Some 50 Bersih supporters met at the PJ State Lotus Restaurant to share their experiences from the July 9 rally, discuss electoral fraud, and register as voters.
“Last Saturday was the beginning of a great Malaysia to come; it’s not an end,” said Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Wong Chin Huat in a speech at the dinner.
“We’re not an independent nation as long as we’re colonised by fear,” added the journalism lecturer, but also pointing out that a few people were wearing Bersih T-shirts.The police have continued arresting those wearing Bersih’s signature yellow T-shirts after the rally, and have yet to release the six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members detained under the Emergency Ordinance 1969 for their alleged involvement with the movement.
A deputy minister also stated yesterday that it could via the central bank freeze the assets of those involved with Bersih 2.0.
“We’re looking at doing a yellow gotong-royong constituency by constituency every Saturday. Let’s bersih (clean)!” said activist Steven Ng to claps from the crowd.
Jasmine Ng, co-ordinator of the voter registration movement Voice Your Choice, called on Bersih supporters to spread awareness about the group’s demands for free and fair elections.
“Have your yellow parties (and) dinners. Talk about Bersih... your reach must (surpass that of) mainstream media,” she said.
Local mainstream press have defended the Najib administration’s crackdown on the Bersih rally, while foreign media have condemned it, with UK’s The Guardian going as far as comparing the Barisan Nasional government to ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak’s regime.Film-maker and writer Linnaeus Chung told The Malaysian Insider that the Bersih rally has motivated him to urge as many people as he can to vote.
“The election is the core of everything. It’s how we decide who’s in government and it’s also how we decide what are the policies that are in place,” said Chung at the dinner, where he had brought his friend’s yellow Burmese pet python and called it “Bersih”.
He added that he cried even before the police’s tear gas hit him at the rally, saying: “I’ve never experienced true unity until that day... there was only Bangsa Malaysia that day.”
Scriptwriter Fatima Abdul Kareem said she did not attend the Bersih rally due to personal problems, but stressed: “We don’t need to go to the rally to support the concept of Bersih.”
“The concept of Bersih started with demanding for fair elections; it has now expanded to people’s rights,” added the 35-year-old woman dressed in a yellow blouse.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.