S'wak PKR leader: I was there, I saw. How can Liow say tear gas wasn't fired

KUCHING - Although several days have passed since the July 9 Bersih rally for free and fair elections took place in Kuala Lumpur, the march and tales of how people wearing yellow were indiscrimately arrested are still hot topics amongst the people here.

It appears that the 'Bersih' word, which stands for 'clean', is here to stay in the Land of the Hornbills for a long time to come, despite the obvious disapproval from the Najib administration as well as the state government.

For the group of Sarawakians who took the trouble to fly all the way down to KL to support the march, it was an experience of a lifetime and something that they are proud to be part of.

Many are still upset and even outright angry when they talk about how the federal government unleashed the police on them. Sad to say, the police use all their equipment on the crowd - the water canons, tear gas, rattan canes, rubber hoses and kicks and punches as well.

I was there, tear gas was fired into Tung Shin

In a press conference, PKR national vice chairman of the Women's wing, Voon Shiak Ni, who was among those who went to KL with Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian and other party mates, condemned the callous way in which tear gas was fired into the Tung Sing hospital compound.

"The authorities have lost all good sense in the fear of the growing strength of Bersih," Voon told reporters.

Voon, who was huddling nearby along with the thousands of other Bersih supporters, said she can vouch that tear gas had indeed been fired into the hospital ground.

"I was there, Health Minister, Liow Tiong Lai was never there so how can he see something I saw," Voon slammed the national MCA leader.

Police rushed at us

If the government is kind and caring as they always claim to be, they should stop lying and punish those who gave the order to fire into the hospital compound, Voon continued.

According to her, the rally was peaceful but turned chaotic when the police rushed at the crowd, swinging their batons and forcing the marchers to run helter skelter.

Many tried to hide in bushes in the Tung Shin gardens. And this was when the infamous water cannon sent a huge spray of chemical-laced water into the compound. Tear gas canisters were also shot inside to flush out the marchers, Voon added.

"The choking from the gas, the itchness and burning effect of the chemical laced water really made us uncomfortable for a few hours," she said.

"But the memory of the bond of togetherness amongst the thousands of people will never leave us. Instead, it make us all more determine to chase for greater democratic space and free and clean polls."

Recalcitrant federal government

Sad to say, Voon is but one of hundreds of eyewitnesses of the Tung Shin incident. Despite the multitude of videos, images freely available on You Tube, the federal government has refused to admit their negligence.

Iinternational convention further dictates that hospitials must be kept sacrosanct even in times of war.

The Bar Council, which sent a monitoring team of 100 to observe the rally, has confirmed that police fired both water canons and tear gas into the hospital ground, and has offered eyewitness accounts as well as visual evidence.

- Malaysia Chronicle