Government in “time warp”
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Election, Najib Razak, Police on Tuesday, 12 July 2011, 2:19 pm
One explanation for the hamfisted and gross mishandling of the 709 Bersih 2.0 rally for free and fair elections in Merdeka Stadium is that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, DPM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and all the Cabinet Ministers are trapped in a “time warp” causing their total disconnect with ordinary Malaysians and the fact that they are living in 2011 in the era of social media and the Internet.
This is why there is considerable merit in the advice by the University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) social anthropologist Professor Datuk Shamsul Amri Baharuddin that the Najib administration should discard its “Cold War” mindset and to modernize its concepts to address internal security and national issues.
Shamsul reminded the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that the “enemy” was no longer armed communists battling a jungle war but a civilian movement consisting of politically awakened middle class that is wired to the global community and moved by fully legitimate issu Read the rest of this entry »
How Bersih cleansed my Malaysian soul
By Andrew Chee
July 12, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
JULY 12 — I’m a 28 moving on to 29-year-old man in Kuala Lumpur, the place where in 2008 I decided to get a fresh start. I am originally from Malacca and had been in Singapore for about 4½ years prior to moving to KL.
For the purposes of this story, let’s just say the sum of my life experiences has made me grouchy, surly, disgruntled and yes… RACIST. But I was a funny type of racist; I’m Chinese but have part-Baba heritage with very Westernised conditioning and cannot, for the life of me, speak any sort of Chinese dialect (save to order food).
I disliked the Malays and Indians for the usual stereotypical reasons, and I disliked the Chinese even more for being too “Cina” and I disliked the “lain-lains” for just being “lain-lain.” Sure, I have friends from other races; my very best friends are Malay Singaporeans, and my childhood friend, who is in KL as well, is a Chindian. Read the rest of this entry »
Dismantling the tyranny of democracy
By Edwin Yapp
July 12, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
JULY 12 — A government elected by the people, for the people — that is the bedrock principle of any fully-functioning democracy.
As we recover from the aftermath of the events on July 9, 2011, I find myself having to explain this very crucial principle to some of the people who are most important to me — my children.
I feel compelled to do so simply because there is so much misinformation out there that the young will inevitably be misled and confused.
Like, for example, my son said to me a day after the Bersih 2.0 rally: “Pa, can we wear yellow again?” Admittedly, I should have explained to him earlier what was going on and why the government of the day has outlawed people wearing yellow T-shirts, which carry the word Bersih 2.0. Read the rest of this entry »
Untameable Bersih – Part 1
By Sakmongkol AK47
July 12, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
JULY 12 — The object of derision and concern is the Election Commission. How does the government respond?
It did so by demonising the Bersih rally. The PM went a step further and went on his, well, now predictable, charm offensive. The business people complaining on TV3 about lost business would also not be doing good business on a normal day. But their grievance is now useful to the government because it can be used as testimony that the rally caused severe economic hardship.
The Egyptian tourist, who talked about something similar happening in Cairo some weeks ago, was probably looking for a good time in Bukit Bintang. He was also probably searching for Datuk Eskay whom he may have heard can arrange for a good time for horny Egyptians. Read the rest of this entry »
Is Liow Tiong Lai afraid of the truth?
Malaysiakini Your Say | Jul 12, 11
‘Liow, were you there? Definitely no. Were the Tong Shin Hospital board members there? No. Why don’t you ask the people who rallied on that day?’
Tung Shin Hospital ‘not hit’ in rally crackdown
Anti-Fascist: Again the administration of PM Najib Razak wants to change a truth to a lie. No ethics, no morals, no principles. Unbelievable.
So the photos and videos were lying? And the many eyewitness accounts were wrong? Were any of the board of directors at the hospital at that time?
Read the rest of this entry »
The day I lost my fear
By Golongan Kiri
July 11, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
JULY 11 — On Saturday, July 9, thousands of ordinary Malaysians thronged into various spots around central KL to demand a just electoral system. The government had tried its best to suppress the rally through various means, but ultimately failed to stop it from going ahead.
