Bersih 3.0 and its aftermath show deep divisions in our society
but many participants deemed it a good day for Malaysian democracy,
despite the ugly end.
FEW events have generated so much
commentary in so short a time as Bersih 3.0. By now gigabytes of
photographs and video material must have been uploaded and shared,
despite the recorded cases of seizure and smashing of equipment that
occurred on the day.
One might have thought that this sheer amount of data might be able to provide a comprehensive picture of what really happened.
On
the contrary, amid accusations of photo manipulation and devious
cut-and-paste there seems to be enough material for those who have
already taken sides to harden their stances, with no quantity of
counter-evidence being sufficient to sway their positions.
As
Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah — possibly the
most erudite member of the Government — has said, Bersih 3.0 (and its
aftermath) show deep divisions in our society.
Big turnout: Thousands of protesters outside Dataran Merdeka last Saturday.
I
was not a frontline witness on Saturday. In the morning I attended the
Global Donors Forum organised by the
World Congress of Muslim
Philanthropists outside the Middle East for the first time.
The
event brought together civil society organisations from across the
Muslim world to discuss how to improve and target charitable giving to
strengthen the
ummah.
I argued that philanthropy thrives
when wealth thrives, and that Muslim societies should pursue open
economies and democratic government so that they can compete
intellectually, culturally and economically.
En route to the
event, I had to negotiate through a police roadblock at
Jalan Parlimen,
and immediately saw columns of people percolating through the Bank
Negara roundabout towards Dataran Merdeka.
Later in the
afternoon, I was on
Jalan Ampang and witnessed an orderly line of
policemen guiding a horde of protesters outside KLCC in a scene
reminiscent of the many marches I saw in London.
I was very
impressed and excited by this, and thought of having a closer look after
my previously set appointments at the former
Istana Negara and lunch in
town, as I was due at the nearby Royal Lake Club at 3.30pm (which had
earlier been a starting point for many marchers).
Alas, it was
around that time that chemical compounds were fired and sprayed into the
crowd at Dataran Merdeka — whether due to a breach by agent
provocateurs or genuine protesters who were goaded, encouraged or given
false pretences — and the whole thing deteriorated.
This is where
accounts diverge. It’s worth pointing out, however, that across the
country and globe where simultaneous protests were held in dozens of
cities (easily the biggest international Malaysian rally in history),
there were no reports of violence at all.
As I have written
before, I agree with many of Bersih’s demands. But I fully support the
right of peaceful protest and have the utmost respect for my relatives,
friends and colleagues (and many of their elderly parents) who took part
that day, fully in the knowledge that they might be confronted.
They
included people who might have little in common with each other, but
were generally united in pursuing cleaner elections in our country.
Some
friends did complain that the politicians took too visible a role, and
it should have been more solidly a civil society effort, but this seems
to be true peculiarly at Dataran Merdeka itself.
Certainly, many participants deemed it a good day for Malaysian democracy, despite the ugly end.
Most ugly of all — and indeed, heartbreaking — were the instances of alleged police aggression that day.
Though
the aggression was later attributed to rumours of a policeman being
killed by protesters, that these violent instances occurred have now
been recognised either tacitly (by way of apology to victims) or
explicitly by the Prime Minister, Home Minister and Inspector-General of
Police.
Now that they have been admitted, every Malaysian should hope that investigations are conducted properly.
If,
as some photographs suggest, some of these thugs are not policemen at
all, they and whoever issued them with uniforms must be punished. Of
course, any thugs among the protesters should also face justice.
> Tunku ’Abidin Muhriz is the president of IDEAS.
Related posts:
Bersih 3.0 rally: Malaysia braces for electoral reform protests
Bersih 3.0: the good, bad and ugly Malaysians
Malaysian police fire tear gas at more than 25,000 protesters, Bersih 3.0 rally
More than 20000 Malaysians march for election reforms ...
Bersih 3: 'Hand Gesture Politics' to 'Occupy Dataran' ?
