Bersih 3.0 in Hong Kong

by Anita Anandarajah
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 29, 2012

APRIL 29 — Tagged “Hong Kong 3.0 Edition”, the Bersih rally here was an exercise in contrasts.

I would not have dared to venture anywhere near Dataran Merdeka had I been home. But there I was with my four-month-old in her baby carrier in the heart of Causeway Bay, Hong Kong’s busy shopping district, an area I would usually avoid because of its thronging crowds.

Why did I decide to go? Because I needed to be a part of the movement that might see my Malaysia come to a turning point. I wanted to experience a civil protest, one where I would not have to fear for my life.

There must have been about 500 supporters gathered in front of the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay at 2pm. Banners and placards calling for clean and fair elections drew the attention of tourists who took the opportunity to have photos taken with the yellow-shirted supporters.

The atmosphere was friendly, like a neighbourhood party as the group of mostly young professionals exchanged hellos and took photos.

For some it was a family affair as families took to the streets with strollers and baby slings.

A mother of two boys aged eight and 10 decided to stop by en route to a tournament as her elder son had been following the Bersih updates from Kuala Lumpur. He had watched some of it on the telly last year and Wikipedia-ed for more information.

Shukri Omar, 56, and his family were in the city for a five-day holiday when they learned of the rally. Their 23-year-old son Ahmad Syauqi was tasked with mapping out the route to Sogo and procuring the Bersih 3.0 T-shirts which they all wore.

Shukri was happy to make it to the rally. “I am very proud to see so many young people here. It is a good sign. A good beginning,” said Shukri, who is from Shah Alam.

A group of 30 Malaysians residing in China made their way from Guangdong, Dongguan, Zhongshan and Shenzhen to show their support. “We might not be in Malaysia but our heart is still in Malaysia. We love Malaysia. We want our votes to count. We want a legitimate government,” said one supporter.

When the “NegaraKu” was sung, the crowd stood at attention and sang with pride. The national anthem was sung thrice, along with “Setia” and “Ubah”.

The true stars of the afternoon were the Hong Kong police who performed an excellent job keeping our group in order. Only five officers were seen at any one time but an officer I spoke to said about 50 policemen had been deployed.

Their main task was traffic control as we made our way on foot to the Malaysian Consulate in Wan Chai, which is a 15-minute journey. It seemed like they were protecting us from being run down more than anything else.

Malaysians united by a cause. — Picture by Anita AnandarajahWe marched to the consulate to the chants of “Bersih, bersih, bersih!” as well as “Stop Lynas! Save Kuantan! Save Malaysia!”

We managed to hand over a memorandum demanding free and fair elections to the vice consular general.

The turnout had exceeded expectations. The organising committee of today’s rally had expected 100 people when it applied for a police permit two weeks ago, said organising committee member Brendon Tam, 36. Last year, 80 people showed up.

We had the weather on our side. We had the police on our side. We had a strong show of solidarity. It was a good day for Malaysians in Hong Kong.

And in true Malaysian style, the rally ended with makan at the Cinta-J restaurant located behind the Consulate.

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3 Replies to “Bersih 3.0 in Hong Kong”

  1. Going by the huge turn out now umno would be in a quandry as to whether or not to dissolve parliament and call for general election in june. Umno is definately under pressure to delay GE13. That would begood news because dragging the election would mean two things.1) unmo internal squabbles would come to the surface in a big way. 2) the econmy would slide down further and umno would be denied the possibility od orgying over how well it has handled the economic situation.

    Yes. Yes. Yes.

  2. See Hong Kong news reporting about French authority has investigated about HK$3.66 billion had been credited into Hong Kong based company owned by Razak Baginda and his father. The news writes “the French authority believes the money have been taken away by Malaysian prime minister and his friend” : 港公司捲大馬首相3億賄案
    http://news.sina.com.hk/news/2/1/1/2628843/1.html
    潛艇交易涉落格 法司法部調查
    【明報專訊】一間香港公司捲入法國軍火商涉嫌賄賂馬來西亞首相納吉布的案件,正接受法國司法部調查。外電引述司法部文件指,法國軍火公司DCNS年前向大馬出售3艘潛艇,涉及款項逾1.44億歐元(15億港元),其中3600萬歐元(3.66億港元)疑通過一家香港公司轉到時任大馬國防部長納吉布及其友人手上。

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