With the previous week’s cat and mouse game played by the government in agreeing to the rally and the roadblocks to intimidate citizens, the fact that the rally even materialised is a moral victory for the cause and major slap in the government’s face. Obviously shutting off the entire city centre and major traffic arteries failed to paralyse the movement of protestors into the city. Read the rest of this entry »
Thousands throng ‘Bersih 3.0’ ceramah in Penang
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Bersih, Lim Guan Eng, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS on Tuesday, 12 July 2011, 10:49 am
Susan Loone
Malaysiakini
Jul 12, 11
They have been accused of hijacking the July 9 rally as calls of ‘reformasi’ – PKR’s battle cry – reverberated on the streets of Kuala Lumpur instead of cries of ‘Bersih’ for electoral reforms.
Yet more than 5,000 turned up to throw a hero’s welcome for Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and PAS deputy chief Mohamad Sabu at the Seberang Jaya Expo site last night, a ceramah which the latter described as ‘Bersih 3.0’.
Both leaders, who arrived within 20 minutes of each other, made a grand entrance – Anwar entered sporting a neck brace and had to assisted as he headed for the stage, while Mohamad was in a wheelchair and was hauled up onto the platform by several security personnel. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Tear gas gun aimed directly at Anwar’
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Bersih, Police on Tuesday, 12 July 2011, 10:38 am
S Pathmawathy
Malaysiakini
Jul 12, 11
The police stood prepared with their anti-riot weapons, with one of them aiming his tear gas gun at Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. That’s what his bodyguard Fayyadh Afiq saw, and he immediately took action.
As he heard the order to fire, Fayyadh said he pulled Anwar away.
Numbed by high dosages of medication, he said his left cheek, on which a metal gas canister landed when the police fired, has not stopped throbbing. Read the rest of this entry »
Mat Sabu: Police Land Rover rammed me
Joseph Sipalan
Malaysiakini
Jul 11, 11
PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu today claimed police rammed a truck into the motorbike he was riding en-route to join Bersih 2.0 protesters last Saturday.
Visiting the Selangor state assembly building in a wheelchair, the usually jovial leader took a more sombre tone as he recounted his harrowing experience.
“I was on a motorbike on the way to Masjid Negara, when suddenly a Land Rover rammed into us. I didn’t know it was a police Land Rover at the time,” he told journalists at a press conference.
“The impact threw me off and I was rolling on the ground. They then brought me into the Land Rover and took me to a clinic in Jinjang, which referred me to the hospital.” Read the rest of this entry »
Anti-Bersih group holds Najib to ransom
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Facebook, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 12 July 2011, 9:22 am
By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 11, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — Anti-Bersih supporters have mounted a petition online, threatening to abandon its support for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration if the prime minister fails to revoke the citizenships of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Ambiga Sreenavasan and punish Bersih marchers.
Pledging one million signatures, the petition started by one Rahmat Azim Abd Aziz, 39, warns Najib against ignoring its five demands, saying its signatories would not hesitate to rebel to defend Malaysia, “even without the help of Datuk Seri’s (Najib) government”.
As of 8pm today, the petition entitled, “Legal action and recommendations to His Royal Highness the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia to revoke medals and accolades” has attracted 173 signatures. Read the rest of this entry »
Putrajaya should drop ‘Cold War’ mindset, says scholar
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 12 July 2011, 9:16 am
By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 11, 2011
BANGI, July 11 — Social anthropologist Datuk Shamsul Amri Baharuddin today advised the Najib administration to modernise its internal security to deal with present-day threats, instead of holding on to “Cold War” tactics just to be able to deploy them on political rivals.
The professor from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) reminded the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that the “enemy” was no longer armed communists battling a jungle war but a civilian movement consisting of politically-awakened middle class that is wired to the global community.
“It’s a telling point on the ruling coalition when they are still dealing in traditional security, which is based on the Cold War concept of weapons and [physical] fighting,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih 2 – no “Bodoh Melayu, Babi Cina or India Keling” feeling
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Bersih, Letters, nation building on Tuesday, 12 July 2011, 7:05 am
by KennyChang
Letter
11.7.11
Let me Introduce myself,I’m a normal Malaysian Citizen 32 years old.
Never Had i have any interest in politics or whatsoever is happening in politics.I never vote before or have any urge to register as a voter.
I only know Dr Mahathir and Samy Vellu [Of course which Malaysian does not know this 2 person?]. My late father and relative did told me Dr Mahathir is a great man this and that and would vote for him anytime he call elections.
