BN’s reaction to Bersih 3.0 appears to strengthen the call for another rally.
It
is anyone’s guess whether the government propaganda against Bersih has
had the effect it desires on rural folk, but citizens of Kuala Lumpur do
not buy it, if a random FMT survey is anything to go by.
Indeed, the sustained BN condemnation of the April 28 rally appears
to be strengthening the call for another rally—a Bersih 4.0—because it
raises a suspicion that the government is not interested in reforming
the electoral system.
“I am not confident SPR (Election Commission) will fulfil Bersih’s
demands and I feel that Bersih 4.0 may be necessary. I will support it
if they decide to have it,” said Hidayah Ismail, a 24-year-old graphic
artist.
This sentiment was shared by Ayie Andrian, also 24 and also an IT
professional. “I’ll wait and see if Bersih 3.0’s demands are met. If
not, then there should be another rally.”
Engineer Muthiah Maria Pillay, 64, took issue with statements coming
from BN leaders that there are no independent election commissions “even
in western democracies”. He said this was calculated to mislead
Malaysians.
“Even Indonesia has free and fair elections,” he said. “And India too, despite the elections there being a bit messy.
He said “even ordinary policemen” he had spoken to agreed that Berish
3.0 was necessary to call attention to the need for free and fair
elections in Malaysia, “but not the higher ranking officers”.
Michelle Cheah, 40, a hawker in Segambut, said she did not take part
in last month’s rally but described herself as a member of the “silent
majority” that supports Bersih’s cause.
She said three of her nieces were in the rally. “From what I heard
from them and the news I have read, I believe this BN government will
not change. I have seen the videos of police beating up people. I have
no confidence that the government will accept Bersih’s demands.
“I will support Bersih 4.0”
Insurance consultant Richard Yap, 53, said he too could not make it
to the rally but had read “all about it” on “all the blogs and news
portals”.
“The top SPR officials should resign if they can’t meet Bersih’s demands,” he said.
A 70-year-old man who gave his name only as Solomon said he had voted
in every general election since he came of age and was looking forward
to elections “that are really clean and fair”. He said the government
had no valid reason to reject Bersih demands. “If they still won’t, I
would say to Bersih, ‘Go ahead and have another rally.’”
These remarks were typical of those coming from the dozen others interviewed for the survey.
But one man differed. William Lim, 57, said news reports gave him the
impression that the Election Commission (EC) was trying its best to
clean up the electoral rolls. “I would say no to Bersih 4.0,” he said.
Judging from the comments on the news portals, not many Malaysians
share Lim’s confidence in the EC or in the sincerity of the Najib
administration.
Indeed, these writings seem to indicate that confidence in the ruling
regime has sunk to its lowest depths in recent years, which makes BN’s
claim of public support for its “political transformation”—as reported
in the official media and in controlled publications such as Utusan
Malaysia—sound embarrassingly hollow.
The violent handling of people merely demanding honesty in the
handling of elections showed up not only the indiscipline and
incompetence of the enforcement agencies, but also the regime’s
stubbornness in clinging to authoritarian methods when faced with a
credible challenge to its power.
To the hundreds of thousands of brave Malaysians who went to the
rally—and especially to those who suffered from police brutality—the
Bersih event surely must have confirmed their voting choice.
“Natural justice lies in the hearts of men,” says a Chinese proverb.
Thus the conscience of the ordinary Malaysian will know right from wrong
in all that happened during the Bersih rally and all the events
spinning off from it.
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