually to the struggle for a Malaysian leader who is a good statesman. This realization should bring hope, not sadness – so I am not going to be sad. Somewhere in Bersih 2.0's struggle for electoral reforms is the seed of a truly united, truly peaceful and dynamic Malaysia, not the Malaysia controlled by narrow racist Malay nationalism with people purposefully manipulated and divided by racial and religious hatreds. Malaysia will not be a Rwanda. |
| WHY DID THE POLICE SQUEEZE THE BERSIH CROWD TOWARDS THE PATRIOTS? Posted: 09 Jul 2011 09:35 PM PDT 
Why did the police push the Bersih crowd from Pudu into Bukit Bintang, knowing very well that their adversaries were up in arms there. Shouldn't the police and FRU start their purported peacekeeping advance from the other end of Jalan Pudu and move the Bersih crowd away from Bukit Bintang if the avowed red shirts were in Bukit Bintang with no agenda whatsoever save to counter the Bersih march? By K. Jeyaraj I was there at the Maybank- Jalan Pudu junction midday on 9th July together with thousands of fellow Malaysians. The true spirit of Malaysian nationalism, irrespective of creed, race, religion or wealth, was immensely seen and felt, ironically marching against a government which shields itself by slogans including the multibillion dollar 1 Malaysia propaganda. There was no violence whatsoever, no provocation whatsoever by the civilian marchers. The police and FRU fired water cannons and tear gas unilaterally and indiscriminately. We all ran helter-skelter. My eyes and face burned. The anxiety caused difficulty in breathing. An elder Malay lady and my Chinese friend offered me a towel and water. Recovering, the crowd gathered again peacefully but was pushed into Jalan Pudu in front of Pudu Raya by none other than the police and FRU. The crowd became sandwiched between the advancing FRU from Menara Maybank and their fellow marchers from the direction of Bukit Bintang. Indiscriminate firing of tear gas continued. Where else could the crowd go but jump down into the Puduraya basement floor, many risking a 5-8 feet fall. Sheer survival instincts made me and many others run into the compounds of the Tung Shin Hospital as there was nowhere else to go. The FRU and police from the Maybank junction had now advanced to the end of the Puduraya building. Behind the crowd there was another band of police and FRU blocking the crowd's retreat. I imagined the police were at the Bukit Bintang junction to prevent any advance to the stadium. As would a river find diverse outlets when blocked, the crowd seeped into little alleys and in between roads. I too scaled an opening in the fencing of Tung Shin hospital to escape the advancing police and FRU. The painful memory of tear gas was fresh and prompted my run. Then we found ourselves at Jalan Alor moving towards Bukit Bintang. A huge battalion of police and FRU could be seen near Federal Hotel. Having no alternative, the crowd moved the other way, which would reach
Bukit Bintang from the other end. My friend and I wanted to leave and walked in the direction of the Pudu LRT station, knowing we could neither go to the Puduraya station nor the Hang Tuah station. We were stopped by police who asked us go home. What clever advice when we were entrapped?! By then we could see the band of red t-shirts of the so-called Patriots in Bukit Bintang. I became startled. Why did the police push the Bersih crowd from Pudu into Bukit Bintang, knowing very well that their adversaries were up in arms there. Shouldn't the police and FRU start their purported peacekeeping advance from the other end
of Jalan Pudu and move the Bersih crowd away from Bukit Bintang if the avowed red shirts were in Bukit Bintang with no agenda whatsoever save to counter the Bersih march? Were the police actions a momentary misjudgement bordering upon stupidity or a cleverly planned mischief to push the Bersih marchers to a clash with the Patriots? In a puzzle, I was not taking any chances. My friend and I sneaked through the police and walked to the Pudu LRT and back home.
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| What Should We Do Now? Posted: 09 Jul 2011 09:31 PM PDT 
By Tekak Mendalam When the ruling junta collectively decided to let loose those brain-deficient For Rough Use personnel on the Rakyat, it meant that they are forcibly turning this previously democratic country into a police state. Make no mistake about that. As per pre-Mandela South Africa, we are closely falling headlong into lawlessness where witnesses are somehow coaxed into thinking that they can fly off tall buildings and outspoken activists go missing, where roadblocks are put up for no apparent reasons except to intimidate and people detained without trial at the stroke of the pen. Welcome to Bolehland where the King can be totally ignored and defied, not that they are doing themselves any favor by siding with the same bunch of klansmen who are overtly undermining their self-respect and dignity. But then again, what can one expect from the same group of ceremonial leaders who bred a Lord President who conveniently forgets the Rule of Law? "What HRH promised you and what we previously agreed upon are two different thing", so said the leader of the "my-wife-looks-like-shit" clan. "We promised you a stadium…in (drum roll please) Tim-buk-three"…on (more drum rolls) the 39th day of this month (not the 9th). Why isn't the AG screaming lèse majesté now? For those optimists who thought that this stadium thing was going to happen, sorry to burst your sanguine bubble. Mr. Crooked Shaft has already finished polishing his tool and having it wiped clean with a single Kleenex, his cousin is in no position to deter him from waving it around a bit, especially with his own personal lioness looking on. "Merdeka Stadium"? Kakakakaka. Never gonna happen. Once Mr. Crooked Shaft uttered the words "Illegal Organization", it was never going to happen, as the ruling junta cannot be seen to be collaborating with an illegal organization, as it will legitimize it. How can an organization
