BERSIH 3.0 Broke Many Glasses (Including A Few Glass Ceilings)
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Bersih, Elections, Hishammuddin, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak on Monday, 7 May 2012, 3:48 am
by Bakri Musa
First of Two Parts: Seeing The Bright Side
(Next Week: Part Two: Lessons To Be Learned)
In the aftermath of the largest public demonstrations against the Barisan government, the officials’ obsession now turns to the exercise of apportioning blame and the associated inflicting of vengeance. Both are raw human reactions, but hardly enlightening, sophisticated, or even fruitful. Besides, there is plenty of blame to go around. I prefer to look at the bright side and on the lessons that can be learned.
BERSIH 3.0 clearly demonstrates that Malaysians no longer fear the state. In that regard we are a quantum leap ahead of the Egyptians under Mubarak, the Iraqis under Saddam, or the Chinese under Mao (or even today). When citizens are no longer afraid of the state, many wonderful things would follow. BERSIH is also the first successful multiracial mass movement in Malaysia. In a nation obsessed with and where every facet is defined by race, that is an achievement worthy of note. Another significant milestone, again not widely acknowledged, is that the movement is led by a woman who is neither Malay nor a Muslim. Ambiga Sreenevasan broke not one but three Malaysian glass ceilings!
On a sour note, BERSIH 3.0 revealed that Barisan leaders (and a few from the opposition) have yet to learn and accept the fundamental premise that dissent is an integral part of the democratic process, and expressing it through peaceful assembly a basic human right. At a more mundane level though no less important, the authorities’ performance in BERSIH 3.0 also exposed their woeful incompetence and negligence in basic crowd control. Read the rest of this entry »
Dr Lim Teck Ghee’s reply to Dr Chandra Muzaffar’s invitation
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Lim Teck Ghee on Monday, 7 May 2012, 3:34 am
by Dr Lim Teck Ghee
CPISunday, 06 May 2012
Commentary
I thank Chandra for responding to my commentary on his lambasting of Bersih 3.0.
Although the Center for Policy Initiatives (CPI) is reproducing his response in full, there is really very little new in the engagement.
Basically Chandra has rehashed his arguments on the far-reaching changes to human rights and political and civil liberties that he sees taking place in the country.
In his initial article he was very emphatic on these changes maintaining that
“[I]t is an irrefutable fact that through these legislative reforms [Peaceful Assembly Act, ISA repeal, etc] the space and scope for the expression and articulation of human rights has been expanded and enhanced as never before.” Read the rest of this entry »
Reforming Education: Futility of the Exercise
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Education, English, Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday, 7 May 2012, 3:15 am
by Bakri Musa
Last of Six Parts
Earlier I reviewed the challenges faced by three groups of students who happen to be mostly if not exclusively Malays: kampong students, those in residential schools, and those in academic limbo following their Form Five.
There is another group, this time also exclusively Malays, being poorly served by our system of education: students in Islamic schools. These schools see their mission as primarily producing ulamas and religious functionaries; they are more seminaries, with indoctrination masquerading as education. They are more like Pakistan’s madrasahs and Indonesia’s pesantrens.
I would prefer that they be more like America’s faith-based schools which regularly outperform public ones. They are also cheaper and produce their share of America’s future scientists, engineers and executives. Religion is only one subject in these schools, not the all-consuming curriculum. Thus they attract many non-Christians. Contrast that to Islamic schools in Malaysia.
If Malaysia were to serve the aforementioned four groups of students well, that would go a long way in ameliorating the “Malay problem.” Read the rest of this entry »
Blind baseless support by 3 ex IGPs for Najib’s wild allegation that Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” was Opposition bid to topple the government latest proof there is no level playing field for free and fair elections
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, Police on Sunday, 6 May 2012, 4:24 pm
Almost every day, Malaysians are provided with fresh proof that there is just no level playing field for free and fair elections in Malaysia and that the Barisan Nasional government is still a very long way off from fulfilling Bersih 2.0 Eight Demands for free and fair elections highlighted in the July 9, 2011 rally, let alone the Further Three Demands of the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” on April 28 last month.
The Eight Demands of the Bersih 2.0 rally were: Read the rest of this entry »
Keberangkalian Umno menjadi pembangkang adalah tinggi
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 6 May 2012, 2:51 pm
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
May 06, 2012
6 MEI — Kali ini saya teruskan lagi tentang perlunya kerajaan diubah, dianjak dan di alih, kalau boleh sebelum pilihanraya umum. Sambutan himpunan Bersih menunjukkan sokongan kepada perubahan dan rakyat tidak lagi mahu menerima pujukan kerajaan dan pimpinan hari ini agar mereka diberikan sekali lagi sambungan untuk memerintah negara kita yang kaya raya tetapi disalah tadbir ini.
