What follows seem to the most popular Al-Jazeera video on yesterday's "illegal" Bersih march for electoral reform.
The Star had a rather muted report on the event. If you want more colour and perspective (or are curious to know if there were only 4,000 people turning out, or to go beyond the numbers game), check out Bob's list of almost 20 links which includes a comment about how the gathering was split into 4 positions, thereby out-maneuvering the riot police.
(Personally, I think there was as much chance of there being only 4,000 at the march than the Masjid Jamek McDonald's having only 40 people on a Saturday lunch-hour. Che Jaafar writes:
"Harakah Daily reported more than 100,000 although Malaysiakini reported just 40,000. I am not sure how many reported by mainstream media if any at all, but from my guessing game, 40,000 is just too low. At the Masjid Jamek alone there were seas of people. I could not imagine how many were there at other locations such as Masjid Negara and Pasar Seni, but looking at the pictures and the videos in the blogs… the total figures could well reach 100,000 if not more.")
Why was the march organised (I better bang this down before I lose sight of the substance for the splash)?
The core demands of the entire campaign consisted of two specific ones and two broad ones:
The use of indelible ink to prevent multiple voting
The abolition of domestic postal voting for the armed forces
Cleanup of the electoral rolls
Fair and equitable access to the national media
Bersih's memorandum also called on His Majesty the Agung to:
Heed the demands of the people for widespread electoral reform, including the establishment of a Royal Commission to review and reform the electoral system
Use his authority under Article 40(2) of the Federal Constitution to overrule any decision to dissolve Parliament as long as these four immediate demands are not met
I suppose it says something about our convictions. I doubt if more than a handful of those who march actually believes something substantial can happen as a result of the march (and judging from the chemical-laced water-cannons, even this handful would've had their optimism shaken).
One's furore at the existing administration presumably precludes any hope of real positive change i.e. if I believed things could change, then ironically I would not need to protest on such a grand scale : that things must change.
But yet many people marched. Many. 40-50,000 people. A huge number.
By what follows, I mean no disrespect to those who marched for solidarity and to express their outrage against nation corruption. I envy your convictions and one day I hope to be able to "feel" so strongly about political issues, too (that's my problem - right now I don't) I've felt strongly enough about social issues to give food to the homeless on the streets of KL, but on politics, nada.
And yet I also wonder what mass (albeit quieter) alternatives are there to spending a rainy Saturday afternoon dodging a big hose spraying half-acid?
1. If each one of the 50,000 people pledges to give RM100 / month towards socio-political causes, that'd be an additional RM5 million monthly going to combat poverty, drug abuse, homelessness, etc. That's RM60 million a year pledged to resolve the very problems that corrupt elected government will not.
Just like MNCs' are going regional/global as a way to bypass national laws, the people can also go 'private' to bypass national indifference.
Of course one cannot ignore the administrative difficulties involved in managing and dispersing such huge amounts, but surely we can assume that the leaders who organised the march are not themselves double-dealers? And wouldn't RM60 million be SO much help towards a better country?
2. If each one of the 50,000 people were to stop buying the mainline newspapers (and get their news online) for a period of time, this would be a much louder BANG to the newspapers than the 2-hour chanting of a crowd. It also takes a shot at item 4 above (minus the imprisoning and the cannons).
3. If each one of the 50,000 were to boycott the elections (or to stick a nice yellow Bersih label on the ballot paper), well, the ruling party would win. But so what, right? It's all rigged anyway. Like the march, it's not the outcome which matters as much as the message driven home, this time about Bersih demands 1,2 and 3 above (again, minus the baton-sticks and chemicals)
Unfortunately, subversive 'cleaning' ideas like the above are far harder to implement than arranging for people to wear yellow and walk towards a common destination. Similarly, firing water-bombs at people will always be easier than letting them gather peacefully and deliver letters to the symbols and stations of power.
But in comparison with getting the monarchy to dissolve parliament, who knows? Both may be child's play?
Posted at 08:15 am by alwynlau
Sivin Kit November 12, 2007 08:54 AM PST I've pretty much stopped buying the mainstream papers.
Bob K November 11, 2007 07:05 PM PST Preferably we could do a bit of each .. public pressure for reform and counter cultural actions.
I'm trying to learn to count the minor victories .. the non-extension of the tenure of the allegedly tainted Chief Justice, the introduction of transparent ballot boxes, the proposed introduction of idelible ink et al.