remain legal for so long but become illegal just days prior to its rally? So, ultimately it has to be a street rally after all and out comes the water cannons, tear gas, guns, batons and shields. What's the use of maintaining a fat police force in a corrupt police state if you do not use it once in a while as a tour de force? Throw in a bit of red shirts to stir up the concoction a bit and we could have a curfew or two, not that it will matter as our country is legally still in a state of emergency (from the communist threat that evaporated four decades ago). Fortunately this did not eventuate as the 200+ red shirts correctly determined that their chances of even a pyrrhic victory against 100,000+ yellow shirts are rather "slim", so to speak. Henceforth, with a white Estima following suit, these "patriots" were forced to merely distributing their extra "no-show" T-shirts to anybody who wants them, including migrant workers (regardless of whether these people are illegals or not). Pity it does not possess good water retention properties, as I really need a good piece of rag
to wipe my car with after it has been naturally cleaned by the heavens at zero cost. Even the faithfuls were forced out of their place of worship (does a Muslim need to seek official permission from the authorities to enter a mosque?). As of last count, over 1,400 people, or less than 2% of the total attendees, have been detained with one unreported death. What? No local media reports on the man who died after being hit on the head by a tear gas canister? Neither is there any local media report on the five tear gas canisters lobbed into Tung Shin Hospital? But then again, my eyes could have been simply playing tricks with me due to the sting from the gas fog swirling all around the atmosphere within my vicinity. Additionally, as of late yesterday, none of the 1,400 people could seek bail (or be allowed legal counsel) as they could be charged under the EO, which means that the junta can legally claim that they utilized over RM10 million a day to feed these poor misled souls in their forthcoming budget – RM14,000 to feed them two meals (each) and RM9,986,000 total delivery cost per day. There weren't 100,000+ people attending the rally yesterday? So the propaganda begins in earnest now with the junta getting a few of their pet rodents to testify that the total attendance were hardly 6,000 strong. Hypothetically speaking, if the junta mobilized 1,000 For Rough Use personnel, then the ratio would be 1:6 except that anyone there or anyone viewing the news on television would visibly see that the ratio of 1 For Rough Use personnel against 6 Rakyats is clearly misleading. So, either there were less For Rough Use personnel or there were more marchers, or that the people can't count, are cockeyed or unaware that a lot of the marchers were wearing invisible cloaks. (We already have phantom voters, what's wrong with having phantom marchers as well?) What is this rally all about anyway? For those sleeping beauties that haven't been kissed awake, it is all about Free and Fair elections, and what is so wrong about it that the entire police force were mobilized? Nothing, except to the party that profits from it being otherwise, and that is why you don't see or hear any of the coalition parties squeak, perhaps merely the 14th coalition member PIC with the Carlsberg bottle caps on his epaulettes (on direct instruction from his masters) with the rest as quiet as church mice fearing their ultimate demise in the next general election. And how are we going to ensure that? |
| Bersih 2.0 more pics- behind the police lines Posted: 09 Jul 2011 09:28 PM PDT By Resident Wangsa Maju 
'We'll hold the line here.". Right at the frontline, Pudu Raya.  FRU getting ready to march in. Opposite Menara Maybank. 
Water cannon truck, 5 minutes before blasting into crowd. 
Arrested at Menara Maybank. Managed to snap this pic before walking away. 
Afternoon prayers, at Menara Maybank. A bust is actually taking place in the building behind. 2 activists were arrested. I was tear-gased at the first round. I recovered outside the line and subsequently discovered that the Bersih frontline had retreated 2 km back. I 'went back in' and found myself in between Bersih and FRU. These are the pics I snapped behind the FRU lines. 
Delirious after being tear-gassed and took a pic of the pavement instead. 
FRU all lined up, lock and loaded. 
A second before the tear-gas grenades went off. 
Blam! Blam!! My mobile phone shuddered as FRU pounded the Bersih frontline with teargas 
Stand-off, 500 meters from Pudu Raya. See more pictures at: http://wangsamajuformalaysia.blogspot.com/2011/07/bersih-20-more-pics-behind-police-lines.html |
| I Got Tear Gassed Posted: 09 Jul 2011 09:22 PM PDT 
I saw a canister flew past us into Level 1 of Klang Bus Station behind us. Turned back and saw a canister heading straight at us. It landed a couple of metres from me and it hurts. We ran for fresh air. Oh it blardie hurts! I held my breath earlier but the throat burns. The mouth burns. The upper lips burns. The pain… By Simon Templar What a day! After all the pre-event nonsense by Najib & Gang, 9 July 2011 has finally arrived. You bet that I'll be there.
Getting into KL city centre proved to be as nightmarish as I expected it to be. First I had to survive the massive road blockage at the Subang toll plaza along Federal Highway. (Had to take Federal Highway as NKVE was a no go). The police officers were just rubbish. How can they actually differentiate who's going to the Bersih 2.0 rally and who's not? Were they expecting us to be happily clad in yellow? It is clear that their intention is simply to cause inconvenience to the public. Most of the time, they just stand by the side and let the cars pass in a single file.
Traffic was crystal clear from then onwards. Then came another road block right after the Sunway exit. But kudos to Malaysians. Everyone was surprisingly very patient. No silly cutting in here, cutting in there like normal days. It seems that if you are on the road today, you are already mentally prepared for the slowdown.
Turned into NPE and we decided to change our meeting point from Times Square to the KTM KL Railway Station. Parked my car at the Petaling Komuter Station. When the train came… oh my oh my… the sardine packed coaches…
(Note: I've not hopped on our public train in a long long time. Hehe… Yah, kinda spoilt with the 'own transport' way of life).