Apa pun kata pihak media massa arus perdana jumlah peserta himpunan Bersih 3.0 tetap jauh melebihi 200,000 orang. Siapa pun boleh nafikan angka ini, tetapi itulah angka yang sebenarnya. Tetapi angka itu tidak penting. Yang penting dalam pilihanraya kali ini BN akan sampai penghujung hayatnya untuk mentadbir negara kita setelah memerintah begitu lama yang membuatkan pemimpin-pemimpin mereka menjadi seperti orang yang kufur nikmat.
Mahu tidak mahu kita mesti terima hakikat yang Bersih 3.0 telah berjaya besar yang tidak disangka-sangka. Pihak BN boleh berkata mengikut apa yang mereka mahu dengar tetapi hakikatnya rakyat telah membuat keputusan yang ‘conclusive’; iaitu, untuk menggantikan BN, justru rakyat akan ditadbir oleh kerajaan baru. Seperti yang saya sebut dalam posting saya beberapa hari yang lalu sokongan terhadap Bersih 3.0 Sabtu lepas memberikan ‘signal’ yang rakyat akan diperintah oleh pihak ‘alternative’.
Sesungguhnya, apa pun yang dilakukan oleh Najib dan barisan pimpinan negara, majoriti rakyat Malaysia sudah kehilangan keyakinan terhadap BN. Persepsi majoriti rakyat terhadap BN sudah sampai keperingkat optima dan tidak ada jalan lagi untuk BN diyakini oleh rakyat yang ramai ini. Semalam saya berada di Terengganu dan sebahagian yang mendengar ceramah yang saya sampaikan itu adalah dari mereka yang baru pulang dari Kota Baru kerana mereka diberikan bas dan berbagai-bagai kemudahan untuk menyambut PM Najib di sana. Read the rest of this entry »
Road to Malaysia’s day of destiny
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Bridget Welsh, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 6 May 2012, 2:13 pm
Bridget Welsh | May 6, 2012
Malaysiakini
COMMENT
With well over 100,000 people gathering last week for electoral reform in the largest street protest in the nation’s history – and the event marred by violence by both state and non-state actors alike – Malaysian politics has reached an important impasse.
The Bersih 3.0 rally and its aftermath reveal that the path ahead for Malaysian politics will grow even more contentious and complex. As the different ‘Bersih stories’ pour in, ranging from ‘ordinary’ heroism to the darker accounts of beatings and abuse of power, the move of Malaysian politics outside of the realm of elite to the streets and social media is both empowering and scary.
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s decision not to accommodate the concerns of the protesters last week, and even to demonise their actions, now prods Malaysia further along the road to its day of destiny, where the political fate of Malaysia’s 54-year government will be determined. So far, the routes chosen are one of confrontation rather than compromise, making resolution to differences even more difficult. Read the rest of this entry »
Harris pours scorn on Mahathir’s rosy outlook
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Mahathir, Sabah on Sunday, 6 May 2012, 12:27 pm
KOTA KINABALU: Former Sabah chief minister Harris Salleh has accused Dr Mahathir Mohamad of duplicity during his 22-year tenure as prime minister, which saw the Bornean state rapidly fall from riches to rags.
Lashing out at the man who ruled the country with an iron fist from 1981 to 2003, Harris said in a statement that Mahathir was to be blamed for the current impoverished state Sabah is in.
“Had he mentioned and practised the rule of law, Sabah would remain the richest state,” Harris said in response to Mahathir’s lecture recently at Universiti Malaysia Sabah .
Harris was irked by Mahathir’s claim that Sabah, which was declared as the poorest state in the country by the World Bank, would take back its mantle as the richest Malaysian state soon.
Harris, who helmed the Berjaya state government from 1976 to 1985, said there were many instances when the former premier and the federal government had failed the state. Read the rest of this entry »
BN on track for snap poll, looking at July date
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak on Sunday, 6 May 2012, 11:32 am
By Jahabar Sadiq
Editor
The Malaysian Insider
May 06, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — A general election could be called as early as July, before the Ramadan fasting month begins, as the Bersih 3.0 rally has not affected support for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, sources say.
The Malaysian Insider understands that a June election has been ruled out as Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be away on holiday for nearly two weeks from the middle of May, although he will attend a “Friends of BN” gathering in London on May 14.
“After Umno anniversary celebrations on May 11, the prime minister will go for an event in London, then he will attend his son’s graduation before going off to Spain for a vacation,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.
