E Contrario

We have been mobilizing for the BERSIH Mass Gathering in Dataran Merdeka on 10 November (Saturday):

Yellow-shirt is now Mat Sabu’s fashion

I gave a talk at Bandar Baru Selayang/Batu Cave on Monday (5 Nov), together with Mat Sabu. There were many road blocks leading to the field where the ceramah was held. The application for permit was rejected and the local BERSIH committee decided to carry on with the program.

As I was speaking, the police came several times to harass the organizers pressuring them to shorten the ceramah. Then police trucks with armed and armoured personnels cruised around the field all night long. When Mat Sabu talked, police again warned the host to stop. Without fear, Mat went on for nearly 45 minutes despite the police continued to send in reinforcement around our stage.

Nonetheless the ceramah ended at about 23:30hr, peacefully.

Section 24 Shah Alam

On 6 Nov, I had to rush two places on the same night. First, I attended the ceramah at Section 24 Shah Alam. I was the first speaker, before Animah Ferrar (KeADILan MPT), Kamuruddin Jaafar (PAS Sec Gen), Ronnie Liew (DAP), Khalid Samad (Chair of PAS Shah Alam) etc.

Only a few days ago, I was in Shah Alam witnessing the mass demolition of Kg Rimba Jaya, near Kg Padang Jawa.

After that, I was ferried to Taman Ehsan Kepong. Luckily I had Razak who know Shah Alam area well to accompany me.

Taman Ehsan (from left): Dr Hasan Ali, I, Tan Kow, Ghani Harun, Sivarasa, Dr Badrulamin

I reached Taman Ehsan at about 22:00hr. Taman Ehsan is interesting. It is adjacent to Kepong and Selayang but belonged to Parliament Subang. What logic the Election Commission used is a real mystery.

The MC for the event was Utz Nasir, a young friend who was the same batch as Yong Kai Peng (Malaysiakini Chinese Section editor) in the university. Earlier prior to my arrival, Ghani Harun (representing GERAK), Sivarasa and a Chinese penghulu in Kepong spoke. Then I spoke after Dr Hasan Ali. And Badrulamin who lived in the neighbourhood spoke last.

In all my speeches, I stressed that Umno-BN has become more and more arrogant and their corruption has become more blatant. The ruling parties have no fear of losing seats. That is because the election system is unfair and can be manipulated. Although full of flaws, the regime continues to resist change and the ruling parties continued to depend on these weaknesses to retain their grip on power.

The action on Saturday is not a platform for the opposition parties to air their views. The Bersih program at 15:00hr on Saturday is a gathering of ordinary citizens who desire for a better future. They, thousands of them, are coming from all over the country to deliver an unison call for reforms of the electoral system.

My round-the-clock schedule was just crazy. Hopefully the efforts would be able motivate more members of the public to join in our walk from Dataran Merdeka to Istana Negara. We will also submit a memorandum to appeal to the Agong for action.

Your presence will make a difference. Act now, take back the power!

In my private view, when the electoral system is totally broken down, it would be naive to believe that a corrupted regimes could be overthrown through election. To end repression and corruption, we have to return to the street to reclaim our citizens’ rights.

We have seen the rise of the People’s Power in our neighbouring states. No dictatorial regimes could be immune from the fate of destruction.

Rise up, we Malaysians should not allow the rot to continue.