Managed to get myself in with the coach door closing right at my butt. A large number of the passengers were on their way to the Bersih 2.0 rally too. Brilliant! People were openly exchanging latest news with each another.
I finally got into KL some 2.5 hours after I left home. I survived the blockages and hurdles! People, next time stop giving excuses, if you have the will you will get there. And I bet a huge score of people took a much longer time to get into KL. Think of the out-stationers. Hats off to them.
From the KTM Station, I followed the crowd who were walking towards Klang Bus Station/Pasar Seni LRT Station, then Jalan Sultan and then Kota Raya/Pudu Bus Station hotspot. And that's when I first got into the 'action'. The crowd had gathered in numbers. And PDRM greeted my arrival with shots of tear gas. How nice of them. Helter skelter ensued la. Took refuge at Hotel Ancasa entrance where I met up with fellow blog author, Neo.
It was about 2.00 pm and then the rain started. It was raining cats and dogs. Adui… Why la today… And the organizers got us moving towards Stadium Merdeka. Talk about soaked wet. Bersih 2.0 was turning into a wet t-shirt contest.
(Note: Ladies, next time please try to not come for an open rally in white. Malaysia is well known for heavy downpours. Not very decent when you are all soaked wet in white).
The rally was really multi-racial. Am very surprised. I did not expect to see the Chinese coming out in numbers. We know the spirited Malays are always up for it. The Indians too; as they have shown in the past. But the Chinese turnout was fantastic. Well done! It was a truly Bangsa Malaysia rally. And of all ages too. Countless aunties and uncles, makciks and pakciks. Am very heartened that the 20s and 30s took it upon them to leave the air-conds (as I did) and iPads (as I did) to jointly show the might of the rakyat. Najib & Gang, you guys seriously have to wake up. Malaysia is a little different today from 10 years ago.
(Note: Some parents thought it fit to make the rally a family event and brought along their little ones. The intention is good but I would advise against it. We are all very civilized and well behaved, but there is always 'them' who fire tear gas at us for no reason whatsoever. And it causes panic and a mad scramble for fresh air).
As we walked towards Stadium Merdeka, smaller groups joined us from junctions and the number just get larger and larger. I wouldn't know how to put a figure to the headcount but it was a lot. (Definitely not 6,000 a certain figure-challenged IGP claim lor...)
Everything was in a very orderly manner. Why the surrounding shops shut business is beyond me. For heaven's sake, what do you take us to be? We are not Perkasa's thugs or Umno 'Mat Rempit' Youth. We are the very people you sell your goods to everyday. And you fear us now? There were some smart traders selling drinks and ice-creams and I bet you they all made a little fortune for themselves today. And the 7-11s too. Who dare steal even a bottle of mineral water? Do you know how many of us were out there on the streets? We can patrol ourselves better than the police will ever be. There wasn't even any pushing or shoving around the stores and stalls. Yes, that is how civilize we are. Hidup rakyat!
Oh and the chants! Endless "Hidup Hidup", Hidup Rakyat", "Bersih Bersih" "Hidup Bersih". Some got creative and even started singing Rasa Sayang, Jingling Nona… Soaked wet we may be, but our spirits were never dampen. The crowd just gets you going. There were simply so many 'semangat' fellas around, somebody will start something when things seem to slowdown.
Failing to get into Stadium Merdeka, we got moving to Central Market. It is fun when you move in numbers. You can really feel the power of the people. Sorry folks… It is non-describable. You can read, you can see the videos, but you'll never feel it unless you are there. Nobody cares what colour your skin is. Nobody cares what your religion is. Nobody cares where you come from. We are simply... the rakyat.
When we got to the Central Market area, the police were already there waiting. We were just hanging around waiting for the next wave of marchers to join us. And then the barbarians started shooting tear gas at us. For what? We weren't even doing anything.
At about 3.40pm, Wong Chin Huat decided to end our side of the rally. He climbed on an elevated structure and was trying to deliver the ending message to us and I was standing right in front of him. At this point, we were at the junction of Jalan Sultan and Jalan Hang Kasturi (where Klang Bus Station and Pasar Seni LRT Station are). Here we were, getting a "go home" message and the barbarians started shooting tear gas canisters at us again. Those blardie idiots! They don't shoot into empty space to prevent you from moving forward. They shoot right into the crowd for god knows what sadistic reasons. I saw a canister flew past us into Level 1 of Klang Bus Station behind us. I turned around and saw a canister headed straight at us; leaving a comet like trail in its flying path. It landed a couple of metres from me. There was no mistake that I was at ground zero of a landed sting bomb. Stinging gas particles rapidly fought us head on for airspace. Martha-farking-bitch it hurts. We ran for fresh air. Oh it blardie hurts! I held my breath earlier but the throat burns. The mouth burns. Somehow the gas didn't get my eyes (tear gas not hurting my eyes? hmmm…). The upper lips burns. The pain… Fark! Fark! Fark! Read more at: http://saltpepperandalittlekicap.blogspot.com/2011/07/i-got-tear-gassed.html |
| Rapper Atama ready for arrest Posted: 09 Jul 2011 07:08 PM PDT 
