The curtains fall on 2011, bringing to an end a year that revealed fears and worries that troubled the rakyat and the Barisan Nasional government. The people’s fear that human rights is very quickly becoming a thing of the past in Malaysia is not baseless. July 9, 2011 will go down in history as a day when the nation’s democracy was raped by the ‘powers that be’.
It was the day when election watchdog Bersih 2.0 took to the streets to press for reform of the electoral system, joined by some 50,000 supporters who participated in its ‘Walk for Democracy’ rally.
Such staunch support from the people was enough to panic the BN government.
The Royal Malaysian Police was given a free hand to deal with the people as they thought best, which included manhandling the supporters and firing tear gas and water canons at the massive crowds.
Justly, the rakyat emerged victorious at the end of the day and TIME magazine declared the July 9, 2011 rally supporters as ‘Persons of the Year’; this perhaps riled the BN government even more, causing it to turn vindictive and devise ways to put an end to street protests in the future.
Najib’s announcement of the Peaceful Assembly Bill came as a slap to the people’s right to assemble and to display their dissatisfaction with the government when need be.
Between November and December, the Bill was haphazardly pushed through Parliament despite the many objections from human rights activists.
The prime minister refused, yet again, to listen to the rakyat.
Ironically, it was Najib who boasted in Parliament that the Peaceful Assembly Bill was “revolutionary” and “a giant leap” in the political transformation of Malaysia.
Abusing democracy
The year 2011 also marked the end of of the Internal Security Act 1960, a piece of legislation that was infamous for abusing those detained under it. In September, Najib said the repel of the Internal Security Act was an effort to make Malaysia the best democracy in the world.
The premier added that the BN government would continue to champion the cause of the people “in all aspects” for their well-being.
To snatch away the people’s right to demonstrate and then declare the government as being caring was the worst claim of commitment a leader of a nation could make.
Likewise, merely amending the provisions in the Police Act and doing away with the annual printing and publishing permits under the Printing Presses and Publications Act was nothing but a political gimmick to portray the BN government as a caring lot.
The nation celebrates her 55th birthday next year but the struggles pre- and post independence have taught the present day leaders nothing about listening to the rakyat’s grievances.
Punishing dissenting voices is the biggest mistake the BN leadership keeps doing, the classic example being the Bersih 2.0 ‘Walk for Democracy’ rally.
Don’t disrespect non-Malays
Laws and legislation aside, 2011 also revealed the deep-rooted racism residing within extremist minds, one of them being Malay right wing Perkasa leader Ibrahim Ali and the other the country’s very own deputy prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin.
Ibrahim, who is Pasir Mas MP has made it his personal agenda to insult the non-Malays, threatening them not to trespass on the ‘Malay rights’ and refrain from questioning the status of Malaysia as an ‘Islamic nation’, among others.
Perkasa shamelessly character assassinated Bersih 2.0 chairperson S Ambiga when she refused to cower under pressure and call off the ‘Walk for Democracy’ rally.
Muhyiddin meanwhile has been consistent in showing his support for “all causes Malay”, including refusing to intervene in the issue of the controversial novel ‘Interlok’.
Two day after Christmas, Muhyiddin warned against any debate pertaining to Article 153 of the Federal Constitution which concerns Malay rights and privileges. The deputy premier rejected claims by the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship chairperson Eu Hong Seng that Article 153 allowed the Malays to bully the non-Malays.
Muhyiddin said the BN government had “done much to help everyone” and that this obligation was “sealed in the social contract”.
The partial preference favoured by Muhyiddin has left the non-Malays and some equally concerned Malays worried about whether the BN government is sincerely concerned about protecting and promoting the rights of Malaysians, across the board.
Will these worries be obliterated come the year 2012? Only time will tell.
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