In a strong display of civil society solidarity to protest the unfair 13th general election, some 500,000 Malaysians have attended nine separate rallies held throughout the country over the last 15 days.
In open defiance of police warnings and threats from BN ministers, members of the public came out to express their anger against election malpractices.
In open defiance of police warnings and threats from BN ministers, members of the public came out to express their anger against election malpractices.
Several observations from these rallies are worth noting as being reflective of a maturing civil society.
1. A peaceful crowd: Apart for one or two incidents, the rallies were peaceful. At some of the larger gatherings in Petaling Jaya, just like the last three Bersih rallies, one can support the claim that not “one flower pot was broken”, as Bersih leader Ambiga Sreenevasan said.
1. A peaceful crowd: Apart for one or two incidents, the rallies were peaceful. At some of the larger gatherings in Petaling Jaya, just like the last three Bersih rallies, one can support the claim that not “one flower pot was broken”, as Bersih leader Ambiga Sreenevasan said.
This orderly and responsible public behaviour makes us all very proud of our Malaysian-ness. The rakyat - young and old, Malay, Chinese, Indians and others, politicians and civil society leaders - fiercely protected their right to public expression. Yet, they were mindful of their conduct so as not to cause chaos and disorder. Inilah Malaysia boleh.
2. Sense of solidarity: Many arrived early and resolutely walked a long way to the venue. They did not complain about the traffic jam or the heat. They came with towels, water bottles, raincoats, umbrellas and plastic sheets to sit on. Some had salt in their backpacks, just in case. They were purposeful, and felt they just had to be there.
At the end of the rally, they patiently walked away, letting emotions wind down. Many employers had let their staff off early while some went with their staff in groups. The crowd coalesced to form a solid mass to demonstrate support for the clean and fair elections.
3. Responsible leaders: Pakatan Rakyat leaders attacked issues of injustice and unfairness, encouraged the people to stand up for their rights, and sustained hope for reform. No one incited negative feelings against anyone. The attacks were against an incompetent Election Commission (EC) which has embarrassed Malaysians, as well as a corrupt government led by Umno/BN.
The authorities harped on the 10-day notice period required for the holding of a peaceful assembly. The people didn’t seem to care. In spirit and in deed, they demonstrated via their behaviour that they complied with the provisions of the Peaceful Assembly Act.
2. Sense of solidarity: Many arrived early and resolutely walked a long way to the venue. They did not complain about the traffic jam or the heat. They came with towels, water bottles, raincoats, umbrellas and plastic sheets to sit on. Some had salt in their backpacks, just in case. They were purposeful, and felt they just had to be there.
At the end of the rally, they patiently walked away, letting emotions wind down. Many employers had let their staff off early while some went with their staff in groups. The crowd coalesced to form a solid mass to demonstrate support for the clean and fair elections.
3. Responsible leaders: Pakatan Rakyat leaders attacked issues of injustice and unfairness, encouraged the people to stand up for their rights, and sustained hope for reform. No one incited negative feelings against anyone. The attacks were against an incompetent Election Commission (EC) which has embarrassed Malaysians, as well as a corrupt government led by Umno/BN.
The authorities harped on the 10-day notice period required for the holding of a peaceful assembly. The people didn’t seem to care. In spirit and in deed, they demonstrated via their behaviour that they complied with the provisions of the Peaceful Assembly Act.
Chaos and arrests only occurred at the Adam Adli vigil when the police and the FRU intervened.
None of the politicians or NGO speakers made racist remarks to provoke ill feelings. It has been the BN’s media agents and spokespersons who have made racist and seditious remarks that have caused public outrage.
None of the politicians or NGO speakers made racist remarks to provoke ill feelings. It has been the BN’s media agents and spokespersons who have made racist and seditious remarks that have caused public outrage.
Message for BN
The BN leadership’s logic and rationale is often puzzling. The younger leaders ought to cut through partisanship and take a strong position on honour in an election. There is no glory in a rigged electoral process and a hollow mandate does not give the government any credibility.
Money politics has ceased to work in urban centres. Some in Penang who received money during the BN campaigns donated this to the opposition. The shameful conduct of the media did not have a full impact on the people’s choice. Voters saw through the threats and manipulations and called a national boycott of the corrupt media conspirators.
All young Umno leaders who have benefitted from the NEP must stop defending a decadent regime and come out to lead reforms. Malaysians do not want Pakatan alone; they want a credible two-party system functioning in a competitive election process that is clean and fair.
There are real opportunities to move Malaysian democracy forward; to make Malaysia a real model for democratic governance in a multi-racial society. The 52 percent who gave their vote to Pakatan wanted to see change, and to see Malaysia move forward in its democracy. Reforming the unfair electoral system is the only forward.
The BN leadership’s logic and rationale is often puzzling. The younger leaders ought to cut through partisanship and take a strong position on honour in an election. There is no glory in a rigged electoral process and a hollow mandate does not give the government any credibility.
Money politics has ceased to work in urban centres. Some in Penang who received money during the BN campaigns donated this to the opposition. The shameful conduct of the media did not have a full impact on the people’s choice. Voters saw through the threats and manipulations and called a national boycott of the corrupt media conspirators.
All young Umno leaders who have benefitted from the NEP must stop defending a decadent regime and come out to lead reforms. Malaysians do not want Pakatan alone; they want a credible two-party system functioning in a competitive election process that is clean and fair.