By Queville To, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Sabah musician-turned-activist, rapper Atama Katama, is prepared for detention, if the police chose to arrest him under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Atama, who is chairman of Bersih 2.0 Sabah ad hoc committee, is believed to be on the police wanted list for his unspoken support of the coalition's call for free and fair elections. "I have reason to believe that I am a target for arrest. I am prepared for it as I know there's a price to pay in fighting for what I believe in – that is democracy and civil liberties of this country. "I also believe there are many like-minded Malaysians who support me and that is what inspired me and keeps me going despite all the challenges I'm facing," he said yesterday. The controversial Sabah hip-hop singer said this while leading a group of more than 100 Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) leaders and supporters to the launching of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) online radio and TV, Sabahtv.net, at its headquarters in Bornion Centre, Luyang here, today. He was responding to a question from reporters on talk that his name was on the police's "arrest list" alongside the Bersih 2.0 organisers. Police in peninsular Malaysia had issued issued a restrictive order on 91 individuals in relation to the Bersih 2.0 rally yesterday. Sixty of them were direct Bersih members. Blatantly deceitful Asked about his relationship with SAPP, Atama said MCLM and SAPP shared the same struggle for autonomy for Sabah besides good governance and civil liberties. He said he has no intention of joining any political party for now and will remain a MCLM member and a social activist. "We in MCLM will be there whenever required, to help protect and exercise the civil liberty of Malaysians, especially those in Sabah," he said. He also proclaimed that despite being prevented from holding the Bersih 2.0 gathering here, MCLM had succeeded in driving home its campaign to push for "clean and fair elections" in this country. READ MORE HERE. |
| Bersih 2.0, Malaysia 0.0 Posted: 09 Jul 2011 06:41 PM PDT  By Asia Sentinel The crackdown lowered rally numbers but made Malaysian government look bad. Although Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak appears to have won the battle by closing down Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and arresting 1,667 mostly peaceful marchers and would-be marchers, the consensus seems to be that Malaysia has suffered a blow to its international reputation as a moderate, democratic country. Bersih 2.0, as the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections is known, appears to have won on points. a wan-lookng Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, the head of the three-party Pakatan Rakyat, was photographed in his hospital bed where he was kept for observation, a neat coup de theatre whether intended or not. While it didn't draw anywhere close to the 100,000 people Bersih's leaders forecast, they can claim that the police intimidation kept marchers away. Crowd estimates ranged from 10,000 by the government to 50,000 by Bersih. Pictures of marchers being chased by baton-wielding police and hosed down by water cannon have made most of the world's major newspapers and the story was given prominent on-line coverage by Al Jazeera. Despite the fact that Bersih is an umbrella group of 62 non-government organizations, with a great many Chinese and Indian faces rather than Muslim ones, the march has been tied internationally to the Jasmine Revolutions of the Middle East, with at least one blog -- Time Magazine's Hannah Beech -- even alluding to opposition leaders hoping for the smell of jasmine. The crackdown, which included razor wire strung at strategic entry points to the city, legions of police, tear gas, water cannon and truncheons, is especially embarrassing given Malaysia's membership on the United Nations Human Rights Council. To prove it is supported by the electorate, however, the government has promised a massive counter-rally that will draw hundreds of thousands of supporters, which probably will not be accompanied by water cannons, truncheons, tear gas, razor wire and legions of police intended to keep marchers away. The Barisan Nasional, the ruling national coalition, characterized the Bersih 2.0 march as a tool of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, and indeed top Pakatan leaders did show up and were duly arrested. It also alleged that the US was behind a plot to destabilize the country through the National Endowment for Democracy, which gives money to Bersih. The NED is a private, non-profit foundation funded by the US Congress whose ostensible aim is to support democratic goals. Often the government's tactics seemed a puzzling throwback to previous arguments. In the run-up to the march itself, police arrested 30 members of the Malaysian Socialist Party on June 26 and charged them with seeking to overthrow the country's monarchy and make a hero of Chin Peng, the elderly one-time leader of the Communist insurgency against British Malaya who remains in exile. Last week, police held a press conference to announce they had found caches of machetes and Molotov cocktails secreted around Kuala Lumpur along with yellow Bersih tee-shirts, leaving the question open why Bersih members would leave the shirts with the weapons to identify them as violent when they professed to be peaceful marchers. The caches of weapons were mostly dismissed as a dirty trick. "I think it has tarnished Malaysia's image and its membership in the UN Human Rights Council," political analyst Khoo Kay Peng told Agence-France Press. Describing the police action as "completely overdone," Khoo said, "It is a killer to our image as a progressive democratic country." Beyond the question of who won or lost, the massive police crackdown raises the question why the ruling coalition reacted so strongly. The answer goes back to 2007, when the first Bersih rally drew 40,000 protesters, one of the biggest in modern Malaysian history, and engendered the same kind of crackdown by the government of then-Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. That rally was widely regarded as the spur that ultimately drove the Anwar-led coalition to victory in five Malaysian states and broke the Barisan?s 50-year-old two-thirds parliamentary majority. Although opinion polls show Najib himself as popular with the electorate, the three political parties that make up the bulk of the ruling coalition -- the United Malays National Organization, the Malaysian Chinese Association and the Malaysian Indian Congress -- all are regarded as corrupt by segments of the electorate. The Chinese in particular have abandoned the Barisan. With an election expected to be called sometime before the middle of 2012, Najib and the Barisan believe Pakatan Rakyat would be able to gain traction out of the protest, as it did in 2008. |
