By Yow Hong Chieh
July 10, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — The brother of Baharuddin Ahmad, who died yesterday after collapsing during the Bersih rally, has blamed the death on a “deliberate act of cruelty” by the police.

Kassim Ahmad, 72, told The Malaysian Insider his brother had died because the police had withheld medical aid from Baharudin after he collapsed while running away from tear gas and water cannon bombardment.

“[They] asked the police to help send him to hospital but they refused, so we waited for one-and-a-half hours before the van came,” he said.

“A lot of people tried to revive him … Had he been given oxygen, he would be alive today.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Hafiz Yatim
Jul 10, 11 | MalaysiaKini

COMMENT The motto for the Royal Malaysian Police Force is Tegas (Firmness), Adil (Just), and Berhemah (Well-mannered) But was it practised in its crackdown on the Bersih 2.0 demonstrators yesterday?

There is much mention over the Inspector General Standing Orders (IGSO) which is under the Official Secrets Act. But were such guidelines employed by the force?

Witnessing the event live on the field among the demonstrators and law enforcement officers, I have to say I have my doubts over the manner and professionalism as to how our police reacted in handling such a pressure cooker situation! Read the rest of this entry »

By Azmil Tayeb
July 10, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JULY 10 — To those who support the recent Bersih 2.0 rally for clean elections we’ve heard the same old tired detracting canards propounded by the Malaysian mainstream media echo chamber, which were later parroted by our own family members and friends.

Truth be told, it got to the point where I simply refused to dignify their “anti-Bersih” arguments with sound intellectual responses because I think they were too frivolous and didn’t deserve any.

Still, I also have this nagging need to clear the air for once and for all especially now in the aftermath of the event. The dust has finally settled and the facts have naturally emerged from the battle-scarred ground. Read the rest of this entry »

By Clara Chooi
July 11, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — Quiet has settled over Saturday’s chaos but one image is still making waves on the Internet — the picture of an elderly woman in yellow, drenched in rain and chemical-laced water, walking away from riot police while clutching on to a long-stemmed flower and a near-empty mineral water bottle.

She is Annie Ooi Siew Lan, a 65-year-old retired English teacher who took a bus from Setapak in the early morning of July 9 to join thousands of others in Bersih 2.0’s march for free and fair elections. An unknown man had offered her the flower in the morning and she waved it like a flag throughout the four-hour march. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lee Min Keong
Jul 11, 11 | MalaysiaKini

COMMENT Despite weeks of threats and intimidation over the Bersih 2.0 rally and a massive operation to lock down Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, my wife and I joined tens of thousands of Malaysians from all walks of life to give the government a simple message – give us free and fair elections, true democracy and a better future for our children.

Walking down traffic-free downtown Kuala Lumpur near Petaling Street at about noon, I see people representing a cross-section of Malaysian society congregating, patiently waiting for the Bersih rally to start. Read the rest of this entry »

By Ooi Kee Beng
July 11, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JULY 11 — After the events of July 9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak could be making a mistake if he calls snap elections any time soon.

A day after the police suppression of the Bersih 2.0 demonstration, he continued using a confrontational tone in public,and seemed to play more the role of United Malays National Organisation (Umno) party leader than of Malaysia’s national leader. This strongly suggests that he is psyching himself and his party into election mode. Read the rest of this entry »

By Marina Mahathir

So I went.

I have to say that the night before I had many many misgivings, especially after reading about the army doing exercises with the FRU. Could the government seriously be contemplating shooting their own people? Who knows? My stomach was in knots thinking about the many young people I knew who were intent on going, including my daughter. Would I be able to forgive myself if something happened to them?

After seeking advice from various friends, I finally decided that I could not stay safely at home while my daughter, friends and colleagues faced possible danger. I had to walk with them. Besides even if I stayed home, I would have spent all my time worrying. So I had to go. Read the rest of this entry »

By Hsu Dar Ren
July 11, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JULY 11 — The dust has settled from the Bersih 2.0 march and life is now back to normal.

The much-anticipated rally took place and despite the heavy clampdown, shutting KL-bound roads and diverting traffic, an estimated 20,000 people walked in many parts of the city to express their wish for a cleaner and more transparent election process.

With all due respect, the authorities could have handled this rally in a much more civil and humane way, since this was as an initiative by civil society ( a coalition of 62 NGOs) to ask for something which should by right should be provided without even having to ask. Read the rest of this entry »