‘Bersih Malays’ bitter pill for Umno

The bigger issue for all Malaysians now is how come aliens and illegals 'get citizenship with such ease and so large a number'?

COMMENT

Let’s try to make some sense about how the government responded to the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9.

First Anwar Ibrahim was factored in the rally. Even if Anwar leveraged on the Bersih march, does association with Anwar make the march illegal?

Anwar is a former deputy PM and is currently battling legal charges and is on trial.

Association with Anwar who is maligned with all sort of dirty description does not make Bersih and its cause any less honorable.

Anwar’s case is his and his alone – it does not pollute the cause nor the honour of Bersih marchers.
Secondly, the government elicited first-hand accounts from international tourists. Traders and travellers were solicited for their comments.

On TV, we were shown interviews with a few Caucasians. They were inconvenienced, they said.
The two Indian tourists said they had to go to bed starving. We were of course made to listen to these excerpted interviews.

The inconvenience of two or three Caucasians is considered to create a jarring impact on Malaysia?
Their pedantic views are irrelevant.

All (Tourism Minister) Ng Yen Yen needed to do was flash out on her expensive Facebook the routes to be avoided by the tourists.

Better still, redirect them to Jalan Alor so that they can have a good time there and thereafter form a better impression on Malaysia

Insidious ploy

Thirdly, this whole Bersih 2.0 rally was classified as haram.

They spinned that Bersih is an insidious ploy by non-Malays to undermine the Malay government.

If we read and listened to the pliant print and audio visual media machine, all those who participated in the Bersih march are subversives, traitors, and dummies.

But then the Bersih marchers carried no parangs and other assortment of dangerous weapons which were displayed by the police a few weeks ago and which looked suspiciously bought from a same single supplier.

Logic would have it that if the weapons were owned by different people, they would be of a jumbled up lot.

Here an axe, there a pisau, over here a parang, over there a catapult. By the way where were the Molotov cocktails?

The hard fact is that the Bersih marchers were ordinary people from all walks of lives – pensioners, taxi drivers, writers, lawyers.

They were not, as touted by the government, tools for (opposition leaders) Lim Kit Siang, mules for Anwar and digits directed by Indians, especially that minachi named (S) Ambiga (Bersih 2.0 chairperson).
They are just plain public spirited individuals.

Mind-condition

So why is the government doing all these rather elaborately? The answer is it’s all part of the mind-conditioning process of the public.

It’s trying to isolate the Bersih marchers as some foreign substance to prevent it from becoming some integral element of a civil society.

But here is the thing. Spontaneous and voluntary banding up together is an important ingredient of a civilized and democratic society.

Only Third World despots who are naturally anti-democracy respond the way the government did which was to use batons and other harsh treatments on its own citizens.

Is Bersih an agenda for non-Malays to dislodge the Malays from political power?

The bitter and inconvenient truth is the majority who marched with Bersih the other day were Malays.
That makes the debatable fact that the rally was planned by Indians and that Malays are being used, insignificant.

The cause and the beliefs underlying the resolve to march with Bersih are more important.
That the Election Commission hasn’t been up to standard in ensuring elections are free and seen as clean was and shall remain the main objective.

It wasn’t about overthrowing the government though street actions.

Bigger issue

People marched because they are motivated by real concerns. They were not street mobs on a rampage or looting spree.

They are peaceful marchers making a statement about how elections are run in this country.

But as usual Umno and the government like to claim and exercise ownership on the bad things.

Why is the government afraid of electoral reforms? Everyone seems confident that the government will be returned with a bigger majority.

The victory will be more honourable if it is won with integrity.
The issue of postal voting is insignificant. Those in the service vote earlier because of operational reasons and the election process is done under watchful eyes.

Representatives of political parties are present during the voting and vote counting process.
Why should aliens be given citizenship and rights to vote in order to ensure victory for certain people?
But the bigger issue here is how come they get citizenship with such ease and so large a number?

The writer, a former Umno state elected rep and a prominent blogger, is a columnist with FMT.