| PKR accuses police of intentionally hurting Bersih, Pakatan leaders Posted: 09 Jul 2011 06:24 PM PDT 
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Police officers deliberately ignored attempts at negotiation by Bersih and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders before firing tear gas canisters into the Kuala Lumpur Sentral pedestrian underpass yesterday, PKR has charged. N Surendran, the party's vice-president said that no warning or dispersal order was given by the police before firing the tear gas, and that Bersih supporters and PR leaders were trapped in the underpass. He claimed that tear gas was fired horizontally towards the group, and that the actions of the police were in breach of local and international laws relating to police conduct. "It was calculated to kill, maim and injure the peaceful marchers. "In particular, the firing of tear gas into the confined space of the underpass was a criminal act, which can cause serious injury or death and is punishable under Section 326 of the Penal Code," he said in a statement today. Those trapped in the underpass included PR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreevanesan, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PAS MP Khalid Samad and National Laureate A Samad Said. The tear gas attacks injured Anwar, his bodyguard Fayadh and Khalid. Both Fayadh and Khalid sustained direct hits from tear gas canisters and were seriously injured. All three were hospitalised and warded later. Surendran called for the investigation and prosecution of all senior officers, including Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, for "giving orders" to the police to carry out such an act. READ MORE HERE. |
| DAP never asked Chinese to avoid Bersih, says Guan Eng Posted: 09 Jul 2011 06:15 PM PDT 
By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — The DAP did not send out any text messages asking the Chinese not to attend yesterday's Bersih rally, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said today.. He stressed that the only messages sent out by the party were those encouraging people to turn up at the rally for free and fair elections. "This is a lie. No DAP leader sent out (messages) asking the Chinese not to go out and to let Malays fight each other," said Lim. "Anti-Bersih elements are trying to sabotage the relationship (between component parties) in PR but this will not work." The Penang chief minister pointed out that almost 5,000 mainly DAP supporters had gathered in Pudu to show support for the election watchdog and its eight reform demands yesterday. Lim was speaking to reporters after paying his respects to the family of Baharudin Ahmad, who died yesterday after collapsing during the rally. Baharudin, 56, had fallen down after running away from police firing tear gas and water cannon before being taken to Kuala Lumpur Hospital, where he died. READ MORE HERE. |
| Cops not responsible for Bersih man’s death, says Najib Posted: 09 Jul 2011 04:01 PM PDT 
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — The police are not to blame for the death of Bersih supporter Baharuddin Ahmad, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today. The prime minister said that Baharuddin's death was caused by health issues, as he moved to defend the police's handling of yesterday's rally. "(His death) was not because of the rally, it was health (reasons). There was no actual physical contact with demonstrators whatsoever," Najib told reporters here. Live reports and eyewitness account, however, have said that police had engaged in physical contact with Bersih supporters in efforts to quell the rally. "I am proud of what the police did yesterday … (They acted) with professionalism. "They took such good care of those who were arrested that they got free food," added Najib. The Malaysian Insider understands that Baharuddin, who was marching with the thousands who turned up yesterday in support of Bersih 2.0, died when he fell during a scuffle with police at KLCC yesterday afternoon. Police have confirmed that 1,401 of the estimated 6,000 protestors were detained during the gathering, which lasted for over four hours. Scuffles reportedly broke out between protestors and the armed riot police when the march, which was originally intended to be peaceful, descended into chaos. Tear gas canisters and water cannons were also fired at various points across the city as the police attempted to force protestors to disperse. READ MORE HERE. |
| Family say police responsible for Bersih death Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:55 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — The brother of Baharuddin Ahmad, who died yesterday after collapsing during the Bersih rally, has blamed the death on a "deliberate act of cruelty" by the police. Kassim Ahmad, 72, told The Malaysian Insider his brother had died because he alledged that the police had withheld medical aid from Baharudin after he collapsed while running away from tear gas and water cannon bombardment. "[They] asked the police to help send him to hospital but they refused, so we waited for one-and-a-half hours before the van came," he said. "A lot of people tried to revive him ... Had he been given oxygen, he would be alive today." Baharuddin was laid to rest at 12.55pm today in Lembah Keramat Muslim Burial Ground, surrounded by the same yellow T-shirts he had marched alongside just a day before. He leaves behind a wife, two sons and one daughter. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had earlier absolved police of the death, saying there was no contact with the demonstrators and that Baharuddin had died due to ill health. MORE TO COME HERE.
