Tuesday, May 01, 2012

The US-Sponsored "Protest" Movement In Malaysia

From Centre for Global Research On Globalization.

By Nile Bowie

Protests rocked the streets of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, April 28, as an estimated 25,000 people took to the streets in support of Bersih [1], an organization fighting to reform the nation’s electoral system.

The organization refers to itself as ‘The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections’, comprised of 84 Malaysian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that form a ‘coalition of like minded civil society organizations unaffiliated to any political party
’ [2]. The recent rally follows two previous mass demonstrations in November 2007 and July 2011, as organizers renew their demands for the Malaysian Election Commission to resign before the 13th General Elections scheduled for June 2012 [3]. Although the coalition claims to be devoid of political affiliation, the movement is fully endorsed by Malaysia’s main opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim and the Pakatan Rakyat political coalition he oversees.

Following documented cases of United States-based organizations funding pro-opposition civil society groups associated with civil unrest in Russia [4] and the Middle East [5], Chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan acknowledged that the Bersih coalition received financial support from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Open Society Institute (OSI) [6]. An article published in the New York Times entitled "U.S. Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings" reveals organizations such as the National Democratic Institute receive funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a recipient of funds directly from the US Congress [7]. The Bersih Coalition has also received support from the US-based Freedom House [8], an NGO that receives direct funding from the US State Department [9]. While concern over electoral corruption and the various legitimate grievances of Bersih supporters may be entirely justified, the coalition’s association with opposition Political parties and groups financed by the United States government suggests subversion.



Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammed has warned that the ruling Barisan Nasional party is targeted for regime change due to its stance on Israel and criticism of US policy, while condemning Anwar Ibrahim for his close ties to Paul Wolfowitz and other adherents of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) [10]. Furthermore, Mahathir has accused the United States of using currency manipulation and US-funded NGOs to orchestrate the kind of destabilization needed to install a compliant proxy government [11]. Dr. William Robinson explains the subversive methods of conducting regime change through “democracy promotion” in his book, ‘Promoting Polyarhcy,’ “In Latin America, in Eastern Europe with the Velvet Revolutions, in Africa, in the Middle East, really all over the world, the U.S. set up these different mechanisms now for penetrating these civil societies in the political systems of countries that are going to be intervened and to assure the outcome is going to be pleasing to Washington's foreign policy objectives” [12].



Eva Golinger, a researcher who has been investigating the democracy promotion efforts of the United States offers, “Millions and millions of U.S. tax payer dollars go every year into funding for political organizations and campaigns in different countries in the world that promote US agenda. Most U.S. citizens are unaware of the fact that that is how their money is being spent, to meddle, and to influence and to interfere in other nation’s affairs” [13]. While the demands of the Bersih coalition appear to be coherent and apolitical, the convergence of its leadership with the opposition political establishment provides Anwar Ibrahim and Malaysia's opposition front Pakatan Rakyat with the means to mobilize demonstrators under the benign common cause of “clean and fair elections.” The initial Bersih demonstration in 2007 has become widely credited for Pakatan Rakyat’s record gains in the 2008 Malaysian elections, where the opposition coalition usurped power in five states and won 82 parliamentary seats [14].


 

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hahaha! Written by Canada's most nuttiest professors, "...whose absurdity stands head and shoulders above their colleagues...", bit.ly/IHDuUm

Anonymous said...

Hi Nuraina,

What is your honest and sincere take on this piece of news with regards to NST journalism practice.


" KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — The New Straits Times (NST) has admitted to falsely reporting that Australian Senator Nicholas Xenophon had criticised Islam in 2009, saying today it regrets the mistake and will take steps to make amends.

In a three-paragraph statement to The Malaysian Insider, the Umno-owned daily said that Xenophon, a known associate of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had not called Islam a "criminal organisation" as reported in its article yesterday but had instead used the label to criticise "Scientology". "

Anonymous said...

after your recent posts - one wonders whether you are your father's daughter!

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

saracen: why my honest and sincere take? you mean if you hadn't ask for it, i'd give my dishonest and insincere take?

well, the NST apologized because we published "Islam" instead of "scientology" and that was because the link that was used on Xenophon's speech had been changed at the source. It was "Islam" earlier and then somebody changed it to "Scientology" at the source. We have the print-out.
That was our mistake. That was what happened.
Published something that had already been changed. So, minta maaf-lah.

