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Call on all political leaders to set an example as leaders for all Malaysians to deplore all actions which could provoke inter-racial and inter-religious discord and disharmony and to end all politics of race-baiting in country

he time has come for all political leaders to set an example as leaders for all Malaysians to deplore all actions which could provoke inter-racial and inter-religious discord and disharmony and end all politics of race-baiting in the country.

DAP leaders and I have no hesitation in deploring the incident where two Bersih 4 rally participants stomped on the picture of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, for this is not the political or civic culture we want to see in Malaysia.

This is not a stand which I had only taken now, but which has always been my guiding principle in Malaysian politics which in three months’ time on Dec. 1 will mark my full 50 years of political involvement.

This is also not the first time where the DAP had been blamed for something which had nothing to do with the party.

For instance, in January 2014, Penang UMNO staged a gangsterish and most racist demonstration against the DAP in response to a kangkung-theme flash mob event against the Prime Minister, stuffing kangkung into the mouth of Najib’s effigy.

The Penang UMNO demonstration was a most irresponsible, incendiary and seditious incitement of racial and religious hatred, tensions and conflict, threatening with the rhetorical question: “Does DAP want another May 13” and carried the most blood-curdling racist and religious slogans and banners, even with one banner in blood red with the screaming words:“Because of DAPs leaders mouth, May 13, 1969 happened…Want some more?” and other inflammatory banners like “ABCD – Asal Bukan Cina DAP” and “DAP is the enemy of Islam”.

The problem was that the DAP had nothing to do with the kangkung flash-mob event, and I myself was shocked at the stuffing of kangkung into the mouth of Najib’s effigy, as I regarded it as offensive and knew that it would be distorted and manipulated by irresponsible elements to further incite and inflame emotions, even trying to racialise it as an attack by the Chinese against a Malay Prime Minister.

This is of course a great fallacy because Najib is not a Malay Prime Minister but Prime Minister for all Malaysians, but such distinctions would not stop racists and extremists from fomenting racist responses – as is even happening now over the Bersih 4 rally.

At the time, I did not keep my views private but went on public record that I disapproved and deplored such an action.

The worst example of such irresponsible race-baiting are the lies – which are still being spread on social media – accusing me of being the cause of the May 13 , 1969 riots in Kuala Lumpur, that I had led anti-Malay processions through the streets of Kuala Lumpur shouting anti-Malay slogans and hurling anti-Malay insults resulting in the May 13 riots when I was not even in Kuala Lumpur at the time. I was in Kota Kinabalu to campaign for independent candidates as polling day in Sabah was scheduled to be held after the voting in Peninsular Malaysia.

In my nearly 50 years in politics, I have never stepped on the photograph of any political leader. Continue reading “Call on all political leaders to set an example as leaders for all Malaysians to deplore all actions which could provoke inter-racial and inter-religious discord and disharmony and to end all politics of race-baiting in country”

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What’s next after Bersih 4?

― Dan Lee
Malay Mail Online
September 1, 2015

SEPTEMBER 1 ― We have just had our biggest street party to usher in Merdeka Day and a 34-hours-long carnival to celebrate democracy in Malaysia. The excitement of those who pulled on their yellow t-shirts and accessories is still visible as many have written to talk about the whole adventure they had and the sense of unity they experienced with the crowd. My question is ― What’s next?

Bersih 4 was meant to unite Malaysians who are like-minded and passionate to ensure our beloved nation is free from corruption and injustice, as well as to demand for a clean government who will put the interest of the Rakyat first. Let us build on this unity of love and passion for this nation and her people, and not divide the nation by skin colour or political affiliation, or worse still, by t-shirt colours. We, who have been to Bersih 4 should never think of ourselves more highly or more patriotic than those who didn’t, for we do not know their reasons. Let us not divide our nation between us and them, who have been to Bersih 4 and not, who wore yellow or not, or who supports Bersih 4 or not. Continue reading “What’s next after Bersih 4?”

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Why so few Malays in Bersih 4?

Wong Chin Huat
Malaysiakini
Aug 30th, 2015

COMMENT The question most frequently asked on Bersih 4 is, why are they so few Malays?

I don’t buy the two most common answers: first, PAS does not participate and Harapan Baru does not have the clout; second, Malays are worried of violence and chaos.

For me, the answer is straightforward: the Malays feel politically vulnerable because three main Malay-based parties – first PKR, then PAS, now Umno – are split while the Chinese are seemingly so united behind the opposition especially DAP.

