Bersih 3.0 - My take

Take action, stop sitting on your rights, make sure you vote this 13^th General Election for a better tomorrow

 

When Bersih 3.0 was announced to be held on 28 April 2012, I decided then that this time I would definitely go, having missed the last one due to a prior commitment out of town. But, to be honest, I still hopped and procrastinated around that decision, only tightening my resolve a week leading to the fateful event.

Why didn’t I make up my mind to go/the stern decision to go, when they announced it at the beginning of April? Since I was so determined, I shouldn’t have made up my mind at what would seem to be some sort of last minute resolve, right?

Well, I’m sure we’ve all been following along with what’s been going on, and I really did not like the fact that Bersih 3.0 seemed to be a Pakatan thing instead of an event by the people, for the people. True some may argue that Pakatan has the people’s interest in line, but I cannot blame the government for saying that Bersih is turning out to be anti-government what with how things were looking. I felt deterred, has the true meaning of Bersih disappeared? Was it still there?

Now before I continue, I would like to say that I’m not pro nor anti-government (okay maybe a little). But what I want is a better future for myself, and for the future generation. I’m a Malaysian who is tired of the racism, of the unjust policies, and the absurd manner in which the country which I am born into, my country, is being run. And most of all, I believe we need a change for a better tomorrow. I want to stop seeing colours, I want to stop all the biasness, I wish that we can all stop seeing each other as the enemy, but as friends, where everyone has the equal opportunity in everything, where there is no corruption and dirty politics. I don’t want to continue living in fear, fearful of what tomorrow will bring, fearful of what will happen to my country if I continue to stay here, fearful of my future, I want to stop fearing! That’s all I want.

So I decided, since the Bersih rally is becoming some political movement that should be even more of a reason that I should go, that more people such as myself, who understands the true reason why we are going for the Bersih rally should go. We should go there and tell people that this is for free and clean elections not for “Mansuhkan BN” or “Hidup Pakatan”. Nope, we are there for “Bersih” and “Hidup Rakyat” only. That’s what we will be there for.

I tried asking a few of my friends to go with me, but the response was altogether disappointing, with friends who are, either lazy, or too scared to go, for fear of the repercussions that may befall them, or not even realizing what was the rally for. However, I respected their decisions, and would rather not go with people who don’t realize what the cause is as they will not realize what they are getting themselves into.

I was disappointed about that, no doubt, but I don’t blame them, for all my life, I’ve been lazy, I’ve been ignorant and I’ve been fearful as well, I remember my 12 year old self during the then general elections telling my parents, that it was pointless to vote since we know what the outcome was. That was when I was 12. Now over 10 years later, I’ve changed, I’m not going to be complacent, I will stand up for what should rightfully belong to Malaysians.

To be honest, let me say that I only became aware of this little flame in me in 2007 when, I was sent to the UK for my education. I was perhaps just turning 21 then? I had just attained the rightful legal age to vote in my country. But I digress because whatever it was, for sending me to the UK to experience life there, and to help me open my eyes to the politics of my country, I have to thank my parents for that opportunity.

I realized that when I was over there, I would tell each of my foreign friends how bad things are in Malaysia, that it is no point fighting it and that all was bleak, that the only good thing about Malaysia is perhaps its food and perhaps some of its people. I even got questioned if there wasn’t anything else that was good.

I realized that people who could study in my country had to go overseas and spend such a huge amount of money to get a good education, so that we can get employed when we return home to work. That cars there were cheaper, and people there don’t have to pay exorbitant taxes to get a good car, whereas here we are burdened by heavy taxes on cars; forcing us to buy our locally made cars, which if were made properly, we wouldn’t have anything to complain about. (well but they do have a high income tax – more for foreigners though, not sure how high of a tax the local pay)

That students there can be involved in politics, whereas here we were limited by an act that refuses to allow us to be a part in any political party even though we are of the legal age to vote. It was total absurdity.

Then the first Bersih occurred, my foreign friends were concerned along with me on the situation of my country, the chaos that was showed repeatedly over and over again in the news, it was in the papers, and on the internet. Upon touching down in Malaysia, the first Bersih was merely a small paragraph in our papers.

The first thing I did when I arrived back in Malaysia was to register myself as a voter, literally – I registered on my first day back from the UK with a friend, who happened to be flying off  the next day to the US to further his studies.