“So, it isn’t likely in June. July looks good as most BN warlords are ready for a general election,” he added, saying it could be held before July 19 when the fasting month is expected to begin. More than 60 per cent of Malaysians are Muslims who generally refrain from political activity during the fasting month. Read the rest of this entry »
SUHAKAM inquiry on Police Violence on April 28
Press Statement
Steering Committee
Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections 2.0 (BERSIH 2.0)
5 MAY 2012
While the government focuses on the breaching of the barricades at Dataran Merdeka by a few, and what they see as a threat to their power, there is a deafening and irresponsible silence about the unprecedented violence inflicted upon unsuspecting members of the public by the police force.
Whilst BERSIH 2.0 does not condone the breaching of the barricades, the legality of those barricades is questionable, as is the legality of the hurriedly obtained court order. We are also receiving information that much more was happening at the barricades than meets the eye.
The unanswered question still remains – who is responsible for the untold violence upon participants of the Duduk Bantah that occurred after the first tear gas was fired?
Evidence based on medical reports of some of those who were detained by the police appear to show that some members of the police force were out to punish those who wore BERSIH 3.0 t-shirts, anti-Lynas t-shirts or any yellow t-shirts, by inflicting excessive and completely unjustified violence on them.
Some detainees were attacked at the time of arrest, when they were in shops dining, or about to board LRTs while others were attacked after arrest and despite the absence of struggle. Some were alleged to have been assaulted by over 30 police personnel. Many speak of having to “run the gauntlet” of police personnel and beaten repeatedly before being loaded onto police trucks.
The brutality suggests that a segment of the police force on duty that day had acted with vengeance against BERSIH 3.0 participants whether due to orders given to them or because they had lost control. There are too many reports of police officers who were wearing blue police uniforms but without their names and police identity numbers so as to prevent the victims of violence from identifying the perpetrators of police violence.
In addition to BERSIH 3.0 participants, it must not be forgotten that more than 12 photographers and journalists were assaulted, intimidated or detained by police while reporting the rally, and cameras, memory cards and video equipment were taken away. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih and the mystery of the missing PM
By Nathaniel Tan | May 4, 2012
Malaysiakini
This is part two of an attempt to examine the following: what matters most about this rally (versus what does not), an analysis of both the police car that ran into protesters as well as the barricade breach incident, and what Saturday tells us about the government, leaders and people of Malaysia.
Whither Najib?
Videos of the police car being overturned during the Bersih 3.0 rally must have been a wet dream come true for BN spinmeisters the likes of Tan Keng Liang.
What can we say objectively about the violence at the rally?
Some posit that all the “violent protestors” were in fact agent provocateurs planted by the powers that be.
Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih 3.0: What matters most and what does not
By Nathaniel Tan | May 3, 2012
Malaysiakini
This article will in two parts attempt to examine the following: what matters most about this rally (versus what does not), an analysis of both the police car that ran into protesters as well as the barricade breach incident, and what Saturday tells us about the government, leaders and people of Malaysia.
What matters most
While I cannot resist commenting on the two incidents analysed below, I would like to agree with commentators who observe that harping on these issues are a distraction from what really matters.
What is a distraction is spending hours trying to interpret hand signals. What really matters is electoral reform.
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s Malaysia still stuck in the murk
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Media, Najib Razak on Saturday, 5 May 2012, 1:33 pm
by Hamish McDonald
Sydney Morning Herald
May 05, 2012
It’s an encounter that has gone into the folklore of our diplomatic service.
An Australian envoy meeting a senior Malaysian official heard a familiar complaint about critical coverage of his country’s politics in the Australian media.
He snapped back: ‘Xenophon’s experience suggests the settings won’t change for the election Najib seems about to call. It’s a pity, given what Malaysia could be.
‘The media in Australia are not owned or controlled by the government,” the envoy said. ”Here they all are, and throughout my time here, I’ve never seen a favourable report about Australia.”
Senator Nick Xenophon, who went up last month to join an international team looking at Malaysia’s electoral system, has just had a personal lesson in just how slanted and hostile its media can be. After the team published a highly critical report, the New Straits Times newspaper, owned ultimately by the ruling United Malays National Organisation or UMNO, went to work on him. Read the rest of this entry »
Eight questions that a full and credible public inquiry into the “428” Bersih 3.0 violence must provide answers
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is leading the Barisan Nasional propaganda campaign of damage control to minimize the adverse fall-outs from the government mishandling of Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” at Dataran Merdeka for free and fair elections with wild and far-fetched allegations, for instance, that Bersih 3.0 was an attempt by the opposition to topple the Barisan Nasional government.
