Photos by reporters from Malaysiakini.Yellow is currently the most-hated color by all the government/PM supporters.
And the government themselves are biting off more than they can chew.
You cannot silence the people who want change. You cannot silence the heroes who willingly bleed for the sake of the people. No, you will not be able to silence them all. The people are not thirsty for blood - all they want is a change. Transparency. Fairness. Clean elections. Bersih is not a mere propoganda that you can wipe out just like that. Bersih exists, and Bersih is real. Saying that this rally was represented by only a small percentage of people was not right of you.
The thing is, you all were so afraid of Bersih! All the actions you took were obvious enough to everyone. Arresting everyone with a Bersih tee and basically anyone that wore yellow? Putting all forms of transportational means to a standstill? Threatening the youths of the country by saying that the Ministry of Education would take action against anyone that participated in illegal rallies? And the worst thing of all, deploying out all your police and FRU troops, firing at civilians? Firing into a hospital, where others could have been injured?
If you all had nothing to hide, then why would you have to do all of that?
Had you all not barred almost every single road available to Kuala Lumpur, let me tell you - more than a hundred thousand would turn up in yellow. It'd be nice to see if you could call that a small crowd by then.
I know they won't be reading this, but I'm proud of the few seniors who actually went to the rally. Arrested, tear-gased, kicked about - and yet, they still supported their cause, and came back as heroes. That includes our Sejarah teacher. He's actually cooler than he looks!
And one of the funniest things? A police car stopped outside a friend's house of mine just because she had a yellow tee placed for drying. The tee was hers, and it wasn't a Bersih tee. It was just...a tee out for drying. See what I mean about people blowing things out of proportion because they're afraid?
I wasn't able to attend the rally. Damn, I really wish I could have. Many others, I'm sure, wanted to attend too - but we all just didn't have the liberty to. Still, we followed the news faithfully through the net. It was a gripping time - seeing all the photos, videos, tweets, and live updates. They were happening at that moment even while we were lounging in the comforts of our homes, praying for everything to turn out all right.
And yet as I read the stories from Twitter (I actually returned to Twitter after half a year's absense just to follow up on Bersih's movements), I was amazed at how genuinely 1Malaysia the whole rally turned out to be. People were assisting each other regardless of race and religion. They handed out water and salt to each other and shouted slogans to keep the spirit alive. What can this be but the true 1Malaysia that everyone seeks?
As mentioned, I was mostly on Facebook the entire Saturday afternoon. Many were aware of the happenings of the rally, and posted up messages of support. Yet, being someone with 1.6k Facebook friends (I'm laughing at myself, seriously. 1.6k, and I count the number of genuine friends I have off my fingers!), I did notice that quite a few people just refused to acknowledge Bersih. With the color of yellow spamming the homepage and the chants of Bersih all around, I'm sure they knew what it was about. Look, I wouldn't even have cared if they hated the fact that Bersih made them unable to go for a day of shopping in Pyramid (even though that itself is fucking ignorance in my face) - but they totally acted as if the political chaos in the country did not exist at all. All they were going on and on about was about their birthday wishes, profile pictures, loveless days, and whatnot. Utterly disgusting.
Shame on you girls who do not understand what a riot really is! Shame on you all for focusing on only the shallow aspects in life! I have no respect for you, even if I still do say hi to you in school. It's you all who bring the face of women down. Women should be aware of the political happenings in the world - live in reality, and do not ever think about evading it!
I realize I'm contradicting myself in some ways here. I have once argued with a senior of mine before. I was having that apathetic attitude of "Hey, you know what - I'm getting the hell out of this country. Screw it, I don't care, and I'll never come back."
Well, I guess I realize now that in some ways - I'm wrong.
Of course I'm still going to the place where the grass is greener. I really won't be able to survive in Malaysia doing a career in English/Arts. But I will no longer have that attitude of "Screw it, who cares". I guess the Bersih rally did stir some patriotic feelings within myself. Either that or it's me feeling upset that we may no longer have the liberty to enjoy Malaysian food in the future if a great war comes up. I'll give whatever support I can from where ever I will be in the future. Sure, it sounds corny. You'll probably be thinking, "Hell, you won't even be in the actual rally. What in blazes would you be able to do anyway?"
A whole lot, I'll tell you! Don't underestimate the ones who will be heading out of the country! We may not be out in the front line where all the action is - but we can do a hell lot outside by establishing contact with the outside world. Actual physical contact, not just contact from the net. Our voices would not be restricted there - and who said we can't ever come back to vote and all?
So, I guess that's what I'll do.
