Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Bersih 2.0 in San Francisco
- A Noob Demonstrator's BERSIH 2.0 Experience
- Seeking support for Ops Scorpene fund raising dinner
- I am proud to be Malaysian
- Why did I join Bersih 2.0?
- Someone Did Win on July 9th
| Posted: 10 Jul 2011 04:56 PM PDT
By Robert Leong SAN FRANCISCO - After the sun set on a historic day of unprecedented show of people power in Malaysia, one of the last of the global Bersih 2.0 rallies was just about to begin in San Francisco, on the west coast of the United States. This global Bersih 2.0 event happened in the shadow of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, a monument that remains a marvel to behold, and a lasting testament to man's ingenuity, sheer perseverance, and toil. Close to a hundred Malaysians and friends travelled from around the San Francisco bay area to gather at Crissy Field in San Francisco, on a cool and foggy Saturday morning. They consisted of Malays, Chinese, Indians, and Caucasians, from all walks of life, coming together with one common aspiration: to demonstrate their solidarity and support for Bersih 2.0. They brought with them three full-sized Malaysian flags and a banner that read, "We want clean and fair elections." The main organisers, Chong Pin and Colin, welcomed everyone to the event and described how the event took on a life of its own once the decision was made to hold the event. More and more Malaysians living in the bay area began signing up for the event once it was announced on Facebook, a company based in nearby Silicon Valley. The organisers summarised what had been happening in the global Bersih 2.0 events around the world, and spoke of the main Bersih 2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur. Colin light-heartedly described the sometimes fog-like atmosphere in Kuala Lumpur, arising from the tear gas attacks by police personnel, as thicker than the fog surrounding the Golden Gate Bridge. Then came a sombre moment when the group spent a period of silence to honour Baharuddin Ahmad who lost his life when he sustained a fatal myocardial infarction (heart attack) when engulfed by tear gas. A memorandum that elaborated on the list of eight Bersih 2.0 demands to achieve free and fair elections in Malaysia was read out aloud to the crowd. The group was then given the opportunity to sign the memorandum which was to be submitted to the Malaysian embassy in the United States. After the signatures were signed, the group gathered for a photo opportunity, following which it rallied along a narrow pedestrian pathway up to the bridge. The rally ended with a free Malaysian meal and a charity collection, the proceeds of which will be forwarded to the Bersih committee. During the entire duration, the rally proceeded peacefully in a sea of yellow, observed by a few United States police personnel who kept the peace, and respectfully kept their distance, in the greatest democracy of the world. It was an irony that this rally in San Francisco, and in the 30 other rallies around the world, clearly epitomised Prime Minister Najib Razak's concept of "1Malaysia": of Malaysians at home and abroad, united by a common humanity, yearning for free and fair elections for their homeland. Is this too much to ask, after half a decade of democracy? Like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, it is hoped that Bersih 2.0 will also be remembered for the Rakyat's perseverance and toil in overcoming major obstacles and threats placed in its path to building a golden bridge to a better tomorrow for all Malaysians. |
| A Noob Demonstrator's BERSIH 2.0 Experience Posted: 10 Jul 2011 04:33 PM PDT  When you have not even registered, you automatically give up your rights to complain. You may think that it does not involve you, but you have friends, you have family back home in Malaysia. Not everyone is as lucky as you and me who have OZ, UK, US, NZ, SG etc. permanent residencies. I have always been Pro-Opposition due to one simple fact: We are led by idiots; each and everyone of you is more qualified to lead the country than our current leaders. A strong and prosperous nation requires a powerful Opposition simply to keep the ruling party in check. The only exception I can think of to this rule is Singapore. Hence, it is inevitable that I would join BERSIH 2.0. I missed the first one in 2007 because I was not as political as I am now. I was fearful for a myriad of reasons; I was afraid that I would be dismembered by keris-wielding Silat grandmasters, lose my job and possibly get arrested and beaten up in prison by HIV-addled drug addicts. It has come to a tipping point for me, it is simply not sufficient anymore to simply ask people to register and berate all you idiots who have yet to register to vote for the coming 13th General Election. Every day I am assailed with lurid details about politicians' sex lives and the obvious corruption in our government. I am sick of being treated like I am a borderline retard by the main stream media. I am sick of being told to go back to China. I am sick of reading about virulent bastards like Ibrahim Ali who blatantly threaten the Chinese under the auspices of UMNO. It may take two more General Elections before we get rid of these fools, but eventually we will. On Friday night, the initial word on the street was that all LRT services would be suspended on Saturday. Nevertheless, I called up RapidKL and confirmed that all trains would be operating as usual. Apparently, I wanted to get from Taman Paramount to Maluri to visit my girlfriend. I do not know anyone living in Maluri, nor do I have a girlfriend but neither was I going to tell the telephone operator that 'I nak pergi BERSIH rally, LRT ada stop kat Pasar Seni tak?'