To discourage the Malays to join Bersih 4, one may just need to warn them, if Malays join in enthusiastically, then not only Najib Abdul Razak will go, Umno will lose power, too, and the now politically assertive Chinese will dismantle the New Economic Policy (NEP) and weaken Islam.

Against this backdrop, even if PAS has mobilised, Malay turnout will still be weak because of this anxiety. And ‘violence and chaos’ cited in the Merdeka Center survey is but the code word for the collapse of Umno’s one-party state.

Will I blame our Malay friends who don’t join us? Of course no. Everyone has every right to want the country to be cleaner, freer and more democratic. That needs not have anything to do with ethnicity or religion.

I will not even blame them on their anxiety. Can people force themselves to not be anxious?

Simply because the dismantling of Umno’s one-party state is a colossal change, all of us need a soft landing, not only the Malays who have been told that they will be ‘bangsat’ without Umno. Continue reading “Why so few Malays in Bersih 4?”

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Can we move forward with Bersih 4?

P Ramasamy
Malaysiakini
Sep 1st, 2015

COMMENT The massive Bersih 4 rally that took place in the heart of Kuala Lumpur on on Aug 29 and 30 can be described as tremendous success considering the number of people who took part in it.

It is estimated about 500,000 people were involved and many spent the night sleeping on sidewalks and pavements. Bersih also took an international profile, with similar rallies held in some of the cities worldwide.

Yes, Bersih succeeded in highlighting its objectives of: reforming the corrupt and decadent electoral system, reviving institutions that have become defunct and most importantly, the removal of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for his involvement in massive corruption related to the disbursement of 1MDB funds.

Unlike earlier Bersih movements, this time there were no untoward incidents involving the police or other law enforcement agencies. The police were surprisingly well-behaved and disciplined.

The actual Bersih rally is over, at least for the time being. Whether Bersih 5 will take place or not will depend on the whether the government takes initiatives to speed up reforms in the country.

Of course, the hardest thing will be to expect Najib to resign from his post. There are no indications that Najib will resign from the pressure exerted by Bersih. Continue reading “Can we move forward with Bersih 4?”

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Bersih 4 and 1MDB: Cleansing Malaysia and cleaning out Malaysia

— Koon Yew Yin
Malay Mail Online
August 31, 2015

AUGUST 31 — Two big issues have taken up the national attention during the past few weeks. One is the Bersih rally or what can be called the cleaning of Malaysia organised by civil society activists. The second is the 1MDB scandal which can be called the cleaning up of Malaysia organised by Putrajaya.

The first one cost taxpayers — or rather donors —several millions of ringgit. Though the full accounts are not in yet, we know that thousands of ordinary Malaysian dipped into their own pockets to pay for this activity. Much of the money is in small change – tens to hundreds of ringgit. The funds will be used to defray the costs of organising rallies held throughout the country to demand the cleaning up of our political system as well as to save our economy. The objectives of Bersih 4 in summary are as follows:

Clean Elections (#PilihanrayaBersih);
Clean Government (#KerajaanBersih);
Save Our Economy (#SelamatkanEkonomi); and
Right to Dissent (#HakMembantah). Continue reading “Bersih 4 and 1MDB: Cleansing Malaysia and cleaning out Malaysia”

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The Sarawak Bersih 4 fiasco

Dr Kelvin Yii
Malaysiakini
1st September 2015

The Bersih 4 rally has been catching headlines for the past few days with the crowd in KL swelling to a record number reportedly at 500,000 over the weekend, an unprecedented amount of people willing to stretch it out for 34 hours and sleep on the streets to protest against the corrupt regime as well demand for clean and fair elections, among others.

This commands great pride for me and many other Malaysians who are sick and tired of how corruption and bad governance has wrecked our country. I as a Sarawakian have seen and experienced how corruption and money politics have ravaged our state, and oppressed our people.

The urging for Bersih wasn’t a foreign agenda, neither was it a Malayan concept. We in Sarawak need it more than ever, to stand up against corruption, electoral fraud and bad governance that has left Sarawak as one of the least developed state even though we blessed with the abundance of natural resources.

