COMMENT It is sad that
despite the success of the Bersih 3.0 rally, the government’s media have
successfully managed to distract some of us from the larger issue which is the
demand for electoral reforms. Many of Bersih’s own supporters, even those who
took part in the rally of April 28, have been busy accusing fellow participants
of breaking the law and indulging in violence.
Some commentators cite the storming of the barbed wire barricade at
Dataran Merdeka as the reason why the police shifted their position from “token
resistance” back to their old ways. Others were more crass, calling those who
stormed the barricade as “hooligans” who took law into their own hands despite
the court order banning the crowd being inside the square. These so-called law
abiding citizens of course do not ask questions like “which law?” or “whose
courts?”
Then there are of course others who treat the rally as simply a
parade, and that being peaceful means abiding by even the unfair laws symbolized
by the barbed wires. Some are clearly under the illusion that Bersih 3.0 was our
answer to the Rio carnival. Their political loyalty is only laid bare upon
reading their ‘eyewitness’ reports taking pains to point out that majority of
rally goers were not opposition supporters. In their inability to overcome their
inborn allergy of opposition parties such as PAS and PKR, they even make the
claim that shouts of ‘reformasi’ were not entertained by the crowd.
 The truth is that we all went
there to break the law. A law devoid of fair play and justice, a law which is
enforced to the detriment of ordinary citizens. The barricades blocking our
march into Dataran Merdeka are the clearest and most tangible symbol of the
government’s animosity to the ordinary public. It would be foolish to be there
and not dismantle them... |
One eyewitness, none other than the daughter of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, even
points out that no political leader in the country could have mobilized
something as big as Bersih. (Gentle reminder: 14 years ago, 100,000 people
gathered at the same spot in support of a certain individual that her father
despises).
The truth is that shouts of ‘reformasi’ and ‘Hancur Najib’
were reverberating in liberal doses on that day. Anyone who was there would tell
you that slogans against Barisan Nasional had echoed with the same fury and
spirited volume as the “non-partisan” shouts of “Bersih” or “Hidup Rakyat”, and
spiraled later into the LRT coaches and nearby restaurants. Those who claim
otherwise could be living in their smart sound-proofed walls of wishful
thinking, selectively erasing out words they couldn’t stomach.
Barricade a symbol of arrogance
Whatever the instructions given by Bersih leaders, the fact is that the
clamour for electoral reforms has taken a life of its own. It is therefore naïve
to expect that the tens of thousands of people who went there should not storm
the barricade, having been told to be as close as possible to Dataran
Merdeka.
A video clip going around on the internet purportedly shows PKR chief Anwar
Ibrahim giving the green light to his deputy president Azmin Ali to open the
barricades blocking Dataran Merdeka. This clip is then used by some to condemn
Anwar as the cause of the police brutality that followed.
I for one have
never vehemently come to Anwar’s defence other than my profound sympathy for the
vile allegations that he and family have been made to endure. But if Anwar had
indeed called for the barricades to be torn down, I really don’t mind putting a
photograph of him as my desktop wallpaper!
The truth is that we all went
there to break the law. A law devoid of fair play and justice, a law which is
enforced to the detriment of ordinary citizens. The barricades blocking our
march into Dataran Merdeka are the clearest and most tangible symbol of the
government’s animosity to the ordinary public. It would be foolish to be there
and not dismantle them.
We did not go there to merely shout and punch
the air. We probably did so last year, singing in rain at the gates of Stadium
Merdeka. This time, it is serious business. There is no time to waste. We are
talking about tens of thousands of dubious names in the electoral roll, new
voters whose citizenship are suspicious, the continued Big Brother mentality of
our tax-funded television channels, and many more.
Nothing wrong with breaking down barricades
The people of Egypt would not have celebrated the downfalls of their
tyrants had they followed the law and stayed outside the perimeters of the
heavily fortified Tahrir Square
(left). History shows that for
change to happen, removing police barricades is a norm, indeed the act has
become a main ingredient of peaceful protests to claim back public places and
venues denied to them. It does not justify any high handedness by the security
forces.
| Pakatan Rakyat leaders should not pay attention to the
constant focus by the police and the UMNO media on the storming of the
barricade, as if the act were a grave threat against public safety. This is no
time to defend from accusations of violence and vandalism. People are angry,
they want reforms. |
History is replete with such examples. Change could not have happened if
Iranians had obeyed the law against demonstrations during the Shah tyranny in
1979, or if the Berlin wall had not been vandalised in 1989, or if Gandhi had
not picked up salt during his 240-mile Salt March in 1930, or if Rosa Parks had
not stuck her butt in a bus seat in Alabama in 1955.
Pakatan Rakyat leaders should not pay attention to the constant focus by the
police and the UMNO media on the storming of the barricade, as if the act were a
grave threat against public safety. This is no time to defend from accusations
of violence and vandalism. People are angry, they want reforms. More
importantly, they want them now. There is no need to waste time claiming ‘agent
provocateurs’ amongst the crowd.
I find nothing wrong in what some
protesters did at Dataran, and simply accusing them of being ‘agent
provocateurs’ is not only clichéd but also plays into the hands of propaganda.
There is no use compiling evidences to back claims of police brutality. Now is
not the time to seek apology for the treatment meted out on protesters, but an
apology over the way institutions of democracy have been raped and
systematically undermined. After all, it is why we braved the tear gas, defied
police warnings, and by the same logic, stormed the barricades at Dataran
Merdeka.
Not a
tea party
The April 28 rally is not a tea party or simply a ‘walk’ as some who
participated in it would like to think. Those who feel we should not have
stormed the barricades at Dataran might as well stay home clicking at the ‘like’
button of anti-government Facebook pages, or disappear into some obscure stadium
as suggested by the Kuala Lumpur mayor, in keeping with the stand that DAP
leader Tunku Aziz has taken.
My only regret is that I was not part of the
crowd who tore down the barricades. I was suffering from tear gas attack near
Masjid Jamek, with the multiracial ‘hooligans’-cum-‘pharmacists’ coming to my
help offering toothpaste, salt and water, before charging towards a police force
that is armed to the teeth and trained to injure.
To those who fail to
understand why we defied the law that day, I have this to say: “
Kalau takut
dengan risiko, jangan bicara soal perjuangan”. Pull aside, chew the gum of
defeat and watch the show. That will be better than accusing those who risked
personal safety to hammer in the urgency of reforms. To paraphrase a verse from
the Qur’an, not equal are those who stay home and those who strive hard with
their wealth and their lives.
The writer is editor at Islamic Book Trust, Petaling
Jaya.