. I head down from Taman Paramount LRT and already I see three policeman at the station. I come completely unprepared. All I had were the clothes on my back and an Ipod. No bag with water, towels, goggles, mask, salt or a change of clothes. This was just in case my bag gets checked and my lie of meeting my imaginary girlfriend in Petaling Street falls through. At Pasar Seni, there was light police presence and I was already rehearsing my lie in case I get the standard 'Datang KL buat apa?' question. I was not stopped and simply walked down towards Petaling Street. It was 11.30am at this stage. It was quiet but you could smell it in the air, something was going down. There were very obvious groups of people who were not tourists and who were definitely not there for brekkie or to buy Triple A grade LV bags. And they were all Chinese. Everyone was waiting. I did not talk to anyone even though a half-blind man could have told that they were there for the rally. I was paranoid about plain-clothes policemen and still worried about doing naked squats or being booted in sensitive regions by jack-booted PDRM personnel. Our men in blue apparently forgot about Petaling Street and were only at the usual demonstration hotspots like Masjid Jamek, Sogo, etc. Or perhaps they thought the Chinese would hardly want to get involved in BERSIH 2.0. The friend I had planned to meet arrived with her mother and auntie in tow along with several other friends and lawyers at 12.15pm and we adjourned to the KFC on Jalan Sultan for lunch. I wandered around outside and crossed to the corner of Jalan Sultan and Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. I casually mentioned to a recent acquaintance, 'How would we know when and where to gather?', 'If someone unfurls a BERSIH flag and starts gathering the people, confirmed get arrested by the plainclothes la'. About five minutes after I said that, it began. A small cluster of Malay men coming from the direction of Jalan Silang marched past me. I later learned that these were actually the advance guard of a group of demonstrators who had escaped from the FRU at Masjid Jamek. Suddenly, you hear a massive roar and around the bend from behind KotaRaya, you see them. A horde of Malays chanting 'BERSIH, BERSIH, Hancur BN, Hidup Rakyat', along with your standard shouts of 'Reformasi'. The Chinese gathered at Petaling Street go wild at this stage. I feel the blood rising in my head, a quickening of the heart and pride that there are many, many like-minded people in Malaysia. There were initially only several hundred of us but 15 minutes later, it seems that runners have come from everyone and those gathered around Petaling Street fill the entire stretch of Jalan Sultan. It is a sea of demonstrators, you have the Facebook generation like me, conservative skull-cap wearing types from the hinterlands of Kelantan, aunties and uncles you would see at the market and all the major races represented. There were Sabah and Sarawak flags, banners, balloons and yellow t-shirts. Our lying PM says there were a total of 6,000 demonstrators in the whole of KL. Bullshit. There were at least 3,000 people on Jalan Sultan alone. They just kept coming. We tried to head down along Jalan Sultan towards Jalan Hang Jebat and the Merdeka Stadium but were unable to do so due to a heavy police presence and barbed wire. We ended up turning back towards Menara Maybank on Jalan Tun Perak. It was a rallying point and I saw Tony Pua and Tan Kok Wai among several Opposition leaders in front of Menara Maybank. You could see crowds coming from Jalan Pudu, Jalan Tun Perak and us coming from Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. It was like someone flipped a switch. PAS was very well organised and there were traffic marshals to tell us where to gather and which direction to head in. These PAS men were excellent, better than our police at the job. Herd mentality did the rest. We waited in front of Menara Maybank but heard from others that FRU trucks were bearing down on us from higher up on Jalan Tun Perak. Everyone had a phone, Twitter was going nuts and we were getting constant updates from around KL. By this time, my friend's mom and auntie had gone back home and it was just me and two other friends. Luckily, they had left because there is no way they could have escaped where we ended up later. In addition, we had been separated from the lawyers and other friends. The three of us started walking down Jalan Pudu and wanted to ascend a ramp by the side of the bus station to get a better view when all hell broke lose. You suddenly see this massive crowd of thousands literally sprinting down Jalan Pudu. It is a supremely unnerving experience seeing thousands of people sprinting towards you. The FRU trucks had arrived and tear gas canisters were being fired. Thankfully, we were quite a distance away and escaped most