So I was really devastated reading the news on how Sarawak Bersih 4 turned out and was instead used as a platform to attack the different opposition parties. The organisers have since retracted the statement allegedly blaming Sarawak DAP for the premature end of the rally, and claimed they was misquoted, however this did not stop it from being circulated on social media and blogs, and leaving a bad taste in our mouth. Continue reading “The Sarawak Bersih 4 fiasco”

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Bersih 4 was not a feel-good picnic

Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysiakini
1st Sept 2015

COMMENT When Bersih 4 ended at the midnight of Aug 30, it ended on a high note. The rally defied expectations. Those who had thought it would not be able to sustain 34 hours of street protest without experiencing police harassment and violence sparked by agitators were proven wrong.

An incredibly huge crowd celebrated Bersih 4’s success at the grand finale with an impassioned rendering of the national anthem when the clock struck 12.

Mingguan Malaysia accused the rally of having been controlled and dominated by the DAP. That’s utter bullshit. The DAP could not possibly command this kind of turnout on any given day.

In saying so, the pro-Umno newspaper also insulted the rally’s organisers, Bersih 2.0. It denied them the credit of having done a marvellous and exceptional job of putting together the event and making sure it remained peaceful. Continue reading “Bersih 4 was not a feel-good picnic”

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Has the Najib government learnt nothing from the two-day 500,000-people Bersih 4 overnight rally in KL, Kuching and KK demanding for good governance and free, fair elections?

History was made in the last two days when 500,000 Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, gender, age or even politics converged into Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu demanding for good governance and free, fair elections to prevent Malaysia from becoming a rogue and failed state.

Has the Najib government learnt nothing from the two-day 500,000-people Bersih 4 overnight rally in KL, Kuching and KK demanding for good governance and free, fair elections?
Do the Prime Minister and his Cabinet Ministers really regard the 500,000 literate and idealistic Malaysians who came from all over the country to support Bersih 4 as bad-hats, trouble-makers and anti-national elements out to destroy the country and therefore should be ignored and marginalised?

If so, then the country is in deeper trouble than anyone realized and underlines the urgency and relevance of a change of government, which has not lost touch with the ground, and to really understand the truism of what Najib had said when he first became Prime Minister six years ago in April 2009 – that the era where the government knows best is over! Continue reading “Has the Najib government learnt nothing from the two-day 500,000-people Bersih 4 overnight rally in KL, Kuching and KK demanding for good governance and free, fair elections?”

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Malaysia’s anti-government protests: What’s next?

Ansuya Harjani
CNBC.com
August 31, 2015

Malaysia’s mammoth civil disobedience campaign has heightened pressure on scandal-ridden Prime Minister Najib Razak but is an imminent departure on the cards? Unlikely, analysts say.

The 61-year-old leader, who is no stranger to controversy, has most recently been accused of pocketing almost $700 million from troubled government fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Najib says the allegations are part of a malicious campaign to force him from office, while his cabinet ministers claim the funds were campaign donations from unnamed sources in the Middle East.

“[The] protests will pile on public pressure on Najib to resign. But unfortunately he’s in quite a strong position,” said James Chin, director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania. Continue reading “Malaysia’s anti-government protests: What’s next?”

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Malaysia’s political crisis in 5 numbers

Michael Peel
Financial Times
August 31, 2015

A marathon 34-hour rally in Malaysia at the weekend drew tens — perhaps even hundreds — of thousands to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to call for the resignation of Najib Razak, the scandal-hit prime minister. Mr Najib on Sunday vowed not to quit and accused the protesters of showing “poor national spirit” by demonstrating on the eve of the country’s National Day. The protest, known as Bersih — meaning “clean” in Malay — highlighted growing faultlines in the Southeast Asian country, as allegations of official corruption and abuses of power swirl. Here is the crisis in five numbers:

$675m : total of March 2013 transfers to accounts in Mr Najib’s name Continue reading “Malaysia’s political crisis in 5 numbers”

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Malaysians reclaimed the spirit of Merdeka

– Anura Bird
The Malaysian Insider
31 August 2015

There is a legend surrounding the significance of the mooncake in Chinese history. Apparently, during the Yuan Dynasty (a Mongol dynasty founded by Kublai Khan), resistance was growing in pocket across the vast lands.

