Do political protests matter?

The number of people participating in demonstrations has increased in almost every corner of the world including Malaysia.

COMMENT

By Khoo Ying Hooi

These days, people are getting more and more acquainted of their political and social rights.

Protest movements are now a normal part of the political process. People have frequently participated in mass protests for two major reasons – firstly, to influence the policy-makers and secondly, to impact public opinion.

On the one hand, they put pressure on the political authorities for recognition as well as to get their demands met. On the other, they seek public support for their cause.

Changes in public opinion can help movements reach their goals by making decision-makers more responsive to their demands.

Usually a protest brings together either a specific issue or a set of issues, and most of the time it is concerned primarily with the general grievances of particular groups of people. For instance, the Great Depression in the 1930s transformed the American political and economic landscape.

Soaring unemployment rate and economic collapse have often fuelled protest movements, whether radical or socialist in nature.

The number of people participating in demonstrations has increased in almost every corner of the world including Malaysia. We have had historical episodes of protest way before Independence.

Starting with the Tunisian protests in December 2010, more than a dozen Arab countries subsequently encountered major protests in what has popularly become known as the “Arab Spring”.

These developments have caught observers by surprise because although the Arab world has been always known as a continent of conflict, its authoritarian regimes are also seen as fundamentally strong enough to curb any dissent.

While the problems are socio-economic in nature, it was the frustrating expectations of political reforms that actually led the people to the street.

The European continent has also not been immune to the wave of protests. In May, 2011, a series of demonstrations occurred in Spain asking for “Real Democracy Now” and social justice and protesting against political corruption. The massive series of demonstrations that started on May 15 drew people from all classes and ages. The protests have spread to other Western countries, from Iceland to Greece.

Political change?

The right to organised protest, although not absolute, underpins three crucial fundamental human rights – the right of assembly, the right to freedom of association and the right to freedom of expression.

It is often understood that restraining popular dissent will eventually drive the people to the street, making them politically more dangerous.

Can the protests result in political change?

The intensification of the protest raises questions about the motives of these protesters. Why do people take part in mass protests, and why do they spread like a wildfire? Can the protests bring political change?

First and foremost, the desire to participate is a precondition to participation. The act of participating involves risk and choice.

For many years, protest has been widely used as one of many techniques to challenge existing power structures and bring about progressive change.

The most direct and immediate impact of protest is the visibility of the cause. In short, it helps in getting voices heard.

As a result of protest movements, democracy gained a foothold such as in the French and American Revolutions, and in the modern-day protests in South Africa, India, and the like.

All anecdotes of protest have political implications, especially in authoritarian and semi-authoritarian countries where demonstrations are mostly either strictly controlled or totally banned.

Ultimately, however, what will determine whether change will come to other countries will not be from the effect of the Tunisian revolt, but how governments respond to the challenge. In some cases, frustration will lead to violence which in turn will bring repression. In other cases, protests have been successful and have been accommodated.

If a government is still reluctant to alter the traditional ways of dealing with political dissent and allow some kind of institutional participation, then the government is definitely putting itself in a very delicate balance between maintaining power and retaining legitimacy.

Khoo Ying Hooi is an academic member of staff at Universiti Malaya. She is also a PhD candidate at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Her current research focuses on the civil society and social movement in Malaysia. She can be contacted at yinghooi@gmail.com.