To accept protest means Malaysia has finally grown up

 

I have been on some protest marches and demonstrations in my life.

When I was a student in the 1990s in the United Kingdom, I remember marching with others from our student’s union in London. In Malaysia, a few years ago, I joined demonstrations for free and fair elections.

But this week was a first for me.

I was in Vienna, Austria and there was a massive protest about freedom. Freedom from forced medical mandates, freedom from corrupt government practices in the guise of safety, and freedom for self-determination for all their citizens.

I say it was a first for me, because I wasn’t part of the demonstration. I was just a by-stander and not a participant. It was a protest in another country and I felt that I should limit my democratic activism to my own nation.

My wife on the other hand, albeit a Malaysian resident, is still an Austrian citizen. When she found out about the protest, she immediately decided to join, and went on a three-hour march with thousands of her compatriots. And, good for her, I say.

As I was standing on the side-lines observing the thousands of ordinary citizens marching and making their voices heard, two things struck me.

The first was the heavy police presence. This wasn’t surprising to me, coming from Malaysia.

So, I asked a rather burly but approachable policeman standing nearby about why there were so many of them there. He just told me that they were there to ‘protect’ the protestors. Naturally, I figured that’s what a policeman would say, like in Malaysia too.

Then, I asked him if there is a requirement for a special ‘permit’ to protest. To this, he replied that any public gathering above 300 persons would need official approval under the Vienna Events Act.

Using my ‘Malaysian’ brain, I pressed him further to ask if organisers of these types of public demonstrations found it tough to get approvals, as we know is the case in Malaysia.

He looked at me in the most perplexed way and said “…why would it be a problem; it is their actual right to do this.”

The approval was needed simply to ensure that the city authorities prepare portable toilets, re-route tram services and traffic flow, and provide adequate police to maintain order.

So, the police were there to actually safeguard citizens and facilitate their right to protest.

The last time I was on a major demonstration in Malaysia, I got doused by powerful water cannons in Dataran Merdeka by the police and the Federal Reserve Unit.

And, who can forget the viral video a few months ago that showed a prominent Malaysian social activist being stopped in the centre of Kuala Lumpur by a policeman, for being part of an ‘illegal’ march.

The second thing that struck me at this protest was the importance of citizens standing up and getting heard. The ability to object is so fundamental for human rights and a democratic society.

This is what I felt when I stood there and watched my wife join the march. Nobody seemed to fear any repercussions or retributions. Citizens of varying ages, genders and colours all bandied together in total solidarity, to stand up for what they believed in.

I did not sense any unease, like I usually do in our country whenever we organise ourselves to remonstrate and object to something. Here, the cops were not used as instruments of the state but instead, they were there to serve and protect the citizens.

Why is this so important?

The biggest realisation for many, when joining a demonstration or protest, is that they are not alone in feeling a particular way about an issue or a problem.

Let’s face facts. One of the ways that the establishment maintains its stronghold, is by creating a dominant national discourse where dissenting views are excluded. At least over the last two difficult years, we have witnessed this, with regards to public health.

Demonstrations empower citizens. They finally realise that there are others who feel the same way as them. Only when we allow ourselves to protest and get enough like-minded people to join in, can we alter agendas and start a debate.

This protest in Vienna, which I do not necessarily agree with completely, has already started a national discourse in Austria, and those in power will have to take notice of public sentiments.

Countries where citizens are brainwashed and indoctrinated to believe that protests and protestors only cause annoyance and inconvenience, always end up having unaccountable governments that run roughshod over the will of the people.

Sounds familiar?

How does a nation promote democracy and an openness in society when legislators are hell-bent on increasing and introducing further restrictions to our right to protest? This is totally incompatible with politicians spewing out platitudes about ‘inclusive government’.

The ability to protest gives an essential voice to minority groups and communities. And collectively, we must realise that many of the rights and freedoms that we enjoy today were, in fact, secured through protests.

For example, even our nation was borne out of protests against imperialism and the various oppressive initiatives by our former colonial masters. The rights and privileges enjoyed by Malaysia’s majority community today comes from a rejection of the Malayan Union through organised protests in 1948. Lest we forget this.

So, we must preserve our right to demonstrate. Personally, some protests do not interest me at all, while others actually worry me. But at the end of the day, I will always defend a citizen’s right to protest. It is our absolute right. When we give it away, or if it is forcibly removed from us, then we start going down the slippery slope towards dictatorship.

What I really understood in Vienna that day was that Malaysians must grow up, and learn to have mature discourse, while respecting each other’s absolute right to protest. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.