Saturday, April 28, 2012

Is Bersih 3.0 A Success?

A Bersih supporter, Lydia Osman, gives her take. She felt cheated because PKR leaders had provoked the police into taking action:..

"For once, I have to disagree with my mentor, Datuk S. Ambiga. She says Bersih 3.0 was a success because many people attended. The Malaysian Insider puts the crowd at 30,000 while Malaysiakini puts it at 100,000. For me, for my friends who were marching, there is one reason and one reason only to proclaim Bersih 3.0 a ‘success’ and that is because a handful of protestors led by rowdy members of the opposition managed to provoke the police to react. The image above clearly shows the red-shirted Unit Amal of PAS charging and daring the Police to stop them. Because the police reacted with water and gas, the quantum of news minutes that Bersih 3.0 will get online and around the world will multiply by more than ten times.

To be fair to Datuk S. Ambiga, she did clearly urge the crowd to disperse before the water gas and water cannons were fired because she felt that objectives of the rally were achieved. But one group who were there for other reasons clearly did not listen.

The troublemaker segment of the crowd instead listened to Anwar Ibrahim and Azmin Ali who pushed them hard to break down the barriers the police had constructed. For the police, despite not having roadblocks into KL the night before like they did during Bersih 2.0, despite allowing us to walk through KL in the right spirit which was almost carnival like, Azmin breaking down barriers that a Court Judge had effectively ordered the police to erect were just too much for them to let go. Anwar knew this, which is why he ordered Azmin to ensure that adequate provocation was carried out.

If there was any further proof that any rational Malaysian needed to know that the Opposition had unfairly hijacked Bersih 3.0, this provocative action was it. It was in effect the final nail in the coffin for the independence and civil-society orientation of Bersih 3.0. I feel cheated to have marched for Bersih and for Ambiga. Instead, my small part that I wanted to play for my country’s future, my sacrifice to face any bodily harm was instead cheaply purchased for the propagation of the Opposition.


I will never march again if Anwar and his troublemakers are allowed to take over what belonged to civil society. We created the awareness of this, we sweated and struggled for this, we were arrested and inconvenienced for this yet it is Anwar and his henchmen who will gain the most from Bersih 3.0. It is Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat not democracy that gains from this. The irony is that all that Bersih and Datuk Ambiga were fighting for are the same practices that Anwar openly practiced as UMNO leader, Barisan MP and most recently as Keadilan Supremo when he rigged the entire Parti Keadilan Rakyat elections and good leaders like Zaid Ibrahim were forced to exit the party.

Without Anwar and Opposition politicians, the situation was much better, especially in the morning. The image below of my friend engaging the police is proof of this. When actual independent supporters of Bersih were the ones marching, we approached the police in peace, we did not desire a confrontation with the police but just wanted the make our point heard loud and clear. If the rally had continued in this spirit, Bersih 3.0 would have a been a real and true success for the people and Government of Malaysia. Instead it is real ‘success’ for Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat as BN will be skewered and vilified by the global media, with CNN etc. smiling with glee at the amount of entertaining footage that Azmin Ali and his band of Hoodies has freely provided."

(Taken from Kamalanathan's blog - tanpa izin, maaf.)

27 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing this, Nuraina - tsk, tsk even if it is without permission. The middle will rise. Chaos and disruption, rowdiness by the mob does not equal victory.

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  2. I cannot believe that any sane person would forgo his/her sensibilities to believe that Bersih 3 would not be hijacked and that violence would not be the order of the day. Bersih 2 had already been hijacked! Common sense would have told anyone that once all those politicians became involved from day one, there would be trouble.

    So, for people like Lydia, stop pretending that you didn't know what would eventually happen. Don't try to sound good after the fact. By your participation, despite knowing Ambiga's duplicity and Anwar's penchant for rebel rousing, you have to accept responsibility for your contribution towards what happened today. You owe the policemen who were senselessly attacked, their families and the police force your apologies, not forgettng other peace-loving Malaysians and those business people, the hawkers, Kampung Baru foodsellers, taxi drivers etc etc who lost lots of money . Being contrite now doesn't work, really. Don't try to run away now. You knew and yet you particpated. Just have the courage to admit the wrong you did to so many people!

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  3. The so-called civil liberties people like this Ambiga worshipper are such hypocrites. When Anwar and his Pakatan people provide the numbers to their cause, they never complained. Now the whole thing had degenerated into an ugly riot, they are trying to blame their Pakatan supporters. You think you can easily get funding for demos, sit-ins, or whatever you wish to call it without giving something back to your paymasters? You think you can just wash your hands off the responsibilities should anything happen to the policemen fighting for their lives in HKL ICU? You are equally responsible for the mayhem that happened today, there is nothing fun and youthful about it, just nasty and destructive.