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| EO detainee Dr Michael Jeyakumar in IJN Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:49 PM PDT  By K Pragalath, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: PSM's Sungai Siput MP Dr D Michael Jeyakumar, presently detained without trial under the Emergency Ordinance 1969, has been admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) here for heartbeat abnormality. He is said to be in a stable condition but his family members are complaining that they are not being allowed to visit him. Only Jeyakumar's wife has been allowed to visit him so far. His admission to the IJN was confirmed by his niece Sangeetha Jayakumar, and her father Selangor exco member Dr Xavier Jayakumar. Earlier today she tweeted: "Dr Kumar admitted in IJN. Admitted for palpitations. Police refusing to allow family to visit." PKR's Xavier Jayakumar, when contacted, said Jeyakumar was admitted to the IJN on Friday. "He was admitted to the hospital day before yesterday in the afternoon. "No one apart from his wife has been allowed to visit him," said Jayakumar, who is also the parliamentarian's brother-in-law. READ MORE HERE. |
| Pictures: 1,667 arrested for taking part in M'sia rallies Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:47 PM PDT By The Straits Times, Singapore KUALA LUMPUR - A TOTAL of 1,667 people were arrested for taking part in various rallies in the city, said Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar. He said all those arrested, including 151 women and 16 children, were taken to the police training centre (Pulapol) in Jalan Semarak where they were fed and given medical treatment. 'I was told that there are allegations of high-handedness and police brutality by certain people. I urge those making such allegations to lodge reports and we will act against any policeman if these were found to be true,' he said. By 11pm, all those detained were released. Besides Bersih 2.0 chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, those picked up included PKR's Gombak MP Azmin Ali, Subang MP R. Sivarasa and Batu MP Tian Chua, and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, his deputy Mohamad Sabu and vice-presidents Mahfuz Omar and Salahuddin Ayub. READ MORE HERE (with photo gallery). |
| Bersih 2.0: Through the Tear-gassed Eyes of the Pink Fat Guy Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:43 PM PDT 
By Hafidz Baharom, Loyarburok Yes, people. We honestly did it. 50,000 people thronged the streets of KL from morning till evening demanding electoral reforms. Or, if you wish to believe the police, 6,000 people. But then, if you were to believe the police, you'd also have noticed three police cars that were supposed 'damaged' by Bersih supporters along Jalan Pudu. I will proudly state that I do not believe the police, nor any person in any government linked media outlet that talks of Bersih 2.0, be it the dastardly Utusan or even the New Straits Times. And I say it proudly and with surety for a very simple reason. I was there. At Dataran Merdeka first behind the FRU lines. At Central Market's entrance afterwards. On Petaling Street after that and finally, joined up with the rally at Maybank, Jalan Pudu, Tong Shin Hospital and then onward to Stadium Merdeka which I arrived close to 4 p.m. So let's start with my trip into KL, which began at 11 a.m. I managed to get to the Kelana Jaya LRT and board it by 11:22 a.m, as per my status. I then started tweeting feverishly after that, arriving at a rather quiet Pasar Seni. Throughout the LRT trip, people were quiet. In fact, I was joined on board the LRT with an old uncle in a white, buttoned up collared t-shirt, who looked at me, smiled and nodded. As I disembarked at Pasar Seni, police presence was already high. I headed to the Annexe Nasi Kandar to be greeted by a mamak full of police officers eating their lunch before the entire event. It was also here that I met a member of the Bar Council who told me that there were rumours that the trains were already shut down, and that there was already some violence at the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station. After buying a huge bottle of water which I thought would last the entire day, I just stepped out and sat at a corner facing Dataran Merdeka. This was where I noticed the water cannons and FRU personnel parked, mentioned on my Twitter account. This was also when members of the Bar Council walked past me heading towards what I thought was the KTM Kuala Lumpur station. As I thought to join them, I saw the guard at Dayabumi looking nervous. About half a minute later I learned why. Right opposite of where I was, across the Dayabumi Parking Lot, I heard chanting, and then started seeing people gathering. It was truly an amazing sight. While the mantras of Bersih were being yelled, there were also some anti-government slogans as well. And, of course, there were cries for 'Reformasi' too. However this was when things got a bit hilarious to me. The FRU personnel were parked too far ahead from Dataran Merdeka, and actually had to tell the security guards to remove the barricade from the parking lot because they couldn't reverse their trucks properly. After that piece of absurd wingding comedy was over, they got out and aimed the tear gas launchers over the crowd and fired. The problem was, and again, this is another piece of comedy, that they shot the canisters too close to themselves and the media who were in parallel with them. READ MORE HERE. |
| Hadi warns of larger protests - and not necessarily before election Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:39 PM PDT 
(Harakah Daily) - KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 10: PAS president Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang warned Barisan Nasional that the massive Bersih protests in the capital yesterday was only the beginning of the people's uprising. "This is just a preamble to the people's uprising and if they are not prepared to make any reforms to the election system and democracy, bigger uprising will happen anytime, and it is not necessarily before election, but can be also after election.
"We'll wait and see the government's response," the Marang member of parliament said upon his release last night. Hadi was arrested around 2.30pm yesterday at KL Sentral station, alongside Salahuddin Ayub and Mahfuz Omar. While his deputy Mohamad Sabu who was a passenger behind a motorcycle, was rammed by a police vehicle, injuring him. Mat Sabu has since been unable to walk. "I am unable to walk. I have to be carried or place on a wheelchair, after the police hit me," Mat Sabu replied over SMS this morning when asked how felt. The PAS leaders were among other Pakatan Rakyat and Bersih leaders, including Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga Sreevenasan, who joined more than 1,600 others hauled up by the police. They were among some 50,000 people who defied weeks of warnings by the authorities to stay away from the rally for electoral reform, following the government's refusal for Bersih to have its rally in a stadium as advised by the Agong. Many at the rally yesterday had spoken of excessive force by the police on female members of the public, and Youtube videos posted hours after the protests yesterday showed how police personnel were acting with brute force on unarmed protesters. Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar, visibly shocked at the presence of the huge crowd, quickly downplayed the rally, claiming only 5,000 to 6,000 people had attended. Based on such a claim, it would mean, albeit incredulously, that for any group of four people, one was arrested. READ MORE HERE. |