A rebel leader trying to send messages to his followers cleverly hid them in pieces of paper concealed in mooncakes usually distributed among the local Chinese during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

These messages eventually reached the intended masses and the story goes that it led to the uprising that eventually forced out the Mongol invaders and heralded the coming of the celebrated Ming Dynasty. Continue reading “Malaysians reclaimed the spirit of Merdeka”

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Post-Bersih 4: The Morning After

The 58th Merdeka Celebrations had been on the grandest scale ever in the nation’s history – with some 400,000 Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, age, gender or even party politics in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu coming out freely and voluntarily, without any monetary inducements, in the past two days to give real and true meaning to “Merdeka”!

With today’s official Merdeka Day celebrations in the various states, let us ensure that Merdeka Celebations, like Malaysian nation-building, shall be inclusive to embrace diverse themes which make plural Malaysia full of such promise to be a great nation – whether “Sehati, Sejiwa”, “Bersih 4” or “Bersih, Cekap, Amanah”.

What lessons in Post Bersih 4 – “The Morning After”? Continue reading “Post-Bersih 4: The Morning After”

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Three things we learnt from: Bersih 4

by Mayuri Mei Lin, Aizyl Azlee and Kamles Kumar
Malay Mail Online
August 31, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 31 — Despite the rumours and threats of a police crackdown after Putrajaya persisted in banning its signature yellow T-shirts and branding it illegal, the two-day rally by electoral reform group Bersih 2.0 ended at the stroke of midnight last night with little incident.

The 34-hour rally that kicked off at 2pm Saturday which drew tens of thousands of government dissenters into the capital city’s streets demanding the prime minister’s resignation, was a mammoth demonstration of civil disobedience, possibly the biggest of all the assemblies in the Bersih series.

Bersih 4 was allowed to run its course—in Kuala Lumpur at least, though those held simultaneously in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu ended prematurely—but was still laced with missteps and will continue to fuel debates that the rally will not change Malaysia’s electoral system nor its parliamentary practices.

However, here are the three takeaways from the Bersih 4 rally: Continue reading “Three things we learnt from: Bersih 4”

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Huge Anti-Government Protests in Malaysia Continue For a Second Day

Nash Jenkins / Kuala Lumpur
Time
30th August 2015

Large Crowds Are Gathering to Demand the Ouster of Malaysia’s Prime Minister
Malaysia’s Anti-Graft Agency Says the Millions in Prime Minister Najib’s Accounts Are ‘Donations’

Saturday’s massive but harmonious anti-government demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur continued overnight and into Sunday morning as historical numbers of Malaysians gathered in the streets of the capital to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“It’s what we need to do for the prime minister to hear our voices and realize we don’t need him anymore,” Abdul Muiz, a 26-year-old businessman in a plastic Guy Fawkes mask, told TIME early Sunday. “I think it’ll stay peaceful — the object is peaceful revolt, since we’re a peaceful nation.”

The marathon rally is expected to last until midnight on Sunday, which will mark the beginning of Merdeka Day, the anniversary of Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957. Continue reading “Huge Anti-Government Protests in Malaysia Continue For a Second Day”

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Malaysia’s masses protest against corruption

Economist
Aug 30th 2015 | KUALA LUMPUR | Asia

A grand day out – Large but orderly marches keep the pressure on an embattled prime minister

TO LISTEN to the dire pronouncements from Malaysia’s authorities, you might have expected a riot. But the big rally which took place in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, organised by Bersih—an electoral reform group angered by allegations of corruption in government—was a calm and joyful affair. Bersih (which means “clean” in Malay) reckoned that 200,000 marched to the capital’s central square on Saturday afternoon to demand the resignation of the prime minister, Najib Razak; the police pegged the crowd at 30,000. Almost everyone wore Bersih’s signature yellow T-shirts—despite the government’s claim, at the eleventh hour, that they were illegal. One yellow-swathed campaigner waved a sunshine-yellow placard: “You can ban a T-shirt”, it read, “but you can’t ban an idea”.

The rally began at 2pm on Saturday and continued overnight. Parents came with teenage and grown-up children (infants were discouraged). Supporters on Twitter quoted lines from “Les Miserables”, and at least one rally chief tried to lead crowds in some of its tunes. A few campaigners sported bags that read “My prime minister embarrasses me”; one handy protestor had carved a pint-sized model of Mr Najib from polystyrene, which perched on a swing inside a cage. Continue reading “Malaysia’s masses protest against corruption”

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Malaysians Gather Peacefully to Demand a New Politics

Nash Jenkins / Kuala Lumpur
Time
Aug. 29, 2015

The historic rally in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday drew tens of thousands, but saw no violence

Tens of thousands of Malaysians assembled near Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka Square on Saturday to demand that Prime Minister Najib Razak step down from office.