In actual fact, Bersih 3.0 marked the greatest awakening, empowerment and unity among Malaysians transcending race, religion, class, region, gender or age to demonstrate their love for the country and concern for clean elections for a clean Malaysia.
What is undeniable is that Bersih 3.0 is proving to be a bigger public relations disaster for Najib and his image as a “reformer” and “transformer” with every passing day.
Suhakam has said that the “heavy-handed and arbitrary manner” in which the police used “disproportionate and unwarranted force against the participants of the rally as well as members of the media” in the Bersih 3.0 rally was “unacceptable conduct” while the Bar Council has said that police brutality against protestors during Bersih 3.0 had worsened as compared to the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 last year. Read the rest of this entry »
A bittersweet experience
By A Humble Malaysian
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — I personally believe that there are three occasions where you can experience the spirit of 1 Malaysia: football, badminton and rally.
Why did I join Bersih 3.0? Various reasons, but certainly NOT for politics.
I woke up automatically at 6.30am on April 28, an hour ahead of my alarm set. The first thing I did was to turn on my laptop and checked the updates on Facebook.
There were already an estimate of 5,000 people around Dataran Merdeka. Next, I checked RapidKL Twitter to ensure the train was in service. No service disruption. Good.
I left my house at about 8am for the Kelana Jaya LRT station. At the car park, I saw a few groups of people, clad in yellow and green. That was when I realised, I was not alone.
We looked at each other, with smiles on our faces, as if we could read each other’s mind.
Each stop at the LRT station, I could see more and more people in yellow and green boarding the train.
A big crowd went off at Pasar Seni for one of the main meeting points, Central Market.
I got out from Masjid Jamek. After meeting my friend at the platform, we walked towards Petaling Street.
I could see yellow everywhere, even yellow “Angry Birds”. We headed towards the food stall area for breakfast. All the stalls and restaurants were jam packed. We actually stood while eating. Read the rest of this entry »
Violence against Malaysia
by Zan Azlee
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2012
MAY 4 — I waited for almost a week before actually writing or posting anything much about the recent Bersih 3.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur. There were so many emotions, I wanted to make sure that I was calm and coherent before actually commenting on it.
And now that everything seems ever so slightly clearer to me, the one thing that affected me most that Saturday was the violence that occurred.
The day had started early for me and walking all around the city, I felt the almost party-like atmosphere amongst all the Malaysians that had gathered.
Dataran Merdeka, of course, had a heavy police presence. It was cordoned off with metal fencing and even scary-looking barbed wire.
But, as I mentioned, the atmosphere was very festive and I guess the intimidation wasn’t working that well.
When the rally was in full force, I was standing alongside the leaders as they were giving their speeches and encouraging the people to sing.
Once everyone was as close to Dataran Merdeka as possible, I heard the leaders declaring the rally a success and calling for the crowd to disperse.
The crowd didn’t disperse and I made my way behind the barricade and police line with the help of my press tag.
Before I knew it, I heard people shouting and noticed the police running back from the barricade. The protesters had breached the barricade. Read the rest of this entry »
Debunking the myth and clearing the path
By RZMay
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — We were ordinary Malaysians, professional, non-professional, rich, middle class and poor. On April 28, I found out that the different classes don’t matter, we all felt the tear gas. I was at the Masjid Jamek LRT station when they fired on us, and they closed the LRT station. I was angry at that time, but now I understood that an open LRT station could have caused more danger to us than a closed one. We could have fallen on the tracks; there could have been more injuries, and even death.
We found out on that day that our skin colour and our beliefs don’t matter. Muslims or non-Muslims, Malays, Indians, Chinese, Ibans, Kadazans, half-Eurasian half-Malay, quarter-Javanese, quarter-Portuguese, we were all one colour — yellow.
Our fight was for justice, and justice is a universal value that is upheld in every religion and belief. They say that if the polls were rigged, the opposition wouldn’t have won five states. If the polls weren’t rigged, how did BN with only 50.27 per cent of the votes get 63.1 per cent of the parliamentary seats? Why does Putrajaya have 5,000 voters yet Klang has 100,000 voters?
Then you’re going to say that we were hijacked by the opposition. Let me tell you this, we invited everyone, BN and PR, to join us, the rakyat. We are your masters, not the other way around. The only one who got “hijacked” during the gathering were PR leaders because they succumbed to our demand for free and fair elections. And let me give this warning to PR leaders, in any case during the future should you be in power and you rig the elections, we would not hesitate to go back to the streets to demand what is just, because we are your boss. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih 3.0: A celebration of political maturity
— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2012
MAY 4 — The battle for freedom must be won over and over again.
