MAY 1 — Bersih 3.0 has come and gone. The protests outside KL were
peaceful — 11 other cities in Malaysia, 85 cities in 33 countries
outside Malaysia, including hikers up Mount Everest and divers off
Acheh. Numbers ranged from a handful of Malaysians in some countries
like Austria and Sri Lanka, to over a thousand in cities like London and
Melbourne, to ten thousand in Penang.
The negatives. Many
conspiracy theories abound as to how Dataran Merdeka was breached — was
it just a group of unruly protesters, were the protesters instigated by
the opposition, were the protesters planted by the government, were the
police ordered to allow the protesters in? Whatever the case, once that
happened, the police took that as an excuse to fire tear gas and spray
chemical-laced water into the crowds, even those who were peacefully
dispersing.
The trains stopped running at that point, effectively
barring people from joining the protest and from leaving it. Again,
where did those orders come from?
There was an ugly incident with
protesters attacking a police car which then ran over some people. Was
it staged? It's understood that the police car was later overturned
because the crowd believed that there was a person trapped under it.
That single episode, taken out of context, has been used to depict the
protest as unruly.
The negatives which help Bersih's cause. The
police chased, beat up, and arrested protesters and journalists. A bit
stupid, really, with media and technology the way it is today. An
Australian senator was in the crowd and got tear-gassed. Local and
international journalists got their cameras smashed and their memory
cards confiscated. The breach of Dataran Merdeka in no way justifies
the level of police brutality. The government has shown itself to be
“kejam” and “zalim,” in the words of many participants of Bersih 3.0.
The
positives. Up until the breach, it was very, very peaceful. The
photos of the sea of people in yellow are inspiring. The crowd was
intergenerational, multiracial ... people in wheelchairs were even
sighted. This show of solidarity gives us hope for a new future.
Practically
speaking, what happens now? I don't think the government is actually
going to revise anything about the electoral process. (The two demands
which were “partially” met were the use of indelible ink and 10 days of
campaigning — we asked for 21 days.) Let's not even talk about
malapportionment and gerrymandering, which was not in Bersih's eight
requests. In fact, a bill amended in Parliament prevents people from
approaching the polling station, raising the possibility of hanky-panky.
The
government might possibly offer up the Election Commission chief and
deputy, discovered to be members of UMNO, as sacrificial lambs, but
that's probably it. Forget about cleaning up the electoral roll or
reforming postal ballots — obviously that's where their safety votes are
coming from: deceased people, phantom voters, illegal immigrants bought
over with instant citizenship, and police and military forces compelled
to vote for the government.
How does this affect Najib's calling
for elections? Elections have to be called by May of next year.
Speculations about the election date over the past two years have been
rife, and time is running out. Prior to the protest, every sign
indicated to the election being called in June. Reasons to delay
elections: the aftershocks of the protest will undoubtedly result in
heightened anger against the government (Bersih 1.0 held four months
before the 2008 elections saw the ruling coalition losing the two-thirds
majority for the first time, and five states falling to the
opposition). Reasons not to delay elections: billions of dollars have
been spent to buy the people over — the government has disbursed RM500
to low-income families, raised the pay of civil servants, and are about
to announce a minimum wage law.
If the ruling coalition fails to
recapture the two-thirds majority (which is highly likely even despite
the rampant cheating in the election process), Najib will most assuredly
be Badawi-ed out sooner or later.
The biggest (and possibly
only) hope is that the massive turnout in KL (estimated 200,000) will
have sent a very strong signal to the government that you can only push
us so far. Yes, you will cheat — what else is new — but cook the
numbers a little too vigorously, and the people will rise against you.
We are no longer the stupid, submissive rakyat cowering in fear. We are
ready to fight for our rights.
The most likely scenario.
Elections are called, the ruling coalition wins with a smaller majority
than 2008, the opposition maintains the four states, reclaims the one
state that was stolen from them, and hopefully wins a few more.
The
best case scenario. Elections are called, and the ruling coalition is
kicked out even despite the cheating. If that happens, be wise, do not
celebrate on the streets. Pray for a peaceful transition lest the
ghosts of May 13 are reawakened.
Why am I so passionate about my
country? Simply because if we don't save Malaysia in the next few
years, there might be nothing left to save. Billions of dollars have
left the country in the past ten years or so, pilfered by greedy,
corrupt parasitical leeches masquerading as politicians. Religious
rights are being trampled on. The land is being raped—the forests in
Sabah and Sarawak are being cleared with no compensation offered to the
indigenous peoples, and an Australian company is preparing to dispose
their toxic waste in Pahang. The education system is in shambles.
Crime is on the rise. Prices have risen, risen, risen, and salaries are
not commensurate — how to cari makan? The judiciary, the police, the
media, the anti-corruption agency, the election commission — every
conceivable institution is in the pocket of the government.
The
next year will be very crucial to the future of Malaysia. Be wise and
alert. There will be an increase in wickedness, but it’s always darkest
before the dawn. The rakyat have awakened, and we will stand together
to fight to reclaim our land. Bersatu teguh, bercerai roboh!
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