While we are still caught up in the euphoria that the world is going to change for the better following Barack Obama's victory, what I had witnessed last night tells me otherwise. In Malaysia at least.
Armed police batons charged brutally at a peaceful crowd as they were singing Negaraku to end the evening's gathering to celebrate the first anniversary of the highly successful public protest organised by Bersih – the NGO championing free and fair elections. This was one of the tipping points that led to the disastrous outing of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition at the 8 March general elections. The other tipping point was, of course, the massive protest mounted by Hindraf, the Hindu Rights Action Front, two weeks later.
I was there as an off-duty journalist to meet a friend and was arrested too but it was after my insistence that the plainclothes policemen released me. Then I saw Ronnie Liu, the DAP lawmaker, being arrested. Liu protested and I asked the guys in plainclothes why there were arresting the Selangor state exco member. On realising this, they sheepishly released him. But others were not so fortunate. Petaling Jaya Utara member of parliament and DAP leader Tony Pua, Kampung Tunku state representative Lau Weng San and 22 others. Also arrested was Malaysiakini videographer Shukri Mohamad and a Catholic priest.
Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who was just released just two days earlier from his incarceration under the Internal Security Act, and his wife Marina were there too. The police decided not to arrest them and their friends whisked them away, just in case.
Plainclothes policemen mingled among the motley crowd, swelling it to maybe 300 in preparation for the crackdown. The crowd had gathered a stone's throw away near the Amcorp Mall where they dispersed apparently after being warned by the police. They then strolled to the park at the PJ Civic Centre in smaller groups. Police cars tailed them, with flashing strobe lights and blaring sirens.
I arrived late after a media function around 10pm I decided not to join the crowd in the singing of Negaraku. I was in fact standing next to the platoon of armed policemen readying for the charge when I heard the commander issue the order to charge and arrest. I called my friend who was in the crowd to tell him to run for his life and to tell the others too. But they continued singing the national anthem and as they were on the last one or two bars of the Negaraku, the platoon moved in, a sight so fearsome that it would not fail to intimidate even the most seasoned of protesters. What followed was sheer madness. Wholly brutal, wholly unnecessary.
A well dressed young Indonesian lady kept screaming at me: "Oh My God, oh my God! I have seen all this on TV but how can this happen in Malaysia?"
This irritated me so I told her, "This is Malaysia, stupid," only to find out later that she's one of the leader's girlfriend.
I waited all night into 2am for those arrested to be released but in vain. Never mind that it was a peaceful gathering and the posed no threat to public security. There were more than four of them, and they met together without a police permit. In law, that's an illegal assembly. They should know they are at risk of being baton charged and arrested. How sad. (By BOB TEOH/ MySinchew)
modified: MySinchew
2008.11.10
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