I never did really study or learn about him in depth, so i just follow my late fathers,friends and relatives to consider him my idol.So after my all this introduction that i wrote i might just now realised i’m maybe a Pro Umno/Bn unexpectedly. Read the rest of this entry »
The best of Bersih
By Art Harun
July 11, 2011
JULY 11 — In so far as Bersih is concerned, I am done lecturing on the concept of fundamental liberties and the rights of the people. I am done writing about the true concept of social contract and the duties of the State. Because, really, knock, knock, knock, and there’s nobody home.
So today I am going to do what I have not done in the past, namely, I would post links to the websites which, I think, depict the best of Bersih. In fact, they depict the best of Malaysia, really (it proves that one does not have to engage a super high powered Jewish company and pay them millions to sell a concept such as 1 Malaysia. Bersih proves that when there is a unity of purpose, the people will unite). Read the rest of this entry »
Liow blames protesters for ‘ambushing’ Tung Shin
By Patrick Lee
July 11, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai today slammed Bersih protesters for seeking refuge in the Tung Shin Maternity Hospital when the police charged them on Saturday.
He said that the protesters should have stayed away from the Jalan Pudu hospital, instead of “ambushing” it during the rally.
“We need to take care of our hospital. It must be protected. Even demonstrators should not ambush the hospital,” he told reporters at Tung Shin today. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih rally and the real 1Malaysia
by Meng Yee
Malaysiakini
Jul 11, 11
Which Malaysia is PM Najib referring to in his catchy phrase 1Malaysia? The Malaysia I see him representing is one of tense tolerance always holding a precarious balance in check. A coalition of three main parties divided along racial lines.
Each takes care of its own community, each fights for the same pie for its community. On all sides of the racial divide in Najib’s 1Malaysia there are routine threats, name-calling and extremists who insist on ketuanan Melayu.
The other side of Malaysia who came out in the tens of thousands this weekend during the Bersih 2.0 rally represented all segments of Malaysian society. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib rues Bersih handling, says Kit Siang
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Najib Razak, Police on Monday, 11 July 2011, 10:03 pm
by Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 11, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — Lim Kit Siang said today Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s unannounced visit yesterday to Bersih 2.0’s rally hotspots proved the prime minister was aware that his “mishandling” of the event had plunged him in “deep political trouble”.
The DAP advisor also chided Najib for claiming support from the “silent majority” who stayed home on Saturday, and told the prime minister they had broken their silence by calling for his resignation through Facebook.
A Facebook fan page set up after the rally, called “100,000 People Request Najib Tun Razak Resignation”, reached its 100,000 mark at 3.50am this morning and is still growing steadily.
“This is a most eloquent response to Najib’s call yesterday on the ‘silent majority’ of Malaysians to make their stand in cyberspace on the Bersih 2.0 rally.
“The ‘silent majority’ of Malaysians have indeed spoken out loud and clear, in the most viral phenomenon on Malaysian cyberspace, declaring their denunciation of the Najib crackdown on the 709 Bersih 2.0 rally,” Lim said in a statement today. Read the rest of this entry »
Was it worth it?
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Human Rights, Police on Monday, 11 July 2011, 9:57 pm
by Abdul Haleem
Jul 11, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider
JULY 11 — It has been 12 days since I have seen my wife, my son (who has just turned three) and my one-month-old daughter, sweet little Lana girl. If I don’t go down to see them this weekend, I will not see them for at least another week.
Three days ago my wife and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary, whilst we were apart. I had a choice to go back to Penang and be with them for the weekend, but instead, I chose to go down to Kuala Lumpur to support Bersih 2.0.
I arrived in KLIA at about 10.30am. The airport looked eerily deserted. As I travelled light, I literally ran to get an ERL ticket and jumped onto the train. As my excitement grew, I looked around to see KL as a ghost town. Even on Hari Raya holidays, you’ll see more cars on the Sungei Besi Highway compared to this particular Saturday.
Walking out from KL Sentral, I was shocked to see a huge presence of FRU units and police. I assumed this was to “manage possible demonstrators who might alight in KL Sentral and walk towards Masjid Negara.” I proceed to my hotel, which was just across from KL Sentral. Read the rest of this entry »
PM, IGP still in denial state
By Tarani Palani
July 11, 2011 | Free Malaysia Today
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and the Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar are still in a state of denial. They still deny police brutality during Saturday’s rally despite extensive video evidence of police’s heavy-handed techniques.
Bersih said in a statement that it was “disappointed” by Najib and Ismail’s continuous denial, which “completely flies in the face of extensive video evidence” of the police’s heavy-handed techniques. Read the rest of this entry »
