I know I am a week behind time. But it did strike me when I came across with such a big havoc happened somewhere near my church in KL.
.The BERSIH demonstration involved over 30,000 demonstrators with the same desire of reforming the electoral roll. I actually anti-street demo. How much difference can be made by that after all bearing in mind that so many consequences are needed to be beared? Isn't it doing more harms than good? I wonder if it is the only way to voice our opinions... The news reporter was right perhaps, it is Malaysians' way of expressing!
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Read an email few days back depicting a letter written by a lawyer, one of the demonstrator in the rally regarding his points of view. That email tended to shake me from my own stand of objecting street demo. He had his points. I do agree that there are some issues needed to be settled. But can't our country appreciate democracies? Can't we work together to make Malaysia a better place to live in? Can't we settle this peacefully?
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I want peace!
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For those who have seen & heard the 101 East Forum Video Clips on the Bersih Protest discussion and if you have missed anything, here is the chance to reread and confirm in the transcript.
http://powerpresent.blogspot.com/2007/11/transcript-al-jazeera-101-east-forum.html
I think u should read more about it before u make ur stand. U can check out malaysia today. Even wikipedia has an article on it.
Anyways the rally was a peaceful rally and i applaud wat they did that day. The rally just turned ugly when they spray water laced with chemicals on the ppl and tear gas-ed them.
Did u know a few days before the rally, they broadcasted on the tele, violent demonstrations and gave out warnings against participating the rally. Y couldn't they just approve the permit for the rally and allow the peaceful demonstration.
U know wats worse, the day after the rally, the newspaper reported it onli on page 8 and about the rally causing a jam and said onli 4000 ppl were there. I mean its the a very big news and yet they covered up so much. Now they are publishing EVERYDAY, about y the rally is bad, it is not supported by the ppl, the ppl are not happy with the rally and its not supported by the royalties.
But then again, wat the opposition is reporting is also exageration. They just reported on the other extreme of the scenario. So dun believe everything u read or see. Each side have their own stories, but the truth is somewhere in between.
U say u want peace, but with the way our country is heading. Wats the use of peace if we are corrupted to the core.
- Ur "mentor" -
Thanks kywong for the reading sources.
My "mentor", I appreciate your opinion. Perhaps what I had been exposing to is only the chaotic side of it. Ones will never approve thing that is going against them, so as any rally that is going against the government. My concern is, are they doing the right thing in a right way? If it is the way, illegal rallies won't cease till a point where democracy is practised. Ya right, each side has its own story and neither side is right or wrong. Hope the rakyat's voices were heeded that what had happened will not go into waste.
The only point where this rally is illegal was that it had no permit. So we need to ask ourselves, who issue the permit?
Mentor was right. The demonstration had been peaceful until the police used force, which I think was unneccesary.
What the police should have done was direct the demonstrators and the traffic. Wouldn't that be win-win? That's what they do in highly dubbed democratic countries like the States and UK.
But hey, why talk politics. I agree it's tainted. To be fair and apolitical, look at this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass
Mass gathering of cyclists (a topic rather close to my heart) as a way to promote cycling as a form of daily comute. At one occassion, 50,000 cyclists gathered in Budapest, a proof that massive gathering can be done peacefully.
The real question is, why weren't they allowed to gather?
hey, just dropping by ur blog. You had your point there. but that viewpoint was based on a very democratic nation.
The question is, is our country truly democratic?
And as pointed out by previous comments, why wasn't BERSIH given a permit?
I'm also pretty sure that you've based your information on "reliable sources" like malaysian newspapers - the star, nst etc.
How sure are u of their reliability?
you've Watched the al-jazeera network. Read from CNN, BBC, Asia times online. They present a completely different viewpoint.
Our media after all was rated below Pakistan(one of the countries kutuked by zainuddin maidin - malaysian information information minister) and Bosnia. Do you trust our media?
They did not even report the figures right for the BERSIH demo. 4000 according to them. Watch the videos clearly and that definitely is more than 4000. Other sources reported between 10000-60000. I think anwar was exagerrating when he said 100000 so let's leave him out.
If there's no trust in our government controlled media, how can one then trust the 'democracy'?
Democracy is for the people. To vote for the people u need information. But if all the info you can get is one-sided, is that democracy? If a total of let say 60000 ppl march up to present their frustration, and yet the rest of malaysia without internet access do not know a single thing about it, is it democracy? If u are made into believing that your vote matters but 5000 phantom voters can just enter the election area and vote for one party (no matter whether it's gov or opposition), is that democracy?
And i believe the BERSIH people did it only after being forced to one corner. If they could hold a peaceful gathering somewhere to educate the public they would have. If they could write to the government and expect some changes they would have already done that. If they could do any other thing, it is possibly already accomplished. But no one else knows about it.
No action is taken.
So they've decided to stand up for themselves.
I'm not saying that there's no democracy at all in malaysia. I'm just saying that the fact is there's a fear among the people of a robbed democratic system. A masked democracy is just my opinion.
Hi Azman and Charis, I understood what are you trying to say. Yes what I am most in contact with is the well covered up informations. Democracy is not in our hands and there hardly be an absolute solution. Bersih could have been a solution, only if the hearts knitted, the voices heard. Pray that this land is well guarded and for better changes. Thanks for your comments.
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