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  4. Anonymous4:58 AM

    ..sad

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  5. Anonymous5:53 AM

    If indeed Anwar had provoked the police , then let the world know. Malaysian are no fools and how wise we are all the rotten politicians will know come the next GE>

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  6. Datuk... saya lebih suka tulisan Datuk yang dapat memaparkan perasaan sendiri. Cara "copy-paste" ini lebih kepada sikap 'hear say" yang saya tidak begitu gemari.

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  7. wise words. i salute you. you've put my thoughts and feelings of that event into perfectly woven words. thank you.

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  8. Minta izin untuk kongsi, puan.

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  9. Anonymous10:02 PM

    Another supporter' s observation

    http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/my-bersih-30-experience-behind-barbed.html

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  10. salahuddin,

    saya tidak mengambil bahagian dalam protes Bersih 3.0. Jadi saya tidak bisa memberi pandangan saya mengenai apa yang terjadi di kawasan perhimpunan di KL. Tapi pendirian saya selama ni -- Bersih 2 dan3 adalah permainan politik. Bukan tulus untuk free and fair elections walaupun ramai yang ikhlas menyokong kempen ini. Ia di gunakan oleh politik pembangkan untuk jatuhkan BN. Itu amat jelas sekali dan telah terbukti.

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  11. bruno1:25 AM

    Nuraina,first of all my personal opinion is that Bersih 3.0,which is for a fairer and cleaner election in Malaysia,is a huge success.Which political party or NGO's in Malaysia could have co-ordinated such a rally in thirty countries.Even the Umno/BN with its machinery and unlimited funds could not achieved what the organisers of Bersih 3.0 have.

    First of all the people are fed up with the arrogant ways of the corrupted regime and their offsprings.Flaunting their ill gotten wealth,abuse of power,breaking the laws and their immunity from it,directly at the faces of the people.

    Why Bersih 3.0 have been very successful.First of all it was well supported by Malaysians of all walks of lives,irrespective of race and party affiliations.Although we have to admit that PR supporters are many times more than Barisan's.
    But that doe's not meant that Bersih 3.0 should be viewed as partisan.

    At least we know for one thing that Malaysians know how to protest peacefully and with civility.If for not the incidents of breaching the barricades at the end,the protests would have ended peafully.It would have been a real feather in the cap for the organisers,Malaysians and our men in uniformed.

    Maybe it would have been a record for a peaceful rally such size and have a place in the guiness book of records.But alas for the stupidity of a rowdy small crowd it was destined not to be.

    For once we have seen a festival like atmosphere,with the people able to mingle with the police personnel without the fear of intimidation in them.The actions of the police were far more accomadating.Even for a skeptic like me,Bersih 3.0 been incident free was beginning to look more like a reality.

    My personal views,

    The winner:Bersih 3.0 and Malaysians alike.

    The losers:The polititians who forget to zipped their asses during Bersih day.

    The ruling regime:Neutral.

    The PDRM:For once in a very long time,they have acted neutral and professional.

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  12. Anonymous2:51 PM

    Datuk,
    I'm surprised that senior journalists like you and Ahiruddin Atan (i don't refer to him by his nickname as I feel he does not live to the name anymore) have not stood up for your colleagues who have been roughed up by the police. Do you think that the police were justified in chasing and beating up rally participants? Please be a responsible journalist; stop whoring your talent for writing.

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  13. Anonymous10:04 PM

    to Lydia , without PKR ,Dap and PAS can Bersih make the number ? lain fikir dulu and if you think MERAP statistik betul then you should read Pure Shiite .So lain kali 'THINK

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  14. Anonymous1:41 PM

    AYAH 1:02.. Spot on.
    You dont have to wait until its over to realise its (will be?) hijacked by politicians. Theres so many oppurtunities here to grab... everybody, any party, can find to gain something out of this....whats sickening to me is, in the middle of kidnappings and child abuse case risen of late, parents still brings their kids. I guess the only explanation is you kinda hope somethg wil happen to your kids, so that itll create awareness, for a 'better tommorow" ... gosh...woi...dont want anak, dont buat. simple as that. ke memang takde otak? Whatever your excuse, whoever you support, bringing todlers and under age is totally unacceptable. UNACCEPTABLE, FULL STOP. o yah, by the way, to those who supports the demonstrations....hmm... think yah...if, IF your leader managed to take over the country, and we, the majority that do not support this violence, takes EVERYTHING to the te streets...say... everytime we tak puas hati over smthg, we demo....u tak boleh complaint tau? I mean.. if ur leader succesful in gaining what they want by means of demo@violence, obviously its the ONLY WAY we get what we want... right?

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  15. Anak Jati Perak1:53 PM

    A rally supported by a political party or parties would sure be hijacked, whether you intended it or otherwise. I am saddened to see that the BERSIH committee failed to see that when it allowed participation of political parties, especially so on the opposing side, in the rally.

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  16. mahu share ye. Tq.

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  17. anon@2:51PM: don't be becos it's always easier to make assumptions when you say things without verifying.

    we all stand up for anyone who was roughed up at the rally.

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  18. Bruno: Bersih is a success. The whole idea of Bersih definitely appealed to most Malaysians.