For now, all we can do is to wait and see what happens next.
And the government themselves are biting off more than they can chew.
You cannot silence the people who want change. You cannot silence the heroes who willingly bleed for the sake of the people. No, you will not be able to silence them all. The people are not thirsty for blood - all they want is a change. Transparency. Fairness. Clean elections. Bersih is not a mere propoganda that you can wipe out just like that. Bersih exists, and Bersih is real. Saying that this rally was represented by only a small percentage of people was not right of you.
The thing is, you all were so afraid of Bersih! All the actions you took were obvious enough to everyone. Arresting everyone with a Bersih tee and basically anyone that wore yellow? Putting all forms of transportational means to a standstill? Threatening the youths of the country by saying that the Ministry of Education would take action against anyone that participated in illegal rallies? And the worst thing of all, deploying out all your police and FRU troops, firing at civilians? Firing into a hospital, where others could have been injured?
If you all had nothing to hide, then why would you have to do all of that?
Had you all not barred almost every single road available to Kuala Lumpur, let me tell you - more than a hundred thousand would turn up in yellow. It'd be nice to see if you could call that a small crowd by then.
I know they won't be reading this, but I'm proud of the few seniors who actually went to the rally. Arrested, tear-gased, kicked about - and yet, they still supported their cause, and came back as heroes. That includes our Sejarah teacher. He's actually cooler than he looks!
And one of the funniest things? A police car stopped outside a friend's house of mine just because she had a yellow tee placed for drying. The tee was hers, and it wasn't a Bersih tee. It was just...a tee out for drying. See what I mean about people blowing things out of proportion because they're afraid?
I wasn't able to attend the rally. Damn, I really wish I could have. Many others, I'm sure, wanted to attend too - but we all just didn't have the liberty to. Still, we followed the news faithfully through the net. It was a gripping time - seeing all the photos, videos, tweets, and live updates. They were happening at that moment even while we were lounging in the comforts of our homes, praying for everything to turn out all right.
And yet as I read the stories from Twitter (I actually returned to Twitter after half a year's absense just to follow up on Bersih's movements), I was amazed at how genuinely 1Malaysia the whole rally turned out to be. People were assisting each other regardless of race and religion. They handed out water and salt to each other and shouted slogans to keep the spirit alive. What can this be but the true 1Malaysia that everyone seeks?
As mentioned, I was mostly on Facebook the entire Saturday afternoon. Many were aware of the happenings of the rally, and posted up messages of support. Yet, being someone with 1.6k Facebook friends (I'm laughing at myself, seriously. 1.6k, and I count the number of genuine friends I have off my fingers!), I did notice that quite a few people just refused to acknowledge Bersih. With the color of yellow spamming the homepage and the chants of Bersih all around, I'm sure they knew what it was about. Look, I wouldn't even have cared if they hated the fact that Bersih made them unable to go for a day of shopping in Pyramid (even though that itself is fucking ignorance in my face) - but they totally acted as if the political chaos in the country did not exist at all. All they were going on and on about was about their birthday wishes, profile pictures, loveless days, and whatnot. Utterly disgusting.
Shame on you girls who do not understand what a riot really is! Shame on you all for focusing on only the shallow aspects in life! I have no respect for you, even if I still do say hi to you in school. It's you all who bring the face of women down. Women should be aware of the political happenings in the world - live in reality, and do not ever think about evading it!
I realize I'm contradicting myself in some ways here. I have once argued with a senior of mine before. I was having that apathetic attitude of "Hey, you know what - I'm getting the hell out of this country. Screw it, I don't care, and I'll never come back."
Well, I guess I realize now that in some ways - I'm wrong.
Of course I'm still going to the place where the grass is greener. I really won't be able to survive in Malaysia doing a career in English/Arts. But I will no longer have that attitude of "Screw it, who cares". I guess the Bersih rally did stir some patriotic feelings within myself. Either that or it's me feeling upset that we may no longer have the liberty to enjoy Malaysian food in the future if a great war comes up. I'll give whatever support I can from where ever I will be in the future. Sure, it sounds corny. You'll probably be thinking, "Hell, you won't even be in the actual rally. What in blazes would you be able to do anyway?"
A whole lot, I'll tell you! Don't underestimate the ones who will be heading out of the country! We may not be out in the front line where all the action is - but we can do a hell lot outside by establishing contact with the outside world. Actual physical contact, not just contact from the net. Our voices would not be restricted there - and who said we can't ever come back to vote and all?
So, I guess that's what I'll do.
For now, all we can do is to wait and see what happens next.
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