Royal Intervention in the Bersih Rally
Dear Sir,
The timely intervention of His Majesty Yang Dipertuan Agong in the wake of the escalating tensions in the country over the planned BERSIH rally was met with divergent opinions as to the motivation of His Majesty for doing so. I look upon the His Majesty’s intervention as fair and logical and it has reaffirmed my views about the role of a constitutional monarch in our democratic nation. It is in moments of heightened tension with a potential for violence and racial conflagration, which to a large extent is politically engineered, that a monarch can play a vital role in bringing the nation from the brink due to his authority, as conferred by the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.
The BERSIH rally is an important test-case as to the validity and respect we have for the Malaysian Constitution. The aims of BERSIH are to uphold and entrench the democratic process via constitutional means. What more noble aim could there be than this? The Police are obliged to provide security and safe passage for the participants who are proud and loyal Malaysians.
Let us hope politicians on both sides of the political divide will not be allowed to hijack the rally. Even though Pakatan Rakyat supporters are going to provide the bulk of the numbers, BERSIH must be seen as a serious call for reforms from the Rakyat. The message would be more powerful and germane if civil society leaders were seen to be running the show and speaking at the event. The politicians, on this occasion, should take a back seat and not turn it into an ‘Opposition’ party political rally.
I think things have potentially turned out for the good. Now BERSIH can no longer be viewed as an ‘illegal’ organisation as Dato Ambiga has had an audience with His Highness the Agong. BERSIH T-shirts which have been arbitrarily declared ‘illegal’ can now be worn legitimately because of ‘Royal’ dispensation. Dato Ambiga and BERSIH should use the Royal ‘approval’ to have the rally in a stadium judiciously and strategically in their negotiations with the government.
The Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s readiness to meet BERSIH in the aftermath of His Hghness the Agong’s audience with BERSIH should be welcomed and applauded.
It is times like these that I am proud to be Malaysian.
Dr Peter Jesudason
