Tag: BERSIH

Sex, Lies and Videotape

According to an article in TheStar, the cops have release a video-tape to dispel talk of excessive force used by the police. Honestly, these guys are so stupid that they are just providing more fodder to anyone with the brains to think.

From the article, “Another clip showed Bersih chairman Datuk S. Ambiga being given water, while Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar was given an oxygen mask.” Now, aren’t our police a caring bunch – giving Ambiga some water and Izzah some air to breathe.

Any thinking person would wonder why these two women suddenly developed such desires for water and air for there is only one reason why such a thing would happen – they got tear-gassed – in a tunnel. The cops must be seriously dumb to think that these ladies will thank them for the aid, given that the cops tried to suffocate them.

From the same article, “Batu MP Tian Chua was seen running with a group towards the Light Strike Force officers at KL Sentral. Comm Salleh said the officers had to take action by firing tear gas.”

Honestly, I know that Tian Chua can be a bit of a trouble-maker sometimes but what threat was he posing that the only appropriate reponse was tear-gas. Only in Malaysia, does a bunch of unarmed civilians walking or running towards the police, get greeted with tear-gas. That’s not called a response – it’s called an escalation.

Also, from a related article, “police have denied that they were responsible for the death of Baharuddin Ahmad during the Bersih rally in the city on July 9. Internal Security and Public Order director Comm Datuk Salleh Mat Rasid said police were not even at the site where Baharuddin died following a heart attack at Avenue K, a mall opposite KLCC.”

And I’m sure that just like what happened at Tung Shin, “the allegation that Baharuddin died in a tear gas attack is untrue as no tear gas was fired in the KLCC area during the Padam Bersih 2.0 operation.” Unfortunately for the police, regardless of whether it was true or not, nobody will believe them anymore.

In any civilised country, when the police are on the front-line with water cannons and tear-gas, the ambulances are right behind them ready to treat any injuries. However, in Malaysia, the ambulances are nowhere to be seen and they will probably find it difficult to enter the city as well.

My dear police, there is crime of commission and crime of omission. While the police may not have bludgeoned him to death does not mean that they are not responsible. The police rushed the unarmed civilians at KLCC and created unnecessary panic resulting in one death and numerous injuries.

We need higher policing standards in Malaysia.

Idiotic Goon Pwned

According to an article in TheStar, “Ismail said they lauded Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s suggestion to broadcast video recordings on how the police handled the rally, which would be evidence against claims that police were violent during the rally.”

Only in Malaysia does the Inspector General of Police (IGP) think that by showing the other side of the story, it will white-wash all the evidence of wrong-doings by the police themselves. I’ve got news for you. Regardless of how many videos you show, it will only be a single point-of-view versus the thousands on the Internet.

The fact of the matter is that the police tossed several canisters of tear-gas into Tung Shin hospital’s compound. No amount of white-washing is going to change that. I remember the government sticking to their story that none of that happened until a group of doctors spoke out, forcing the government to back-track.

The fact of the matter is that the police kicked and hit and roughly man-handled unarmed civilian protesters. No amount of white-washing is going to change any of that. The people were merely armed with a stout heart and a clear vision of what a future Malaysia should be. Yellow t-shirts are not a weapon of mass destruction.

“From my observations (on photos and videos on the Internet), I find there is something not quite right. We urge the public to surrender any evidence that can help us get a clear picture of what happened,” he said.

You know, that’s the only sensible thing that the IGP has said – that is something is not quite right. Obviously, he is being duped by his subordinates. The police did do the things that they were accused of doing. Thousands of eye-witnesses, photos and videos will not be silenced.

Dear IGP, there is no smoke without fire – Kalau tak ada api, masakan ada asap?

I’d also like to introduce a new word to the IGP – wikiality – truth by consensus. In a country where the rakyat no longer places much trust in the police, particularly when the police are capable of denying the truth, the informed rakyat will no longer care about the police version of the truth.

Destroying Unity

Eat yellow.