of the effects. For the next round, the trucks began spraying stragglers and the more defiant PAS men with chemically-laced water. The FRU managed to separate the large crowd into two smaller ones; the group I was in was trapped on Jalan Pudu, hemmed in by the FRU on both sides while another group ran off towards Jalan Raja Chulan. There was a respite at this point as the FRU began marshalling their forces and slowly converged towards us. It was 2pm at this point. Half an hour later, it started drizzling and the three of us sheltered in front of the shop-houses near the Tung Shin hospital. I was curious as to what was happening and peeked out onto the road; looking towards the Pudu Bus Station and Menara Maybank side. There was gas at the start of Jalan Pudu and I started yelling that we needed to run. At precisely that instant, a tear gas canister lands 10 feet from us. Pandemonium. The five foot way in front of us was packed and we were bottle-necked. People did not want to run past the canister and I started yelling that we need to just run past the thing. I think I lost it at that stage, I just remember yelling 'Just run, keep moving, don't stop, don't stop!!' Everyone started running and we clambered through the broken fences and ran up towards the Tung Shin hospital, tear gas stinging us. It was terrible being tear-gassed, you can hardly breathe, your eyes are watering. And rubbing your eyes only makes it worse. A few hundred of us huddled in front of the hospital on its hilltop position and we could see the FRU trucks spraying chemicals at the more hardcore supporters and the stragglers on Jalan Pudu. It was pouring at this stage and it helped dissipate the tear gas and dampen its effects. We caught another breather there for about 10 minutes when the unthinkable happens; tear gas is fired into the hospital compound. If you believe the IGP that reports of tear gas being fired into the Tung Shin compound are berita angin, you need to get your head checked. Because I saw it with my own eyes. I hear curses of 'Sial UMNO, Sial ni punya orang' and all manner of expletives. A defiant protester started gesticulating and shouting 'Ni Hospital la! Tembak buat apa?!' There seemed to be literally nowhere to run at this stage. Thankfully it was only two or three canisters and the heavy rain was still in our advantage. Now, we had to decide whether to stay put because 'They won't raid a hospital la' or clamber over some fences behind the hospital onto Persiaran Raja Chulan and SRJK (C) Nan Kai behind us. We chose the latter and got to the other side with help from other demonstrators and made our way towards Jalan Ceylon and came out near the Istana Hotel. I met a photographer friend at this point and my other two friends decided to call it a day. I found out later via news reports that the FRU had indeed raided the hospital and arrested several protesters recovering from the effects of tear gas. So it was a lucky escape. The two of us headed down onto Jalan P Ramlee and Jalan Sultan Ismail, all the while following stragglers. There were BERSIH traffic marshals on motorbike who told us to head in the direction of Dang Wangi as demonstrators were re-gathering there. At the intersection of Jalan Ampang and Jalan Sultan Ismail, we could see another massive crowd gathering in front of the Dang Wangi LRT station. It is now 3.15pm and they begin marching down Jalan Ampang. It is surreal watching tens of thousands marching in front of Zouk and SRJK (C) Lai Meng. Our destination; KLCC. We spill out in front of the Twin Towers and shut down the roads. There are insufficient police personnel at this point of time to control the protesters. I see Chua Jui Meng and Hatta Ramli giving speeches and most of us sit to hear them out. Half an hour later, FRU personnel finally arrive with their trucks and tear gas and chemicals and finally manage to disperse the crowd with everyone running around KLCC or further down Jalan Ampang. I also see my first arrests. Uniformed police in groups of three or four corner off stragglers and arrest them with cable tie handcuffs. Everyone runs like ants under attack by a sadistic bully and that is finally the end of my rally experience. I hide out in KLCC Park for a while and eventually make it back into KLCC and anti-climatically end my evening re-watching Transformers 3 smelling of tear gas and chemicals. Ultimately, it was at times awe-inspiring and sometimes I nearly wet my pants. Running away from police and dodging tear gas is something I hope I never have to do again. I doubt that will be the case though. My mentality is that if 1 million Malaysians flood the city, the police will not be able to handle us. Too bad there were only 6,000 (IGP and PM's words) to 50,000 protesters (BERSIH coalition estimates). Too many people stood back and watched and were apathetic and apolitical. Too many people were scared that something would happen and lastly too many of you fools have yet to even register to vote. I have met too many Malaysians over in Australia; and I am sure there are many similar types in the UK, US, NZ and around the globe who simply cannot be bothered about the country they were born in, but know how to complain. Well, people, talk is cheap. When you have not even registered, you automatically give up your rights to