The scheduled Walk for Democracy organised by Bersih 2.0 - the coalition
for free and fair elections comprising 62 NGOs - on July 9 is in
keeping with the democratic tradition of citizens who want to highlight
issues of concern.
This democratic process is
intended to draw the attention of the government to grievances that
greatly bother the citizens of a country so that their grievances can be
addressed. Their call is to conduct free and fair elections, that will
legitimise election results and make them acceptable to all contestants.
Bersih had organised a similar gathering on
November 10, 2007, that attracted close to 50,000 participants in a
peaceful attempt to demand free and fair elections. One cannot help but
be impressed by the disciplined and responsible conduct of the
protesters then. They even cleared and cleaned the streets of all
rubbish after the event. They had traffic marshals to manage the crowd.
They were that responsible.
Now, this proposed
protest on July 9 can be expected to be just as orderly, disciplined and
responsible. The protesters will be there representing a cause that
would strengthen our democracy and make our elections meaningful. There
is no reason for them to do anything stupid to jeopardise their cause by
resorting to the ways of hooligans and hoodlums.
They
would want to convince the authorities that peaceful gatherings are
possible to drive home a message in a democratic manner. They would also
want to safeguard their right to similar protests in the future - when
necessary - by ensuring that no untoward incidents take place that would
jeopardise their democratic space in the future.
Bersih
2.0 is headed by a reputable and admirable person with an impeccable
character in the form of Ambiga Sreenevasan, a former president of the
Malaysian Bar Council and recipient of the International Women of
Courage Award.
Those associated with the Bersih 2.0
initiative are individuals of integrity who are determined to make this
peaceful protest a meaningful act of democracy. Aliran is very confident
that the rally on 9 July will be a showcase of democracy that will
demonstrate to the world that when gatherings such as this are organised
by responsible, committed people for the good of the country, they can
be peaceful, orderly and exemplary.
This is why it
is difficult to understand why Perkasa is hell-bent on causing chaos and
creating a ruckus by deliberately threatening to organise its counter
demonstration in confrontation with Bersih 2.0 on the same day. Their
intention is to wreck Bersih's peaceful gathering and to create a
situation of unrest and agitation. Their declared intention threatens
the peace and security of the nation.
It is their
political ruse to force the police to stop the Bersih 2.0 demonstration,
which promises to bring in crowds never before seen in the streets of
Kuala Lumpur. It is their ploy not to allow this demonstration, which
will show how widespread is the dissatisfaction of the people with the
Election Commission, to take place.
Ibrahim Ali has
declared, “If they go ahead with this demonstration, Perkasa has made a
decision, and as its president, I will fight to the end. That means on
that day, there will be a confrontation.”
These are
words of a trouble-maker and a rabble-rouser. He is no democrat and he
has no respect for the rights of others in a democratic system. His
mission is to stop the democratic exercise of those who believe in the
rule of law. He is prepared to descend into lawlessness to create
mischief and anarchy.
Aliran calls upon him to
abandon his foolhardy action and behave responsibly in the interest of
the nation. He should have his demonstration on a separate date if the
intention is to show that he has a bigger drawing power to attract a
greater crowd than what Bersih is capable of.
Have
your day on the street before or after the Bersih event - but not on the
same day. We would even urge the police to give Perkasa their
democratic space to gather and protest. According to the Nobel laureate
Amartya Sen. “The heart of democracy beats only with the participation
of all citizens in exercising their right - first for inclusion in the
political agenda issues of concern to them, and second in the process.”
As pointed out by him, democracy becomes dysfunctional when the rule of law is undermined.
P Ramakrishnan is on the Aliran executive council.
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