Songs of Freedom for Najib and BN to listen to and take heed of

Music knows no border. You can't deny it a visa or travel document. Even if you ban it, the melody that the people yearn to hear will spring up in their hearts - naturally and spontaneously. Music speaks to people across the world regardless of color, language and religion.

The lyrics to one such special song was written by Bob Dylan in 1963, and was covered by thousands of top singers around the world including Joan Baez.

The song questions peace, war and freedom. The refrain The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind struck a chord with people all over the world. It hits you right smack in the face for the answer is indeed both as obvious and as elusive as the wind.

The 3rd and 4th verses in the song best describes the situation in Malaysia today.

How many years must a mountain exist

Before it is washed to the sea?

How many years can some people exist

Before they're allowed to be free?

How many times can a man turn his head

and pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

The answer is blowing in the wind.

Bersih not out to topple the govt: But doesn't such a govt deserves to be toppled?

Prime Minister Najib Razak and his BN government are saying that the organizers of the Bersih 3.0 rally as well as the people who participated wanted to overthrow their regime by taking over the Dataran Merdeka and creating an Arab Spring. How wrong can they be.

Malaysians are more civic and docile than the Arabs. There is no way they would want to overthrow the government with force. Malaysians in Bersih 3.0 were so mild and friendly that they allowed themselves to be chased all over town by the police. And mind you, the police formed less than 10% of the total crowd.

If this chasing around had happened in the Arab countries during the Arab Spring uprisings, I dread to think what would have happened to the police there. Most likely, they would have been pulped, but over here the people ran away, and like dogs chasing their prey, it was the Police who attacked them in every nook and corner.

Were these Malaysians like the Arabs? Howling for blood. The answer is an obvious "No". Malaysians are peaceful people and acted according to their instincts by being submissive to law and order even though they were provoked incessantly.

If there are elements of Arab Spring, it is in the spirit of a people's uprising against a tyrannical government. Beyond that, the situations in the Middle East and Malaysia are different. The people and the cultural backgrounds are different. But certainly, Malaysians are no less oppressed by dictatorial leaders here - just as the Arabs were by the likes of Mubarak and Gaddafi.

Culture and society may differ but the darkness is the same

What happened has made the Malaysian people angry and disillusioned with Najib is his use of cruel violence to justify his refusal to allow the people their right of a clean and fair general election.

Did the Malaysian people go to war with their government? Or did the government wage war with the people? Why must the BN government stand its ground and blockade a piece of land about the size of 2 football fields with a court order, making the rest of the world laugh at Najib's ineptness and stupidity.

What a mess BN has created for themselves in the eyes of the world. Videos and pictures of the rally are uploaded daily on You Tube and Facebook for the world to judge the truth. The people will want an answer and surely they will get one.

There won't be any Arab Spring in Malaysia, but for sure, there will be winds of change and reform. And that is encapsulated in another song that captures a people's longing of freedom from oppression, the Scorpions' Wind of Change.

Like it or not, Najib Razak, the answer is blowin in the wind and the wind of change is already reaching all Malaysians in all walks of life.

Malaysia Chronicle