BERSIH or NOT?
Dataran Merdeka, November 10 will be marked as another milestone in the country’s political history. 40,000 Malaysians marched to hand in a memorandum to the Yang DiPertuan Agong for a fairer election while the government banned the movement citing threats to public security.
Both sides appear to sparring in the ring like boxers where even though the movement was organised by Bersih (a NGO on fair election) but there is no doubt that the opposition parties are firmly behind the movement.
What could they achieve by submitting the memorandum? Will the Yang Dipertuan Agong do anything about it? I think the answer is obvious and the march is more to garner public awareness and support.
The government on the other hand avoided to address issues brought up by the movement for a fairer election. There may be some basis of a security threat if the crowd goes out of hand but if the police practised restraint, I am sure it could be a peaceful march.
I had been in Sri Lanka early this year where the opposition parties organised a 100,000 strong 6 km march through Colombo city. It was done in a very organised manner without a single tear gas being shot. If a country riddled with violence like Sri Lanka could do it peacefully, why not us?
Our media has always been biased towards one end while the opposition’s media is tipped towards the other end. One government source quoted less than 10,000 participated while Harakkah quoted 100,000. So which is the real thing?
Check out the follow links for more on Nov 10 and decide for yourself.
[...] the same. The ruling party is unreasonable stubborn and there is no way to make them budge. A blogger wrote: “What could they achieve by submitting the memorandum? Will the Yang Dipertuan Agong do [...]
BERSIH: The Gathering’s Useless, But Sign Me Up For The Next Rally « MLYSN
November 11, 2007 at 2:56 pm
I am going to wear a yellow t shirt every Saturday!
Gina
November 15, 2007 at 8:48 pm
What saddens me is the Govt’s complacency in thinking that they represent the Voice of M’sia on the whole. This is sad. As leaders, you have to take the good with the bad. The Opposition exists for a reason i.e. as a check & balance measure. Surely the leaders of our country is big hearted enough to accept criticism rather than go on the defensive. Arrogance appears to be the order of the day. Certain ministers & key members in Umno have constantly made insensitive racial remarks, sexist remarks & last night (15th Nov) on 101East (Al Jazeera), I witnessed how words could be twisted out of context by our Ministers in order to glorify their positions. A human rights lawyer quoted during the forum that a large quarter of the rakyat did not have access to enough information to make informed decisions with regards to the OSA, the election process etc & a Minister in the PM’s dept twisted by saying “you mean to say the people i.e. the Rakyat is ’stupid’”. Now that is really putting words into someone’s mouth ….. These are the leaders of our country. Today I’m not proud to be a Malaysian.
shorthorse
November 16, 2007 at 9:38 pm
I am proud to be a Malaysian. Not because of the leaders but because the people are unique and the people are the ones who has brought the country to where it is today.
As for these leaders, may they be cursed with a thousand lives.
asme
November 18, 2007 at 9:09 am