I studied the papers, reading both the mainstream and alternative media, before making up my mind on which party to vote for. A difference from my attitude that I had as a child and when I was growing up; imagine a 12 year old child saying that there is no point in voting since the current ruling government will win anyway. I was that child. But at 21 that all changed.

Bersih 2.0 came on the 9 July 2011, but I couldn’t make it so with the announcement of Bersih 3.0 somewhere in early April (or was it end of March) I made up my mind to go.

I was scared, I knew that I would most probably get tear gassed and sprayed with the water cannon. And if I was really unlucky I might get involved with the police brutality. Being a person who has not exercised for… well a very long time, and having a weak constitution, I was scared of what all those effects might have on me. But I braved it up and decided that I had to go. I never realized how Malaysia was until I was a foreigner in a foreign land.

The day before the rally, I was afraid, “I’ve no stamina and a weak constitution, sometimes I’ve breathing problems, although not asthmatic, if they fire tear gas can I outrun it, will it affect my breathing, can I even run? What happens if I get hit by the water cannon? And I sure hope that I don’t get manhandled by the cops”. Such thoughts ran through my mind that night. I was afraid. But as they say, fear blinds, and I refused to be blinded anymore.

On the fateful day, I woke up with my heart beating faster than usual, I was feeling lucky that my colleague had invited me to join his group as friends since none of my friends were able or willing to make it.  So having had a light breakfast and having packed everything that I would need (courtesy of all the online survival kits floating around) I headed to the LRT station.

Along the way I saw so many people walking to the station and it was so easy to pick out those who were on the same mission as I, yellow shirt or not. When I arrived at the station, the first thing that really caught my eye was the number of people wearing the yellow Bersih 3.0 shirt out in the open. I felt that, it was a real improvement from last year, that we can now wear yellow in the open, I didn’t dare to wear my yellow shirt, instead I had it tucked away safely in my bag. I was hoping in my heart that those wearing yellow would be able to make it safely to the rally and not get caught along the way unlike last year. It was good that my wish came true. And I was greeted by yellow everywhere I turned in KL.

Fearing that the Masjid Jamek  station would be closed I alighted with my new found friends at Pasar Seni and decided to make our way to Masjid Jamek on foot, grabbing some food along the way and a pair of ear plugs each. The LRT stations and the nearby food stalls were doing a roaring business, I doubt that they’ve seen these many people (well, I guess they did since the last Bersih, I suppose).

The air was filled with festivity, as people all talked, and took pictures; laughter was abound. Even the yellow and green “Angry Birds” made their presence known. It really felt like a carnival, and people cheering together in unison, made the words “1 Malaysia” really feel like it was just that, 1 Malaysia.

The feeling of singing Negaraku with everyone else, really made you feel that this is your homeland, your country, the feeling of patriotism that one doesn’t feel having to sing the song every Monday back during the school days. 250,000 people all together, on a willing basis for the betterment of their country, what could be better than that.

I was lucky to be with people who had experienced the last Bersih and knew what to avoid, and as I wasn’t the only new comer present, they made us safe by leading us away from the crowd into the more open side lanes, in case we do need to run, hopefully we will not be caught in the stampede.

Everything was so peaceful though, that we felt that we would not get hit by any tear gas or water cannon at all, that everything would be fine until 4pm when it was time to disperse. Everyone was just happily cheering and chatting with each other. Feeling hungry, some of us decided to hunt for some food, and we found a little Japanese restaurant along Jalan Tun HS Lee, and settled in (we sat upstairs which was air-conditioned). Not long after ordering our food, we heard sirens, apparently tear gas was just fired while we were in the restaurant, we looked out of the window and saw that some people had ran into the street that we were at a mere 5 minutes ago!

After a while, since the food was taking forever, we decided to go down and have a quick look, looks like the crowd was back to normal with their cheers, so after hanging around for a while we headed back to the restaurant, only to realize that a 2^nd shot had been realized once we were safely seated back in our seats, talk about luck!

All in all, to make a long story short, I avoided getting tear gassed a total of 3 times, as apparently a 3^rd shot was fired after we had left the restaurant to head on home. This prompted us to joke that we should have stayed outside more, as no tear gas seemed to be fired when we were outside. But I digress. After giving such a long story, I’m finally reaching the crux of it; the message that I would like to deliver.