| Activists gather in Bangkok to support Bersih Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:35 PM PDT  By Aneesa Alphonsus, FMT BANGKOK: A small group of people, largely made up of Malaysians, gathered outside the Malaysian embassy here yesterday to call for electoral reforms in Malaysia. The protest was held to coincide with the Bersih 2.0 rally which took place in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. The group of about 20 people was led by Yap Swee Seng who is the executive director of Bangkok-based Asian Forum for Human Rights & Democracy. The gathering started at 2pm Malaysian time yesterday. In a letter submitted to the Malaysian ambassador Nazirah Hussain, Yap said the group had gathered to express their solidarity support for the struggle of their Malaysian friends for human rights and democracy in Malaysia. Yap incidentally was one of the 91 people barred by the Malaysian police from attending the gathering in KL. "As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, your government should respect and protect the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assemble as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. "Instead, your government has shamelessly and arbitrarily arrested people and raided the Bersih office in an attempt to stop the rally," Yap read from the letter addressed to the ambassador. He also expressed concern about the physical and mental status of the six PSM leaders who have been detained detained without trial under the Emergency (Public Order and Crime Prevention) Ordinance since July 2, 2011. These detainees are Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, M Sarasvathy, Letchumanan Aseer Patham, Choo Chon Kai, Sukumaran Munisamy and Sarat Babu Raman. READ MORE HERE. |
| Najib blames Anwar for Bersih rally aftermath Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:15 PM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak blamed Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for yesterday's rally in the city, and accused the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) of orchestrating it in a calculated move to ensure the opposition leader becomes prime minister. In a no-holds barred speech today, the prime minister did not mince his words, and launched verbal attacks against his political foe as well as electoral reform group Bersih. Although Anwar's name was not directly mentioned, analogies and innuendos by Najib suggested that he was referring to the one-time deputy prime minister. "This is the person who is the cause of why we are faced with this problem (Bersih), because he wants to fulfil his lust of becoming prime minister. "This is his last chance. He knows if he does not do something, we will win the next GE ... he will do anything, the end justifies the means," Najib told a 6,000-strong delegation of Umno leaders, members and Malay NGOs here. The Umno president mocked reports of injuries sustained by Anwar during yesterday's rally and called the PKR leader a "great actor." "He should get the Oscar award for the best actor. He only got a little bit of tear gas, and there's a neck brace and his face is all contorted, as though he got beaten up," said Najib, laughing while imitating Anwar's facial expressions. The PM pointed out that Anwar had yet to answer allegations of fraud and corruption within his own party's internal elections, as well as the sex video case and his on-going sodomy trial. "Every time the government is made to look bad, while he is the best human being, a gift from God," mocked Najib. "Who is (Datuk) Ambiga (Sreevanesan)? Supposedly leading a body that wants fair and free elections … how clean are those who are pointing the finger at us?" he added. Bersih had claimed a turnout of 50,000 for their street demonstration which went ahead without police permission. READ MORE HERE |
| What did we achieve yesterday? Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:09 PM PDT And united, as fellow-Malaysians, we took to the streets in one voice to oppose what we consider a corrupt government. And we took to the streets not to do violence. We took to the streets as a demonstration of peace. That's what we gained yesterday. NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin I got up early today. I wanted to get a head start and write something before I hit the road. That's because at noon today, GMT, I will be at Julian Assange's house to celebrate his 40th birthday and his home is a more than four-hour drive from Manchester. I will probably have to sleep in London and come home tomorrow. But before I started writing I thought I would first have a look at the video below and I starting crying (old men of 61 like me get very emotional when we are nearer to our graves). The government says that BERSIH was a failure. Some commentaries even said it is a lose-lose situation. No one won yesterday, they said. I don't know what they mean by win and lose. How do you translate win and lose? I suppose each person has his or her own way of looking at things. That would be their interpretation, of course. I don't know what we are supposed to have lost. But what we did win was that Malaysians all over the world, in particular in Malaysia, came together as one. That is what we won. Yesterday, we were not rich men or poor. We were not Malays or non-Malays. We were not Muslims or non-Muslims. We were just fellow-Malaysians. And united, as fellow-Malaysians, we took to the streets in one voice to oppose what we consider a corrupt government. And we took to the streets not to do violence. We took to the streets as a demonstration of peace. That's what we gained yesterday. All the rabble rousing and the enemies of Islam and enemies of Malays propaganda and rhetoric failed. Malaysians did not buy these lies and spins of the government. And yesterday was proof of that. I don't know in what way we failed yesterday. Was it because we did not get a crowd of 300,000? Was it because one man died and more than 1,000 were arrested? Was it because many got beaten up and injured? Was it because we failed to present the 8-point memorandum to His Majesty the Agong? Was it because even if we did get to present the 8-point memorandum to His Majesty there would be no electoral reforms anyway? I don't know what our failure is supposed to have been. But amongst all those so-called failures we met with one major success that overrides all those failures -- in the event you still see yesterday as a failure. And that major success is there were no Malays, Chinese, Indians, 'lain-lain', Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics or whatever on the streets yesterday. For those couple of hours we were all fellow-Malaysians. That was what we succeeded in doing yesterday. And that is worth all the tea in China. JZyLYFXobk0 SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZyLYFXobk0 |
| Najib ridicules Bersih, says Umno not afraid of fair elections Posted: 09 Jul 2011 03:05 PM PDT 
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak ridiculed and dismissed the impact of yesterday's Bersih rally, declaring today that Umno was not afraid of fair elections. In a fiery speech in front of 6,000 Umno members, NGOs and martial arts (silat) groups, the prime minister mocked the turnout of yesterday's rally, claiming that Umno would have outnumbered Bersih if they had wanted to protest on the streets. "Don't doubt our strength. Umno has three million members. If we gather one million members, it is more than enough. We can conquer Kuala Lumpur. "If we want to create chaos, we can. But we uphold the laws of Malaysia, we like peace," Najib said to a roaring crowd of Umno members and supporters. The Umno president pointed out that despite Bersih's promises of a 500,000 turnout, "not even 10,000" people took part in the rally. He congratulated Malaysians who did not attend the rally, and dubbed them the "silent majority." Police estimates put the number of people who attended at around 6,000 while Bersih claimed some 50,000 turned up despite a city-wide lockdown by the authorities. "This is just a part of Umno's strength. We gathered 6,000 members here today in a short amount of time ... they are waiting for a signal, they're willing to do anything," Najib told reporters later. During his speech, Najib thanked everyone who attended the "Majlis Penerangan Perdana" event, saying that the NGOs present, including silat organisations, were waiting to defend the country at a drop of a hat. "If you mention or question Islam, they will rise up," he said. "Don't (make us) start street demonstrations. Yesterday, we only sent our Umno Youth wing, led by Khairy Jamaluddin, to represent us," Najib said, amid deafening shouts of support for the Umno Youth chief, who was also present. READ MORE HERE.
