Today, Malaysians revisit Bersih 2007
By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider
Despite Putrajaya’s best efforts, the authorities failed today to prevent a repeat of the first Bersih street rally four years ago that was credited for shrinking Barisan Nasional’s (BN) voter support in Election 2008.
The Najib administration appears to have taken a massive punch to its gut as thousands thronged the city’s streets in the afternoon downpour in support of Bersih 2.0’s call for electoral reform and ignored the government’s description of troublemakers intent of sabotaging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s leadership.
Bersih 2.0 chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan coolly kept her equanimity and remained open to discussions with Putrajaya but the BN government’s move to clamp down on her and the grassroots movement she represents turned the veteran lawyer into an icon of dissent.
The clearest thing this rally has showed is that the middle class and civil society are more willing than ever to stand up and act when faced with a government that does not listen when engaged in civil discussion, not even hesitating to pull out all stops and employ public institutions like the police to act against the public.
Even when Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin made a rare intercession to bring both sides to the negotiating table.
International news coverage of the Bersih affair today showed the world armed police personnel launching tear gas and chemically-laced water into thousands of unarmed civilians. It was the same in 2007 when Bersih first marched.
