Why Bersih 3.0 lost direction..?!

James Menon 

 

Bersih 3.0 was a huge success and was overwhelming to so many Malaysian’s who stood watching from TV, online, and were on the streets and hoping for success.

 

Here are few things that could have been avoided to stop Bersih 3.0 from Losing Direction compared to previous Bersih rallies.

With a Huge crowd of over 200 thousand people, this was the initial motto of Bersih 3.0 – Duduk bantah from 2pm to 4pm. But when the Bersih rally was about to start, it was already over. That was like pouring cold water on a bunch of excited people.

Imagine how you would respond if you went for a concert but the performer did not turn up? People were expecting something, a direction or a speech, or something. Not just to come and stand on the street  and go back home because the number is relevant to be declared success. We could have done that by clicking an online Poll and showing the numbers supporting Bersih 3.0.

The purpose of Bersih 3.0 was to show civil disobediance, a hartal. This was supposed to be simple. Just sit from 2pm to 4pm and Duduk Bantah.

The managing committee of Bersih had not been prepared for a proper game plan on this Bersih 3.0.

If complaining that the cordon breach was the cause for poilice to intervene, the cops did not have any reason to attack people brutally during Bersih 2.0. They also attacked people at KL Sentral for Bersih 2.0, canisters of tear gas thrown into the tunnel of  KL Sentral which injured many.

If there was a silent hartal Protest from 2-4 pm the crowd would have cooled down. At least there would be less agitation. And there were people still going to the rally at 3pm.

The people from all over the world got an opportunity to Duduk Bantah. KL should have done it’s own Duduk Bantah.

The Bersih Steering Comittee did not seem to have a proper game plan. In fact the leadership was disunited. Pak Samad ended up at an LRT station for his personal Hartal. Man, this guy was like Gandhi for Malaysia. Why could not the committee just walk with him and bring him to the centrestage of Bersih 3.0? Have we not learnt the ‘Kafir’ bashing of Ambiga in Bersih 2.0? The committee has a co-chairman in the form of Pak Samad but doesn’t seem to know how to utilise him and he takes backstage. Would they dare cook burgers in front of Pak Samad home? It’s a personality attack.

Even the rest of the committee seem to be passive compared to lone ranger Wong Chin Huat. This happened in Bersih 2.0 as well. A huge crowd was looking for a leader so they want to see a leader on the crowd in the street. In Bersih 2.0, after Ambiga and Anwar & Hadi were gassed in the tunnel, you can see many Leaders who were created at the spur of the moment. So a headless mob finds its own leader of any person willing to take charge. How can we not have learnt from this?

Sivarasa, Wong Chin Huat and many more became leaders of Bersih 2.0 when the situation needed it to be.  Bersih 3.0 was a 5 times bigger crowd, so more leaders were needed. I am surprised Maria Chin, Arumugam, Hishamuddin Rais and the rest didn’t become vocal and take over the leadership and show that the Bersih Steering Committee as single and united. Hishamuddin Rais with his cycnical comments and sarcasm can do better than Anwar but he avoids the limelight.

 

We dont want to see Arumugam write articles and books, but become media savvy and speak up. He owns his own publication and appears at the background of committee photos.

It is time for Leaders to become Legends.

In Bersih 2.0 people were moving and the same modus operandi was used by the police – let the people in, trap them inside, shut off transport service and whack them inside. This time they became smarter, they even included shutting off communication devices. But have we not seen the same modus operandi from Bersih 1.0 and all rallies after that? Whack the public, spray the water, arrest maximum, charge and threat and haul them to court, demonise the participants. Won’t we ever learn? It is the same modus operandi, so there is no point in complaining.

Even if we claim SB officers were in charge and did damage, so what? This cannot be proved because they all are well versed in becoming part of the crowd. So it may seem they had taken advantage but nevertheless its about crowd control. The media will portray what it wants to portray. People had been charged for attempted murder at the Hindraf rally against police. So this is the way it works, don’t expect fair play.

Hooligans are everywhere, just that they need the opportunity to show their skills. Giving them bait has succeeded but alas, the Police has learnt for the first time that people do fight back.

This was the first time Police are beaten in a Rally, both sides seem to be shocked. For far too long, Malaysians have been patient. For far too many Rallies, Malaysians have been beaten and demonised. There were many in the crowd not coming to their first virgin rally but their 2nd, 3rd or 4th …. They would have seen many atrocities by the police in previous rallies. Their blood would have boiled many times over. This time, it was not cowing down but fighting back.

It is one thing about demonising a truly hooligan crowd, but demonising them when they did nothing wrong in previous rallies has proven a point that the Law of Attraction works. Najib & Co has blamed each rally as being a Hooligan Rally but they were no such incidents. Now they get a taste of their own medicine. The more they demonise, they more they will get what they ask for.

Countries like Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt & Yemen have gone overboard in handling the people; the people fought back and see what happened.

Equating people as terrorists will only make up a segment of the people to think of terrorism. It might not work if you say it once, but if you keep blaming innocent people and beating them up again and again, one day they are definitely going to think of paying back, not in the ballots but something bigger, mind you.

For a committee like Bersih, if nonviolent civil disobedience is the best way, then they should follow Gandhi’s way. But look at what happened to Hindraf who took up Gandhi’s Photo and used Peaceful means of rallying. Demonised. Banned. Ostacrised. So will Bersih learn the hard way? 

Even Mahatma Gandhi had to completely stop the Hartal of 1919 because of a death it caused even though the whole country was on the verge of Freedom and people were on the move. Otherwise, Bersih has to move and give in to Forces who are stronger and able to lead the country out of the chaos of 53 years. 53 years is just too long. 

Bersih’s Evolution might not be the style for a fascist regime. Revolutions are sparked by simple things and the country may be pushed towards it.