It seems that BN does not want the Bersih issue laid to rest after all. BN is still smarting from the July 9 fiasco and is going all out to play down the success of the rally. To this end, a full scale psy-war has been activated to negate the feel-good effects that Bersih 2.0 has created amongst Malaysians for each other and towards the Pakatan Rakyat in general.
The BN Government is still in a state of denial and fails to see that the continuous publicity generated would only benefit the Bersih cause even more.
Symptoms of the psy-war can be seen in the latest controversies. The KL city lockdown, the high-handedness and intimidation by the riot police of the rakyat (populace) published worldwide which are still being denied by our authorities.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein made a statement saying that the police have made video recordings of the entire street demonstration on Saturday as evidence to refute wild allegations, and to be used in the cases soon-to-be-brought against offenders. But shouldn’t the Home Ministry make a careful study first of those violent videos circulated on the Internet before contemplating any action?
Anti-Bersih
Anti-Bersih supporters have mounted a petition online, threatening to abandon its support for Najib Razak’s administration if the prime minister fails to revoke the citizenships of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and Bersih chairman Ambiga Sreenavasan, and punish the Bersih marchers. Apparently, there are many anti-Bersih supporters in this country willing to crucify individuals, rather than face the truth that our electoral system needs to be reviewed.
Its demands include a petition to the King to revoke the titles of Ambiga, Anwar, PAS president Hadi Awang and national laureate A Samad Said. The online petition has collected about 173 signatures so far. But according to DAP leader Lim Guan ENg , to revoke Ambiga chairman’s citizenship was against the constitution as there was no basis or proof that showed Ambiga was disloyal towards the country, or had voluntarily renounced her citizenship
Meanwhile, a facebook page calling on the resignation of PM Najib set up shortly after Saturday’s rally hit above 160,000 'likes'. So much for the anti-Bersih copy-cats, and dumb ones too!
The DAP-led Penang government has also denied involvement in a short messaging service (SMS) or text message on the payment of an allowance to participants in the 'Bersih 2.0' Rally. The SMS called on Malaysians who participated in the Rally to make their way to DAP’s offices to collect RM300 for their participation, stressing that RM350,000 had been made available for distribution. How sickening is that?
MCA and MIC
MCA and MIC unusually quiet during the entire episode has finally crawled out of their shells to condemn the Bersih Rally. MCA lost no time to state that MCA did not support the illegal Bersih rally because it has been allegedly hijacked by the Opposition, and countered that it could raise 50,000 people to its own cause if it wanted to.
MIC remarked that the absence of a large presence of Indian supporters was proof the community was against the Bersih cause. It is obvious both MCA and MIC have to renew their loyalty to UMNO each time when the going gets tough, and they need to convince UMNO that they still have the people’s support. Which brings MCA and MIC back to square one - who is boss? The Chinese and Indian communities or UMNO?
Ibrahim Ali has just renewed his own reverse psychology warfare by calling for the immediate revocation of Ambiga’s and Anwar’s citizenship, which actually means that he does not want their citizenship to be revoked. He is under tremendous pressure and has to work extra harder, as his latest performance at Titiwangsa has not achieved the desired results yet.
World media and national clown
The Opposition are also engaging in a strategic psy-war to counter the offensive by BN. But now, the Opposition has an unexpected ally. The world’s media is blaring out the Bersih message all over the globe, and their extensive coverage has made BN sullen with rage. In typical response, Hishammuddin has threatened to sue the foreign press for false coverage of the Bersih event.
The only positive news at the other end of the rainbow is IGP Ismail Omar reminding certain groups to stop inciting the people through the short messaging service (SMS), Twitter and Facebook in retaliation for the failure of the illegal rally, Bersih 2.0, in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Bersih can count its lucky stars that the message continues to spread to every nook and cranny across Malaysia and the world. Every time the BN government utters a denial or criticism against Bersih, it will only further the Bersih’s noble cause as people have started to take notice and are starting to ask the right questions.
Not to be outdone, PM Najib has tried to brush off the Bersih episode as an 'insignificant event', unworthy of his attention and if he wanted to, he could call a million members to rally. He went on to make fun of Anwar Ibrahim who was injured in the Saturday incident.
Maybe the whole sorry episode is best summed up by a reader who commented: Saw Najib clowned himself in a video about Anwar. At first I thought it was the TV3 Raja Lawak Program, Najib really looked like a circus clown.
- Malaysia Chronicle
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