I understand that the Opposition, like the rakyat would like a fair and clean elections, but hijacking Bersih’s rally to get support isn’t what I and I hope other likeminded Malaysians, did not have in mind. It is true that as a political leader people look up to you. And it is unfortunate but Bersih is political whether we agree to it or not since it’s elections that allow us to dictate which political party will govern our country.

I honestly did not appreciate how things were going on with these political parties there going on about “Mansuhkan BN”, “Hancurkan Rosmah”, “Hancurkan BN” and “Hidup Pakatan”, and I thank those strong voiced people who directed the rally to its proper route, or rather cheers. People should not follow these cheers, but unfortunately there were, which makes me think that a number of the people there, don’t even realize why they are there.

Apparently some of the people that came did not have internet and only heard sporadic information before coming; did they know that there was supposed to be no violence, but just a peaceful assembly? We will never know.

A number of people are saying that there were undercover agent provocateurs, and I do not deny this may be true, but it also may not be totally the truth. When there is a mob, the mob mentality takes over, hence we need people who can go with the mob but can think individually as well. So if one person starts on a violent rampage, mob mentality dictates that others follow so it’s dangerous, was there a agent provocateur, probably, and almost certainly, but it’s the people that fell into the trap, which has caused such an end result to happen. People going should be calm and collected. Do not give rise to the bait. As they say, it’s easier for them to react against you if you are violent. If you are docile, they can’t do a thing to you.

For future rallies, I hope that the people going, know what they are going for and go for the right reason. Cheer for the right reason and know when to calm down and control their feelings. I don’t understand the need to confront the police and get shot at with water cannons and tear gas, which brings me to another point.

I noticed that as much as some of the police seem to enjoy firing the tear gas (and water cannon) and other violent acts, such as beating people up, it seems like some people enjoy getting tear gassed (and water cannoned) and/or harassed. This I cannot comprehend, perhaps the love for the limelight? Getting on the media? But it’s for the wrong reasons though. Is the pain worth it? I don’t think so.

What are these people thinking, it’s time to disperse, even if you can’t hear the organizers, it’s already almost 5pm. The rally was supposed to be from 2-4pm. So even if it dragged on, 5pm is already late, and it’s obvious that some people are leaving, these people have gotten too much into the heat of things and stayed on to challenge the police.. Honestly, to be fair to the police and it’s bad of me to say this, but challenging the police on purpose, I won’t really have any pity for you if you get gassed or cannoned.

I know with such a number of people, it’s not easy to disperse but, you guys were definitely not dispersing, I saw it with my own eyes.

The police had used unreasonable force on the people, and that I condemn as well. There was no need to tear gas and water cannon the public who didn’t do anything. Someone breaching the barrier at Dataran Merdeka is a lame excuse to use to attack the people. Some of the police there are just like gangsters out for blood, can’t blame the people for having no respect for the police, chasing people down when they were dispersing, enjoying the hunt; disappointment to the country.

The act with the car crashing into protestors is another story, and as I wasn’t at SOGO I shall refrain from commenting on it, I just wish that everyone will share the correct video and not jump to their own conclusions. I am angry as well, but I contain my anger as I continue my search for the truth.

April the 28^th of 2012 marked a historical moment where Malaysia had its biggest rally, spanning all over the globe (or almost) I would agree that save for the above, the rally was a success, as this shows that a number of Malaysians are aware of what is going on and are ready to take a stand for their rights and for the rights of the future generation. We may or may not get the changes that we had asked or hoped for, but I believe that as more of us dare to stand up and fight for what is ours, our voice will eventually get through and change will come.

I went there to make my stand for free and clean elections, I didn’t go to get gassed (or water cannoned), and by a stroke of luck or whatever it is, I didn’t. Hidup Rakyat, Hidup Bersih, Salam 1 Malaysia.

P/s: to my dear friends who unfortunately could not escape the tear gas, water canon and brutality, i hope you are all okay and that together we continue fighting for a better tomorrow for ourselves and the future generation. I believe that we went there to make a stand and not to fight against with the authorities - as such the tear gas, water cannons and brutality was totally uncalled for, and I hope we all stand together and are even more united after this episode.