Bersih rally: Let sanity, common sense prevail

By AB Sulaiman | Jul 4, 11
Malaysiakini

So this week is the last stretch to the much anticipated Bersih 2.0 rally slated for this Saturday.

On the part of the organisers, they say that this is a people-inspired movement, asking for nothing more than free and fair elections, and the ridding of rampant corruption.

That’s not how the government sees it. To it this a movement full of many hidden agendas, like wishing to resurrect Communism, toppling the monarchy, ‘puppetering’ by foreign agents, Christians about to overrun the Muslim government, and the Opposition’s vehicle for marching towards Putrajaya!

So, the government has made it more than just difficult for the organisers to go ahead with the rally. It even has declared it illegal.

It’s an extreme case of the glass seen as half full by one faction and the other seeing it as half empty. As PM Najib Abdul Razak says, it’s a matter of perception.

Indeed many people have been rounded up by the police with their statements taken, yellow has been declared as an illegal colour, and the Bersih 2.0 acronym likewise banned.

Today if you wear a yellow T-shirt with Bersih 2.0 written on it you might find yourself locked up in a police station.

And the rally has not yet taken place!

Surely something is wrong somewhere. Here we see well-meaning people panting for breath living in unhealthy, man-made conditions, created by unhealthy public policies, social policies infected by racist and religious extremism, a comparatively stagnant economy, broken public institutions, fleeing domestic investment, scarce foreign investment, fleeing talent, and yes, rampant corruption and an election environment laced with gerrymandering, phantom votes, and money politics.

They just say enough is enough, the country is going downhill and something must be done to stop the rot.

On the other side we see the government assuring the people that the economy is in robust shape, the people are happy, the public institutions are healthy, that the election process is second to none, and as for corruption, what corruption?

Blanket denial

It’s a case of blanket denial on the part of the government.
Denial has been its strategy applied by the government in the past 30 years or so.

During this time the people were not yet mature enough and their awareness of democracy and their rights were equally nascent.

So during this time, the government had always been seen to be in a favourable light by the people. ‘The government knows best’ and ‘do as I say not what I do’ seemed to be the twin keynotes in its leadership philosophy, suitably nurtured by a suitably controlled mass media – the newspapers, radio and television.

But something happened in the last decade or so ago. It’s the appearance of the computer and the Internet, of faster and easier travel, of better education, among other factors) that has changed the scenario.

Denial is no longer an omnibus answer to the country’s problems.

Suddenly people are getting more aware of their rights, their worth as individuals. They communicate more, travel more, read more, garner more experience.

The people want more rights, freedom, a fair and equitable government, to say the least. They want more responsibility and accountability on the part of the rulers. They say that corruption has brought the country to its knees.

Suddenly ‘the government knows best,’ and ‘do as I say not as what I do’ style of governing has become archaic, irrelevant, even redundant and pungent.

Sadly the government on its part doesn’t seem to be aware of the changing times and the changing psychology and expectations of the people.

The going has been so good in the past that leaders find it difficult to fathom the new scenario. They have remained in a time warp. They say that they have been leading the country for over 50 years and have developed it into the heaven it is today, so what’s the fuss?

It’s a case of the government incapable of coping with a changing environment, of having to tell lies to placate a demanding and emancipated population.

And there is one thing about lies that any wise person can tell – that once you lie you have to follow it with another and another. At the end of the day you create a long list of lies each worse than the other, each trying to justify, substantiate and support the other.

In the end the lie will consume and destroy the liar.

Translated into politics it’s a case of riding on the back of a tiger. The leaders would find it difficult to get off it for the tiger would maul them.

Credence and credibility

So where do I stand in these shenanigans? I am just miffed by the goings on.

Najib the worthy PM coined the catchy slogan 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now, or something to that effect.

He should provide credence and credibility to his choice motto. And to me the Bersih rally appears to actually reflect the proud ‘1Malaysia’ concept as the leaders and probable participants appear to be multi-racial.

It is the voice of the people, thus adhering to the ‘People First’ claim. And human history has also shown that economic productivity develops in a condition of democracy; thus ‘Performance Now’.

In my reckoning he should therefore be enthusiastic in lending support to Bersih 2.0. If the various people in the country are to be united, that he must go all out to protect the people in their thrust and march towards unity, by way of high productivity and economic progress.

But he turns out to be the foremost critic of his slogan. By obstructing the rally he appears to be very un-1Malaysia, un-People First, and un-Performance Now.

It’s not too late yet for him to salvage his credibility. How about him allowing Bersih 2.0 to proceed, while also allowing Perkasa and Umno Youth to have their equivalent counter-rallies. Just ask the police to define the routes each of them should take so that they don’t clash.

Then when the entire mayhem is over, call everybody involved, have a talk. I do believe Najib will earn a lot of goodwill should he adopt this pragmatic approach.

As to what happens the day after that, only God can tell. But by adopting this pragmatic alternative he can at least salvage a bit of sanity, common sense and reputation.

Let’s all see what’s going to happen come Saturday.

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AB SULAIMAN is an observer of human traits and foibles, especially within the context of religion and culture. As a liberal, he marvels at the way orthodoxy fights to maintain its credibility in a devilishly fast-changing world. He hopes to provide some understanding to the issues at hand and wherever possible, suggest some solutions. He holds a Bachelor in Social Sciences (Leicester, UK) and a Diploma in Public Administration, Universiti Malaya.