    But the rally? Sure. Thousands. There are the genuine supporters, opposition and BN supporters, and the anarchists.

    Anyway, to each his/her own.

    As for me..i stopped walking with Bersih when it was no longer a walk for the rakyat. and let's get real here. Bersih 2.0 and 3.0 were not for the rakyat -- it was a walk for a political party. We know it wasn't meant to be that. But we know it was just that.

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  19. to the idiotic commentator who mentioned "arak" in your comment -- get a life-lah.

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  20. Islam itu BERSIH..yyy malays muslim yg buat KOTOR>???????minta bantuan puan temukan sepupu saya di singapura..dah lama terputus hubungan...ABDULLAH BIN SUDIN..one of S'pore Malays Success..tq

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  21. Anonymous11:47 PM

    Bersih 3.0 and the rest is about CALLING FOR A FREE AND FAIR ELECTION? As simple as it sounds but what I don't get it is when you and people alike are turning a freaking blind eye to this simple fact of the matter (You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand this).

    and surely 250,000 who turned up can't be wrong.

    I am sure there must be thousands of civil servants joining the Bersih gathering otherwise they wouldn't be able to make up the number.

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  22. saracen: hello...you understand what i'm saying? Bersih is for free and fair elections. But the rally surely wasn't. you want to believe it is, you do that. people like you cannot accept differing views. 250,000? whatever you say. and all were there for Bersih?

    cone on-lah. but PEOPLE LIKE YOU very blind to everything else.

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  23. Anonymous2:44 PM

    Until today NST never even came up with a approximate number of people who turned up at Bersih. What a joke! Takutlah tu. Kikiki!

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  24. Saracen4:48 PM

    fyi I used to be a member of UMNO, let alone supporter, but not any more.

    UMNO is corrupted to the core these days. You don't need to look very far just the lembu feedlot issue is enough.

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  25. Numbersgame3:37 PM

    The Bersih activity of Ambiga is just publicity stunt by DAP, PAS and PkR.


    There are many PR supporters it is true. But there are more BN supporters that is why BN is ruling the country.

    Trying to get your supporters on the street instead of the ballot box is useless when you dont have the numbers at the ballot box.

    If BN were to bring their supporters on the streets then there would be more than PR.

    But then we dont need elections just streets fights. If that what Lydia and other naive Malaysians think.

    The SPR is good. But the majority of the people is with UMNO and BN. So learn to be a good loser in a civil society...

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  26. saracen: well good for you. i was never a card carrying member of any political party.

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  27. CleanUpUMNO4:31 PM

    @Bruno,

    Many well meaning Malays are confused between billionaires of UMNO President's sons or brothers or wive or in-laws, UNMNO Ketua Wanita in-laws/husbands, Pemuda UMNO richest unemployed man with a good election system.

    The election system is good, what the Malays need to do is clean up UMNO of self serving people who set themselves up as serving the Malay through the United Malays National Organisations but in reality were only concern with making money for their sons/brothers/husband/in-laws by using Malays assets and rights.

    The Malays must also appoint Malays with fresh ideas and greater understanding of the wealth of their own nation. Indians like Mahathir/Nor Yakcop have tip toed around the Chinese capitalists while pushing down Malays expectations. 30% for the Malays is good enough. Why because when we gain independence the Malays had only 1%!!!??? Did the South Africans said it was okay for the Europeans colonialist to continue to own lands because when they were colonised the Africans own nothing?

    Of course not. The Africans started land ownership systems to ensure that the natives get back the land that the conquering Europeans took by war from them.

    The Malays need Malays leadership that will ensure justice and fair distribution of this wealthy country instead of Mahahtir or Kahriy which misinterprete the Federal Constitution and said that 80% of wealth must be affirm for Chinese and Indian capitalists! Where in the Federal Constitution that says by 2020 the 80% of the wealth must be owned by Chinese and others?

    Malays are angry with UMNO because while the per capita income is RM14,000 most of these capita is owned by UMNO President sons or brothers in-laws (Billions). The majority of the Malays have to do with RM500 once in 50 years!

    The Malays can read that the crony Indian Finance Minister Nor Yakcob that Mahathir picked from the street in front of Sogo, cause the loss of RM 90 billions but why he is in UMNO?

    That is why Malays are on the streets and kicking the police. They are disenfranchised from the UMNO Malay leadership.

    Statistic which claim equal per capita but hide the truth of wealth accumulations by UMNO Presidents and other office bearers can only last so long.

    UMNO consists of Malays NGOs. So it is the appropriate Malay platform. It is for the Malays to appoint the right people who will fight for the Malays, nationalised the economy from Chinese hegemony and not being double faced about it.

    UMNO Presidents would come crying to UMNO assembly, their face puckering with emotions as the watch the Malay masses only to wipe them off to give aeroplanes,IPPs, Satellite, Frequencies, concessions to the Chinese and Indian capitalists in the name of meritocracy!! hehe and their sons of course.

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