BERSIH2.0′s Response to Chandra Muzaffar

July 9 Rally: The BERSIH2.0 Show will Go On

Let us listen to the political humour of Hishamuddin Rais. This is followed by a serious message from Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan.

United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said of her: “… Ambiga Sreenevasan, has a remarkable record of accomplishment in Malaysia. She has pursued judicial reform and good governance, she has stood up for religious tolerance, and she has been a resolute advocate of women’s equality and their full political participation. She is someone who is not only working in her own country, but whose influence is felt beyond the borders of Malaysia. And it is a great honor to recognize her ...”

Dato’ Ambiga explains the mission of BERSIH2.0 and also why the show must go on, despite recent actions by our government. In the same breadth, both Hishamuddin and Dato Ambiga answer Dr. Chandra Muzaffar.

Article 10(1) grants freedom of speech, the right to assemble peaceably and the right to form associations to every Malaysian citizen but such freedom and rights are not absolute: the Constitution itself, by Article 10 (2), (3) and (4), expressly permits Parliament by law to impose restrictions in the interest of the security of the Federation, friendly relations with other countries, public order, morality, to protect the privileges of Parliament, to provide against contempt of court, defamation, or incitement to any offence.

Article 10 is a key provision of Part II of the Constitution, and has been regarded as “of paramount importance” by the judicial community in Malaysia.

Hishamuddin Rais in Action

Dr McCoy speaks his mind

Mrs Bhupalan Speaks

Civil Society Led-BERSIH2.0

Thank You, Dato A. Samad Said from Your Generation of Malaysians

Finally, I am posting a picture of Dato’ A Samad Said with his controversial poem Unggun Bersih.

Dato’ Samad (born in 1935) is a Malaysian intellectual of my generation and our internationally respect poet and novelist who, in May 1976, was named by Malay literature communities and many of the country’s linguists as the Pejuang Sastera [Literary Exponent] receiving, within the following decade, the 1976 Southeast Asia Write Award and, in 1986, in appreciation of his continuous writings and contributions to the nation’s literary heritage, or Kesusasteraan Melayu, the title Sasterawan Negara.

To you, dear Dato’, I say thank you for showing men and women of our generation that activism is not out of date, even at our age. Let us do it for the generations after us. We did what we had to do before but are now called upon to do it all over again for freedom, democracy and justice. Allah Selamatkan Malaysia, Negara tercinta.–Din Merican