According to an article in TheStar, our dearest PM said that:

We worked so hard to build and transform the nation and we cannot allow any trouble to take place as it would destroy unity.

Wow! I’m surprised that this could come from the person who allowed a clamp-down on the largest unity party of the year, which cut across all race and religion, with water-cannons, tear-gas and baton-charges. This is the person who sees 1-Malaysia as a threat to national security.

Also, from the same article:

I don’t want to be the Prime Minister for one moment if I do not have the support of the people.

Rich, coming from the only PM that we have who has not gotten a mandate from the people. Our PM from the last general election was Pak Lah and not Najib who inherited the position when Pak Lah opted to leave office. He has yet to prove that the people actually want him.

He barely made it past the post in his constituency with a narrow 241 vote majority in the 1999 general elections. Maybe our PM might consider calling for a snap election to see just how much support he has from the people?

Clean Observations

Frak you, BN.After so many days, and reading so many stories on the march, I thought that I should pen a few of my own thoughts and observations on some interesting things that happened on that day.

Drop-in Sales
Instead of the expected rioting and looting that was expected, the rally goers did the exact opposite. I witnessed people queuing up and paying for bottles of water amid all that violence. Those establishments that were open that day, made a lot of money off the rally goers. And everyone actually queued – a rarity in Malaysia!

Ground Support
The shop owners, many of whom were very supportive. When the police started lobbing tear-gas into the crowd, some of the shop owners were herding people through their shops for safety and also a quick escape into the back alleys. While they were not in the crowd, they were definitely with it.

Irrelevant Anwar
There were all kinds of chants that the crowd shouted including “Hidup Rakyat”, “Bersih Bersih” and others. However, when someone shouted “Hidup Anwar”, the volume of the chant was obviously muted. Most people were very clear on why they were there and it was not for Anwar who is becoming largely irrelevant.

Truly Malaysia
People helped people. The sensation of being part of something bigger than ourselves, united people across religions and race. It is just ironic that the most 1Malaysia event of the year drew out the worst suppression that our government could throw at its own people. Instead of celebration, it was suppressed.

KL is Small
I actually wondered why, instead of driving, I have not walked more within the city. KL is actually very walk-able. One can cross the heart of the city from one end to another in just about half an hour. There are actually so many back-alleys and side-streets that can be used to short-cut the distance.

Supportive Families
While many parents can remember the atrocities of 1969 and were very worried about how this rally may turn out, many were still quite supportive of their children’s need to march – Marina Mahathir joined the rally to keep an eye on her daughter. Some bid their kids to have a good time and stay safe!

Strong Defiance
Everyone had their own personal reasons for joining the rally. However, there were some who joined simply because the government told them not to – natural trouble-makers – and some even spent the prior night in their offices. Honestly, I think that the turn-out might have been less if the government had actually played everything down.

I hope that I did not miss anything. If I did, I will update this entry later.

Clean Stories

I will probably compile some of my favourite Bersih 2.0 stories here.

  • My favourite on so far, by a friend of mine – The Battle for Jalan Pudu:
    “It felt like an intense amount of chili powder gently and delicately rubbed onto every part of your exposed skin by Najib Razak”

  • The only one from the corporate media worth reading – A display of the people’s spirit:
    “Within the Tung Shin compound, I was hit the hardest by the tear gas. It burned my esophagus and eyes. I felt I was on the verge of passing out. Somehow, I managed to eat some salt.”

  • Sharing ice-cream with the police – Someone Did Win on July 9th:
    “What I experienced on the 9th of July is Malaysia. We are decent people, we are a people of quality. Those in power who are selfish or bigots or who try to divide the people – that is not Malaysia, and they are not deserving of Malaysia.”

  • A nice eye-witness account – I am Proud to be Malaysian:
    “I am not just proud to be Malaysian. More than that, I’m truly proud of my fellow Malaysians. May God bless you all.”

  • Nobody cares about Anwar anymore – The Difference:
    “Anwar could have been the Man in 2007, but Now it is Ambiga.”