complain. You may think that it does not involve you, but you have friends, you have family back home in Malaysia. Not everyone is as lucky as you and me who have OZ, UK, US, NZ, SG etc. permanent residencies. It is easy to run off to another country and earn your big bucks there, but ultimately, you are still a foreigner in a foreign land. Is it that difficult to have some love for the country of your birth? Just give up your damned Malaysian citizenship if you cannot be stuffed to even bother about your homeland. In a nutshell, how difficult is it to go to a post office and register? Are you an amputee? Did you lose a leg clearing landmines in Cambodia? Can you not drive your fat ass there? Frankly, I am sick of reading about 'Can't wait to go to Melbourne for winter hols' or 'Las Vegas rocks!' or 'Awesome gelati in Italy' or 'Should I get a Hermes or a LV bag?' as Facebook posts and getting a blank look when asking these morons; 'What do you think about our government?' Get some damned perspective, people. If this little rant of mine has convinced even one of you fence-sitters and 'yet-to-registers' to do something rather than sitting on your asses and complaining about our country, then at least I have done my small part for this country that I love and hope to die in. Please share this note if I have either a) entertained you or b) inspired you or c) pissed you off, you unregistered idiot. |
| Seeking support for Ops Scorpene fund raising dinner Posted: 10 Jul 2011 04:31 PM PDT Ops Scorpene is a fundraising and awareness campaign to further pursue the case in the French courts as a national issue. It seeks to instil interest amongst Malaysians to question arms spending and transparency in arms procurement of the country. Ops Scorpene aims to raise RM100,000 via events planned during the visit of the French lawyers to Malaysia. For this, SUARAM will be organizing two events in Penang and Kuala Lumpur during the French lawyer's visit in Malaysia and give a chance to ordinary citizens and Civil Society Organisations to grasp the facts of the scandal that has shaken the nation. Other speakers including Cynthia Gabriel (SUARAM), Lim Kiat Siang (DAP), Tian Chua (PKR), and Mat Sabu (PAS). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5KIhPPnF0E The following are the details about fundraising dinner in Penang: Date: 21 July 2011 (Thursday) Time: 8.00p.m. Venue: Banquet Hall Function Room 2, Level 4, Sunshine Square Complex, Penang (Halal cuisine) If you cannot make it for the dinner, we welcome donations. Please contact me if you wish to donate. The following is for your reference: Table class A -- RM 5000 Table class B -- RM 3000 Table class C -- RM 2000 Table class D -- RM 1000 Table class E -- RM 500 For further enquiries, contact jingcheng85@yahoo.com or suarampg@gmail.com or contact Ong Jing Cheng at 012-7583779. We thank you in anticipation for your involvement. Background: The submarine commission issue is not a single issue but the national issue with domino effect concerning all the Malaysians, about how money was spent on arms spending and the "rights to know" of our rakyat. Therefore, Suaram Penang would like to call upon a meeting with all the concerning group, to have a briefing and further discussion on this issue and we would like to seek for your assistance to make the event a success. On the 5th June 2002, the Malaysian Government signed an agreement with French DCNS and Spainish Navantia for the procurement of two Scorpene class submarines. The procurement contract was through direct negotiation with the manufacturing companies, said to be with the service of Perimekar Sdn Bhd. Razak Baginda is the owner of Perimekar. According to the Government explanation, the contract was divided into two parts: 1. Cost of two Scorpene submarines together with the package that covers Integrated Logistic Support and training amounted to Euro 969.15m (however on 14 May 2008, Najib told the Parliament that this part cost Euro 999.15) 2. Payment to Perimekar Sdn Bhd in the name of "coordination services" for a period of six years, the sum was Euro 114.96m. On 23 December 2009, SUARAM through our networks in France linked up with leading human rights lawyers in France, to file a complaint with the French judicial system, with the hope that a preliminary investigation would be initiated. This was done to enable access to information, to the government contracts signed with PERIMEKAR and other information classified as government secrets in Malaysia. In April 2010, the lawyers representing SUARAM, informed us that the courts had accepted the request to investigate the claim of corruption for a payment amounting to Euro 114 million made as commissions from DCNS to Perimekar. The French, practising the Civil Law system where a judge assumes the role of an inquisitorial and investigative referee, has so far kept the findings of its investigations confidential. Our lawyers however, have informed us that the investigation is coming to an end, and should move to full trial after it decides whether or not there is sufficient evidence to pursue the matter in open court. Sincerely, Ong Jing Cheng
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| 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
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