BN propaganda to smear Bersih and take away its glory has begun

On the 9th of July, Bersih supporters marched in unison in 31 cities around the world making it an international event. The Bersih Rally will go down in Malaysian history and will remain fresh in the minds of everyone for many years to come. There is simply no doubt that Bersih has met its objective and is a tremendous success, no thanks to BN which did everything it could to derail it. The publicity generated worldwide is nothing short of amazing.

The success of Bersih is judged by the yardstick of constant denials in the mainstream media condemning the illegal rally as Haram (unIslamic),with a poor turnout, not to mention the untold hardship and losses running into millions. However, there was no mention that the losses were caused by the unnecessary lockdown and the indiscriminate setup of road blocks coupled with a hostile police presence.

They even said that Bersih had lost the plot. What did they lose? Did the government win? Does it matter who won or lost? Instead of acknowledging Bersih’s noble cause, they stubbornly continue to deny its existence and simply refuse to review its demands.

The Inspector General of Police and the Home Minister also had the cheek to say that the protest was a failure as only 6,000 supporters were present, while 1,600 were indiscriminately arrested. Police also denied the brutal handling of Bersih supporters, insisting that officers had acted humanely. The IGP even tried to play it down by saying that the arrested victims were given free meals during the ordeal. Malaysians will remember him as a pathological liar similar to ex-IGP Musa Hassan.

Anwar and Sabu

PM Najib went on to downplay the Rally, condemning Bersih of side-tracking from its initial aim, and had been hijacked by the Pakatan Rakyat. Anwar Ibrahim, as always, was made the scapegoat. This goes to show how fearful they are of Anwar. Is it a wonder that Anwar and Mat Sabu, two of Pakatan Rakyat's top leaders were grievously hurt during the incident?

Meanwhile, scores of Pakatan Rakyat leaders including Hadi Awang, Mat Sabu, Nurul Izzah, Tian Chua and others were arrested. PAS later issued a statement calling for their immediate release within the next 24 hours, failing which the next march would be 1-million strong.

As predicted, the fat katak was hiding under his bed covered with blankets during the entire episode. Katak means frog and is directed to those who frequently hop from party to party such as Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali.

Against the estimated 100,000 strong crowd, UMNO Youth also made an appearance with crowd strength of 500 all dressed in red. It wouldn’t have made any difference, as they would have been swallowed up by the mammoth crowd.

Even so, there was bloodshed with a number of supporters fainting, while others were nursed in hospitals. And to top it all, a life was taken. He will forever be remembered as a martyr for the Bersih cause. His demise was so unnecessary, if only our government had been more humane to refrain from using high handed tactics to intimidate the crowd.

A global Bersih was achieved

While the Bersih rally held concurrently throughout the big cities of the world ended in jubilation, with the crowd marching hand-in-hand joyously chanting Reformasi, in Malaysia the courageous supporters had to put up with the fear of bodily harm, arrests and detentions by our own friendly Police Force.

However, there was also a sense of close unity and solidarity as Malaysians of all races got together in close camaraderie. The only positive feedback was the crowd lining up to shake hands with the police at the end of the Rally.

Even other governments in the world see no harm in letting our own Malaysian citizens march for a noble cause. But back home, our Malaysian government goes overboard to deter us in every way humanly possible. International news coverage of the Bersih March has showed the world how our riot police battled the crowd by launching tear gas and water cannons into thousands of unarmed supporters.

Propaganda

Although the Bersih Rally is officially over, the propaganda has just begun. Over the next few days the media aims to erase the deep impact that Bersih had on the nation, and to do this, they will spread counter-lies.

Leading the way was Information Minister Rais Yatim, who expressed sadness that the Malays and Muslims had been divided by unclean forces in an ‘unclean’ Rally. He spared no effort to use the Race and Religion cards to condemn Bersih. The ugly side of racism is showing up well in the face of our propaganda Minister.

National laureate Samad Said, who participated in the rally, was proud to say that, “I have never seen all the races in Malaysia so united for one cause before and the supporters of Bersih 2.0 were more multiracial this time compared to its previous incarnation in 2007 as Bersih. It really goes to show that this elusive unity amongst the races is starting to take shape."

Malaysians have come to recognize an unsung heroine in Ambiga Sreenevasan, a courageous women lawyer, who did not relent despite heavy pressure to stop leading Malaysia’s call for overdue reforms. Syabas!

The rakyat or people have spoken. It is up to the government to sit up and listen and take the necessary action. Constant denials won’t get them anywhere anymore. They should stop misbehaving and start listening to the people.

- Malaysia Chronicle