There are real opportunities to move Malaysian democracy forward; to make Malaysia a real model for democratic governance in a multi-racial society. The 52 percent who gave their vote to Pakatan wanted to see change, and to see Malaysia move forward in its democracy. Reforming the unfair electoral system is the only forward.
One can see that a civil movement has began, whether it is by way of public rallies, rumblings in cyberspace or defiance of the authorities. There are no signs that Malaysians will stop until they see a fair and clean electoral system in place.
Are Malaysians anti-government? The answer is a resounding No. They believe they deserve a better government elected by a fair and clean system; a level playing field for all political parties - that is the real message.
Malaysians are also looking for a young and wise leader - or a group of leaders - in Umno who genuinely believes in development and in moving the democratic system forward. Given the entrenched vested interests, bureaucracy, no well-intentioned leaders in Umno can do much to produce any credible reforms.
As Chinese Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai Shek said: “If you fight corruption, your party will collapse. If you don’t fight corruption, your country will collapse.”
Creative destruction
It is a dilemma for Umno reformers but creative destruction is the only way forward; reforming the system is not to break Umno’s grip on the system but to bring the party into a new era.
Malaysians hope that young Umno leaders who genuinely love this country will come forward to engage the opposition in a genuine redelineation of electoral boundaries, keeping the variance to 15 percent above or below the size of the constituencies to ensure one vote, one value.
Perhaps it is time to revise the Malaysia Agreement with Sabah and Sarawak and introduce new measure to assure the sovereignty of Sabahans and Sarawakians.
In the redelineation exercise, new principles of equality and fairness must be introduced, with one vote one value being the first of these. Other measures should include a bigger allowance for state assembly representatives and MPs who need to cover larger areas in providing services to constituents. The current system is unfair to urban voters who are held hostage by alleged manipulations in the smaller rural constituencies.
The youth must be trained via universities to become knowledgeable polling and counting agents, so that the election process can be conducted in a professional and credible way. All undergraduates who attend such courses should be awarded credits.
The EC must be reconstituted to include members of civil society who would take this scared duty seriously and report to Parliament and to the rakyat, instead of the government.
Parliament too should work toward structural reforms:
1. Power should be decentralised and tax collection should revert to states to finance development. This will benefit the BN in the event that it loses Putrajaya some day - it will still have full control over any states under its wing.
2. The mandate for public transport, education up to college level, and public security should also be returned to the state legislature in order to strengthen governance.
Finally, can we consider attendance of the ‘Blackout 505' rallies as civil disobedience? And if so, what is the real message?
Martin Luther King Jr once said: “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust law. An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.”
Civil disobedience is justified and is often a prelude to regime change. Umno reformers and other young BN leaders must listen to the people and respond sincerely.
Are Malaysians anti-government? The answer is a resounding No. They believe they deserve a better government elected by a fair and clean system; a level playing field for all political parties - that is the real message.Malaysians are also looking for a young and wise leader - or a group of leaders - in Umno who genuinely believes in development and in moving the democratic system forward. Given the entrenched vested interests, bureaucracy, no well-intentioned leaders in Umno can do much to produce any credible reforms.
As Chinese Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai Shek said: “If you fight corruption, your party will collapse. If you don’t fight corruption, your country will collapse.”
Creative destruction
It is a dilemma for Umno reformers but creative destruction is the only way forward; reforming the system is not to break Umno’s grip on the system but to bring the party into a new era.
Malaysians hope that young Umno leaders who genuinely love this country will come forward to engage the opposition in a genuine redelineation of electoral boundaries, keeping the variance to 15 percent above or below the size of the constituencies to ensure one vote, one value.
Perhaps it is time to revise the Malaysia Agreement with Sabah and Sarawak and introduce new measure to assure the sovereignty of Sabahans and Sarawakians.
In the redelineation exercise, new principles of equality and fairness must be introduced, with one vote one value being the first of these. Other measures should include a bigger allowance for state assembly representatives and MPs who need to cover larger areas in providing services to constituents. The current system is unfair to urban voters who are held hostage by alleged manipulations in the smaller rural constituencies.
The youth must be trained via universities to become knowledgeable polling and counting agents, so that the election process can be conducted in a professional and credible way. All undergraduates who attend such courses should be awarded credits.
The EC must be reconstituted to include members of civil society who would take this scared duty seriously and report to Parliament and to the rakyat, instead of the government.
Parliament too should work toward structural reforms: 1. Power should be decentralised and tax collection should revert to states to finance development. This will benefit the BN in the event that it loses Putrajaya some day - it will still have full control over any states under its wing.
2. The mandate for public transport, education up to college level, and public security should also be returned to the state legislature in order to strengthen governance.
Finally, can we consider attendance of the ‘Blackout 505' rallies as civil disobedience? And if so, what is the real message?
Martin Luther King Jr once said: “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust law. An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.”
Civil disobedience is justified and is often a prelude to regime change. Umno reformers and other young BN leaders must listen to the people and respond sincerely.
Enlightened regimes bring about their own creative destruction to give birth to a new life; a recent example is the rejuvenated Kuomintang of Taiwan.
Those who lose the hearts of the people will eventually lose their kingdom, says a well known Chinese proverb. Let wisdom prevail for the sake of Malaysians.
FOONG WAI FONG, an Anak Malaysia who attended the Kelana Jaya Blackout Rally, believes that Malaysia and Malaysians deserve better.
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