But of course, people like would happily kutuk.

You see...we are not as taksub as anti-BN people are. People like you hate BN so much that nothing is right.

I'm taking liberty to say all this.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

anon@10:08AM: I wouldn't even bother responding to you.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

anon@8:35AM: that's what you say.

Saracen said...

I am asking for honest opinion because you are biased towards BN eventhough (e.g;) the one who screwed up National Feedlot are from BN, for you is OK.

NST stoop so low to do such a thing,changing the word scientology with islam and accused the senator to be anti islam.

NST and the likes can stoop so low. Why please?

NST is such a dick.

Anonymous said...

Jika benar dakwaan Setiausaha Agung PKR Datuk Saifuddin Nasution bahawa pengerusi dan timbalan pengerusi Suruhan Jaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) ahli parti Umno, masa depan pilihan raya Malaysia semakin gelap.

Di negara ini, Ketua Hakim Negara juga pernah terdiri dari pimpinan Umno. Sudah tentulah wujud tanggapan segala keputusan yang dibuat memihak kepada Umno. Begitu juga dalam isu pilihan raya.

Bagi Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad tidak ada salahnya jika pengerusi dan timbalan pengerusi SPR menjadi anggota Umno.

Ini tidak menghairankan kerana sewaktu berkuasa, Raja-raja Melayu juga dicabut kuasanya untuk memberikan kekuasaan penuh kepada Dr Mahathir. Malaysia diperlakukan dengan sesuka hati seperti miliknya.

Apa lagi yang boleh diharapkan dengan pilihan raya di Malaysia? Tuntutan reformasi tidak dilayan. Pengerusi dan timbalan pengerusi terpalit dakwaan anggota Umno.

Apakah jaminan proses pilihan raya akan berlaku secara bebas dan adil? Jika pilihan raya terus dijalankan tanpa pengerusi dan timbalan pengerusi SPR yang baru, tanpa ditunaikan tuntutan BERSIH, angka rakyat yang bakal turun ke Dataran Merdeka akan menjadi lebih besar.

Pada ketika itu, angka sasaran perhimpunan akan meningkat ke dua juta. Bila itu berlaku, perubahan pemerintahan negara akan terjadi di Malaysia.


p/s : Jikalau ada kemungkinan BERSIH 4.0 diadakan dan Datuk Ambiga bukan lagi pengerusi bersama BERSIH, apa pulak bentuk serangan yang akan dihamburkan oleh pihak Umno/BN? Sama2 la kita nantikan bagaimana pulak bentuk serangan yang akan di lakukan oleh pihak mereka untuk menyerang penganjur BERSIH.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

saracen: what's your problem?

KekangKapitalis said...

Anonymous 5.02 menyokong Bersih mempersoal kenapa Hakim ahli UMNO, SPR ahli UMNO.

Untuk makluman Melayu yang cetek disana, kita baru merdeka 54 tahun. Mereka yang memperjuangkan kemerdekaan dulu Melayu dalam UMNO.
Melayu PAS menentang kemerdekaan.

Sebab itu bila merdeka ahli UMNO yang memainkan peranan dalam mentadbir Malaysia hingga menjadi maju sekarang.

Apa yang dihairankan? Yang dipersoalkan kenapa semakin ramai Melayu kecewa dengan UMNO tiada kaitan dengan sistem undi yang adil. Penyokong UMNO masih menjadi majoriti.

Keutamaan sekarang adalah mencari pemimpin yang tulin semangat Melayunya untuk memajukan bangsa secara egalitarian.

Bukan menggunakan kuasa yang diberi oleh orang Melayu untuk menjadikan anak/adik/ipar mereka jutawan atau bilionair seperti yang dilakukan oleh Mahathir untuk anaknya.

Patutkah anak Mahathir Mohkzani menjadi bilionair sedangkan peratusan aset Melayu masih rendah dan kemiskinan ahli UMNO masih tegar.

Cukupkah dengan alasan dulu kereta pun tak ada tapi sekarang semua ada kereta dikampung. Tapi mcm mana dia boleh dapat bilion pula?

Bagaimana sekarang ada kelas Cina dan India bilionair?

Ini persoalannya. Ini yang patut disengkang. Monopoli kekayaan oleh Kapitalis Cina dan India yang tidak dikekang oleh kepimpinan UMNO yang menjadikan kemarahan orang Melayu.