I am sure there will be a Bersih 4.0 if the legitimate demands of a people craving for political meaning are not met. Why should the Election Commission resist demands to clean the electoral list? Why should the government deny electoral reforms? Why should the Malaysian people be denied the right to insist elections are only for Malaysian people? Why should we not demand the exclusion of phantom voters and aliens from our electoral list? Admitting Bangladeshis, Myanmars, Nepalis and other illegals and giving them instant MYkads because they can support a fearful government is treasonous!
We are denied because this government fears the judgment of its own people. It has certainly shown it fears its own people. Otherwise what kind of government that has shown it was willing to unleash the repressive instruments on its own people?
I almost fell off the chair when someone uttered the unthinkable — that Bersih 3.0 would serve only to whip up Malay nationalism. Because of Bersih 3.0, Malays will gravitate towards Umno? Read the rest of this entry »
A response to Chandra Muzaffar’s lambasting of Bersih
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Human Rights on Friday, 4 May 2012, 3:48 pm
by Dr Lim Teck Ghee
Friday, 04 May 2012
CPI Writings
Friends have asked me what prompted the extraordinary hatchet job that Dr Chandra Muzaffar attempted on the Bersih 3.0 movement and its leaders in his recent article misleadingly titled ‘Bersih and the Quest for Human Rights’ published in various media.
What was in the article that could be of academic or scholarly value to warrant any close reading? Those attracted by the title may have expected an article on how the quest for human rights in Malaysia may have taken on fresh urgency given the police manhandling of the demonstrators and media, and the many instances of violation of democratic rights.
In the internet and mainstream media, the issue of police brutality has become the main focus and memory of demonstrators and the Malaysian public. That could have been a topic that Dr Chandra – in defending the status quo – could have brought fresh insights from a human rights perspective.
However, he chose not to do so. Instead he churned out a propagandistic piece praising the political reforms undertaken as well as aimed at demonizing the Bersih leaders and its supporters from the opposition. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih 3.0 is even greater public relations disaster for Najib than Bersih 2.0 – with damage growing in magnitude and impact when all the horror stories of police rampage of violence and brutality are told
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Media, Najib Razak, Police on Friday, 4 May 2012, 11:26 am
As I said after the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 last year, there were many casualties especially the police, the mainstream media and the election commission but the biggest loser of all was undoubtedly the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
This is even more the case with the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” last Saturday on April 28 as Bersih 3.0 is an even greater public relations disaster for Najib than Bersih 2.0 – with the damage growing in magnitude and impact when all the horror stories of police rampage of violence and brutality on that day are told where hundreds of thousands of Malaysians who came to Kuala Lumpur in peace were not allowed to disperse in peace.
No reasonable and thinking Malaysian would buy Najib’s blame yesterday alleging that Bersih 3.0 organisers were responsible for last Saturday’s violence, in particular the police rampage of violence and brutality against peaceful protestors and media representatives.
The excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of police force, whether firing of tear gas and chemically-laced water cannon or downright police violence and brutality, cannot be justified by any breach of the Dataran Merdeka barricades last Saturday.
A critic of the government’s gross mishandling of Bersih 2.0 rally for free and fair elections in July last year had urged the Najib administration to discard its “Cold War” mindset and to modernize its concepts to address internal security and national issues.
Read the rest of this entry »
BN-owned media’s shameless whitewash
CL Tang
May 1, 2012
Malaysiakini
Three days after Bersih 3.0, Malaysian hermits who lives in caves, who have never heard of the Internet and who only read the mainstream newspapers would probably have the impression that it was the police force who were protesting and ended up physically assaulted by angry civilians.
Despite clear evidence of police brutality available on YouTube, hundreds of personal testimonies by victims and personal witnesses, and pictures of appalling injuries spread all over the Internet, the BN-owned media shamelessly whitewashed the government-sanctioned atrocities against its own people.
Despite hundreds if not thousands of Bersih participants, most of whom were already dispersing, being beaten and chased like criminals by baton-wielding police and ending up with injuries, these crimes were not reported.
Despite thousands of the ordinary rakyat suffering beatings from the authorities, the mainstream media chose to highlight one single case of an injured police personnel.
Despite scores of journalists and media personnel being abused by the police, their cameras and memory cards confiscated, The Star, instead of coming to the defence of its colleagues and upholding the media’s right to cover events without fear of reprisals from the authorities, it chose to showcase one single reporter’s story of being roughed up by the protesters.
So much for BN’s so-called greater freedom for the media via the Printing Presses and Publications Act amendments. Read the rest of this entry »
