What began as a march to gather Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur to march for fair and free elections has now turned into a march of international proportions.
Never in the wildest thoughts of Bersih organising chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan did she ever imagine that Bersih 2.0 would go global, involving Malaysians in Korea, Japan, Australia and the US.
Sister marches have now been planned and will run concurrently with the one in Kuala Lumpur giving the Bersih 2.0 worldwide attention to the sad plight of elections in Malaysia.
And proudly - these marches will be led by Malaysians themselves, still loyal to their motherland although forced to seek employment and opportunities in other nations due to a corrupt government that has failed its people miserably.
Malaysians have awoken and regardless as to how the UMNO-BN government brands them, the Malaysian diaspora still watches with interest the going-on in their home country.
No doubt, they would have seen how racist individuals such as Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa have been sheltered in making blatant racist comments and threats to the Chinese.
They would have shaken their heads at the inaction of the Home Minister and the police in roping in subversive elements, who threaten the very fabric of national unity.
They would have taken note of the bastardisation of the judiciary, where rule of law is now divided into camps of for and against the UMNO-BN. And where punishment is 10-folds heavier on those that oppose UMNO-BN and lighter or even non-existent for those within the protection of the ruling elite.
No doubt they would have heard the stories of how the Election Commission is merely a tool for the ruling establishment to maintain their hold on power. Indeed they would have heard the EC’s reasoning that if the elections were not fair and free, the opposition would not have won seats in the last 2008 elections.
A fallacy and TalentCorp
The EC is wrong. If the elections were free and fair, the opposition would have formed government and Malaysia may have not made the disastrous slide it has made so far under the leadership of Najib Razak.
The overseas Malaysian would surely gape in amazement at how the Malaysian economy has slid as far as it has now. At how inflation is rising, yet the wages of the normal everyday workers remain basically unchanged. At how the BN is effectively making the people poor with its poor management of public funds.
The overseas Malaysians are not dis-loyal to their country of birth. Instead, they have taken measures to protect and ensure the future of their families by seeking better opportunities elsewhere.
If they are traitors, as people like Ibrahim Ali are bound to claim, why would Prime Minister Najib Razak set up TalentCorp to entice them home? And this is why TalentCorp will fail. Not for meaningless self-serving personalities like Ibrahim, but because there is no serious intent in righting the wrongs that made the talented and the gifted flee Malaysia in the first place.
As educated and smart people, they ply their trade where it is most appreciated and are rewarded for their diligence and hard work. Without doubt, many look after the welfare of those they have had to leave behind in Malaysia. And with this in mind, to ensure that those left behind are not victimized by a totalitarian regime, some have chosen to make a stand for a better way of choosing government.
The Malaysian overseas community has chosen to make a stand and to march with their breathen in the followng venues. To show the government of Najib Razak, that they still love, yearn and have hope for their motherland.
For the Bersih 2.0 is not merely for the people of today, but rather, sets the path right for the children who come after us.
World march
The Bersih 2.0 will happen at the following times in the following locations:
Date: 9 July 2011 Time: 3pm Venue: Malaysian High Commission, 4-1 Hannam-dong, 140-210, Seoul
Date: 9 July 2011 Time: 12.00pm Venue: Malaysian Consulate in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney (simultaneous)
Date: 9 July 2011 Time: 3.00pm Venue: Tower of the Sun, Osaka
Date: 9 July 2011 Time: 10.00am Venue: Consulate General of Malaysia,550 South Hope
Street,Suite 400, Los Angeles
Date: 9 July 2011 Time: 9.30am Venue: Chrissy Field Picnic Area, Presidio, San Francisco
Date: 9 July 2011 Time: 10.00am Venue: Consulate General of Malaysia, 313 East 43rd Street, New York
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