BERSIH Campaign
BEACON OF HOPE AND SYMBOL OF MALAYSIAN PEOPLE POWER
Din Merican
On November 10, 2007, an estimated 60,000 Malaysians from all walks of life, young and old, and of all races converged at Istana Negara to deliver a petition to our beloved Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Yang Di-Pertuan Agong (His Majesty The King) seeking “free and fair elections.” The massive rally was organized by BERSIH, a movement of some 60 civil society organizations. It was led by KeADilan’s charismatic de facto chief Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and PAS’s Al-Fadil Hadi Awang, and DAP’s leader Lim Kit Siang.
It was also an outpouring of mass public disenchantment with the incompetent and corrupt Abdullah Badawi Administration. Kuala Lumpur had not seen such a spectacle since the 1998 reformasi rally at Masjid Negara that saw then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim unceremoniously removed from UMNO. He was later incarcerated in Sungai Buloh by the Mahathir government after a sham trial of some trumped up charges.
While the mood in 1998 was one of bitter frustration and public outrage, the BERSIH campaign on this historic day of November 2007 was a classic demonstration of the power and resolve of the Malaysian people. When they are awakened by an ennobling cause and mission, there is no one except Allah, the Most Merciful and Most Compassionate, who can prevent them from accomplishing their goals even if meant putting themselves in harm’s way.
They were motivated by nothing more than a simple cause: free and fair elections. Sixty thousand Malaysians showed in no uncertain terms that they are not prepared any longer to tolerate a biased Elections Commission, massive numbers of phantom voters and other electoral frauds, and the gerrymandering of constituencies carefully and cynically calibrated to favor the ruling coalition. People are fed up with the rampant corruption and abuse of power of the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional government of Prime Minister Abdullah in cahoots with his unelected son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin and his cabal of opportunists.
The demonstrations were spontaneous, peaceful, and orderly, reflective of the civic consciousness of average Malaysians. We all can be justifiably proud off of this.
We created history on this November 10, 2007. We have broken the climate of fear and intimidation as well as overcome our public apathy. A new dawn has arrived. Democracy was again at work, and nothing will ever be the same again on our country. It was without doubt an impressive display of the maturity and solidarity by Malaysians.
Despite the massive police roadblocks preventing access into Kuala Lumpur, thousands of Malaysians from far away as Perlis, Sabah and Sarawak came. Apart from the FRU reinforcements and interference at Dataran Merdeka and the minor incident at Majid Jamek, Malaysians marched from five locations (Majid Jamek, Jalan Raja Laut, Sogo(Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman), Central Market and Masjid Negara) in unison and solidarity towards the palace. It was a touching display of love and respect of the institution of monarchy as well as for our cherished freedom and democracy. Even the rain did not dampen the enthusiasm. It was an awe inspiring display, with voices in harmony chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great), “Daulat Tuanku,” “There is no God but God” and the glorification of the Holy Prophet as they converged at Istana Negara. Waves of people in yellow could be seen marching peacefully in well-orchestrated manner on all the major roads leading to the Palace grounds. There were even two helicopters hovering above their rain soaked heads.
Once they reached the palace grounds, they sat down on the roads and listened to speeches by BERSIH leaders like Azmin Ali and Tian Chua, as well as Johari Abdul (KeADILan), Mat Sabu (PAS), Ronnie Liu (DAP), and others. After handing over the petition to the King, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Al Fadil Hadi and Lim Kit Siang addressed the crowd. Their speeches were brief; they calmed the crowd. They dispersed peacefully afterwards.
I had difficulty hearing them because of the hovering helicopters. It was poignant to note that when Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim was about to speak, the two helicopters flew low in formation to drown his voice over the hand held speakers!
Massive rallies of this sort are not possible without the support and cooperation of all concerned, including the officers and men of the Royal Malaysian Police and the battle ready Federal Reserve Units. They were generally helpful and patient as they truly showed that they were well disciplined and sympathetic to the BERSIH movement. In fact, they managed the crowd well and showed great restraint. To them we say, “Terima kasih” (Thank you!).
Sadly we cannot say the same of their Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan and his colleagues who planned this unnecessarily intimidating show of force which could have easily gone out of control at the slightest provocation.
We pay tribute to the thousands of men, women, teenagers, and children who braved the rain and exposed them to the risk of physical harm. Likewise we appreciate the contributions of the PAS Badan Amal and the KeADILan marshals who kept the crowd orderly, and the patience and forbearance of motorists and other road users. We also thank members of the international media for their fair and balanced reporting. Sadly we are unable to say the same thing of our local mainstream media who followed only too well the orders of their political masters in not reporting such a significant event.
Prime Minister Abdullah and his sycophantic Cabinet colleagues in particular Dato Zainuddin Maidin and Nazri Aziz, as well as those in UMNO should heed the voices of 60,000 Malaysians as well as those are silent throughout the country. We want clean and fair elections. We resoundingly reject the status quo of incompetence, mediocrity, and rampant corruption and abuses of powers.
On November 10, 2007 Malaysians without hesitation resoundingly challenged Prime Minister Abdullah’s “saya pantang dicabar” (lit: I am allergic to challenges;” fig: “Don’t challenge me!”) gauntlet. Now, we are now waiting for his response. The mainstream media were muted in reporting the BERSIH campaign. They are still waiting for instruction from the Fourth Floor of the Prime Minister’s office.
Meanwhile we get to cherish the occasion and acknowledge this moral victory which we dedicate to all Malaysians who cherish democracy, freedom, and justice.
Din Merican
KeADILan Program Director.