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| Malaysia gov't fights criticism after rally chaos Posted: 09 Jul 2011 02:55 PM PDT (AP) - KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian authorities have denied suppressing dissent despite making mass arrests and unleashing tear gas against at least 20,000 demonstrators who marched for electoral reforms. The political fallout from rare scenes of mayhem in Kuala Lumpur is certain to complicate efforts by Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition to bolster its support ahead of general elections that many expect to be held within a year. International rights groups and Malaysian opposition parties denounced the crackdown on Saturday's rally. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein insisted in a statement received Sunday that the demonstrators sought to "create chaos in this country and hoped to be arrested in order to portray the government as cruel." |
| Bersih rally revealed lots of truth Posted: 09 Jul 2011 02:34 PM PDT By Jeswant Kaur, FMT The rakyat who turned up for the Bersih 2.0 rally yesterday were no criminals. Yet, the police and the Federal Reserve Unit officers treated them as such, kicking and punching some of the supporters of the rally. An eyewitness shared an incident where a young man in his 20s was pounced upon by no less than 10 policemen who wrestled him down, twisting his arm. The ambience that day was one of fright and intimidation with the police going berserk in preventing the huge crowd from walking up to the rally venue, the historical Stadium Merdeka. Everywhere, the environment was polluted with tear gas and water cannon which the cops splashed with gay abandon at the crowd to force them to disperse. But all these failed to scare the people. Indeed, conundrum would best describe the July 9 scenario in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. The palpable chaotic situation was certainly not the people's doing. The rakyat had turned up in good faith to support the Bersih 2.0 'Walk for Democracy'. The event was messed up by none other than the police. Bersih 2.0 in respecting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin's call to maintain peace and harmony agreed to keep away from the streets and take the rally indoor, to Stadium Merdeka. But no thanks to the lies and manipulation by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, the Bersih 2.0 organisers were refused all access to the stadium. The police meanwhile at the 11th hour offered to issue Bersih 2.0 a permit for the rally provided it was held outside Kuala Lumpur. Why did Najib and his 'boys' stab Bersih 2.0 in the back, an act typically reserved for the cowards? It is not the Bersih 2.0 coalition but the Barisan Nasional government under Najib and the police who are to be blamed for the chaos that shrouded Kuala Lumpur for over eight hours on July 9. From the streets to a closed environment – Bersih 2.0 was cooperating with the call to stay away from the roads. In fact, Ambiga even asked the police to map out the routes for it to walk on July 9 but the thuggie-styled police refused to cooperate. Was Bersih 2.0 asking for much by requesting that the police cooperate with it? Why did Najib turn the entire rally into a topsy-turvy affair and get the Bersih 2.0 key players including chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan arrested? Had Ambiga harboured malicious intentions, she could have ambushed the government and sprung a surprise by bringing her supporters to the streets to rally. However, for all intent and purposes, the 'Walk for Democracy' was paved with good intentions, that of wanting to raise public awareness and call for a reform of the electoral system. Stop blaming Bersih 2.0 The mainstream media went to town reporting how businesses in the city centre were paralysed because of the rally. Motorists stuck in traffic jams were quick to blame Bersih 2.0 for the endless hours of delay they had to endure. The truth is Bersih 2.0 is not to blame. The truth also is that the entire scenario was scarred by the police, when it blocked all entry points to Kuala Lumpur. How could Najib forget that all Bersih 2.0 wanted was to walk in solidarity and hand over their memorandum for reforms to the electoral system Yang di-Pertuan Agong? READ MORE HERE. |
| Protest crackdown taints Malaysia's image Posted: 09 Jul 2011 02:24 PM PDT By Channelnewsasia.com KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police may have crushed a weekend protest, but analysts say the crackdown has tainted the country's democratic credentials and could embolden the opposition ahead of elections. A massive security lockdown on Saturday in the capital Kuala Lumpur crippled a plan by Bersih, a broad coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups, to muster 100,000 people for a rally demanding electoral reforms. Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds in the biggest anti-government protests to hit the nation since 2007, when similar demands for reform also ended in chaos on the streets.
More than 1,600 people were arrested, including 16 children as well as prominent lawmakers, and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was hospitalised after being knocked down in the pandemonium.
Analysts and campaigners said the stern police action was likely to backfire on the country's image as one of Southeast Asia's more democratic countries.
Prime Minister Najib Razak has been cultivating an image of an emerging nation with a strong economy and an open political environment.
"I think it has tarnished Malaysia's image and its membership in the UN Human Rights Council," said political analyst Khoo Kay Peng.
Describing the police action as "completely overdone," Khoo said, "It is a killer to our image as a progressive democratic country."
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned the crackdown and the arrests and chided Malaysia for flouting international standards.
"As a current member of the UN Human Rights Council, the Malaysian government should be setting an example to other nations and promoting human rights," said Amnesty International's Donna Guest.
"Instead they appear to be suppressing them in the worst campaign of repression we've seen in the country for years." READ MORE HERE. |
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