The rally, one of the largest demonstrations against Malaysia’s government in recent memory, was the culmination of escalating public hostility toward Najib, especially after The Wall Street Journal reported that his private bank accounts held over $700 million in funds purportedly siphoned off a struggling state investment fund called 1Malaysia Development Berhad. Officials say the money came from private donors to be spent on the last general elections in 2013.

But, on Saturday, the call of the day — and the name of the anti-corruption movement that organized it — was “bersih,” which means “clean” in Malay. Continue reading “Malaysians Gather Peacefully to Demand a New Politics”

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Malaysia in second day of protests against PM Najib Razak

BBC
30th August 2015

Tens of thousands of Malaysians are expected to protest for a second day in Kuala Lumpur, calling for PM Najib Razak to quit over a financial scandal.
On Saturday, crowds were undeterred by a heavy presence of police who had called the protests illegal.

Protesters are angered by a $700m (£455m) payment made to Mr Razak’s bank account from unnamed foreign donors.

He has denied any wrongdoing. He said protesters were tarnishing Malaysia’s image.

Police estimated 25,000 people participated in Saturday’s demonstration, while Bersih – the pro-democracy group behind the rally – said 200,000 took part at the peak. Continue reading “Malaysia in second day of protests against PM Najib Razak”

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Five things different in Day One of Bersih 4

COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
30 August 2015

Thousands gathered at five points in Kuala Lumpur yesterday to converge around Dataran Merdeka, the iconic field that first witnessed Malaya’s new flag in 1957 and now home to the National Day parade.

It was Day One of Bersih 4, or the fourth rally organised by the coalition for free and fair elections Bersih 2.0. Most turned up in the familiar yellow T-shirt with the words Bersih on it, some with the numbers 3 from the previous rally in 2012, but most with 4 for the current one.

They bravely wore it, although the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) had banned the combination of yellow clothing with the words Bersih 4.

After all, the government had done the same in 2011 for Bersih 2.

Unlike previous rallies, Bersih 4 has been quite different. It was planned for 34 hours and held in at least three Malaysian cities – capital city Kuala Lumpur and state capitals Kota Kinabalu in Sabah and Kuching in Sarawak.

Here are five things that are different in Day One of Bersih 4 from previous rallies. Continue reading “Five things different in Day One of Bersih 4”

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At least five Tuns think Najib should step down as Prime Minister – how many Tan Sris are of such thinking?

Yesterday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Umno needs more leaders and prospective leaders who are likeable and adaptable so that they can suit themselves to the environment and the people to ensure the party’s victory in the next general election.

As a result, I specially went through the 19 UMNO leaders in the 37-strong Najib Cabinet, and it is difficult to find more than one person who might qualify to be “likeable and adaptable” who can save UMNO from doom in the 14GE – the Minister for International Trade and Industry Datuk Mustapha Mohamad, but who is so sidelined from the centre of UMNO power politics that he cannot even save UMNO from PAS in Kelantan state general elections.

Until three months ago, second Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah might have qualified to be a “likeable and adaptable” UMNO leader to win back UMNO support, but he has proved to be so malleable as Cabinet spokeman for the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal (according to Tan Sri Muhyiddin in his last speech as Deputy Prime Minister to the UMNO Cheras Division on July 26, 2015) that he blotted his copybook and his credibility as a honest and trustworthy politician is in tatters.

It is indeed ironic that Najib is now talking about the need to have “likeable and adaptable” UMNO leaders to win back popular support for UMNO in 14GE when in his recent Cabinet reshuffle after sacking Muhyiddin as DPM and Shafie Apdal as Rural and Regional Development Minister, he promoted into the Cabinet or increased their public profile and importance in the Najib government people who are the very antithesis of his definition of “likeable and adaptable” leaders who can win back lost popular support for UMNO. Continue reading “At least five Tuns think Najib should step down as Prime Minister – how many Tan Sris are of such thinking?”

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The politics of division – a Malaysian rhetoric

Philip George
Malaysiakini
Aug 28th, 2015

COMMENT Being a politician is like playing a game. This is especially so in developing countries, where politicians have the ability to shape the history of a nation and determine how it may progress in the future.

Therefore, the use of rhetoric by leaders trying to persuade and garner support of the public, so that they may be able to implement their vision, is part of the game. But as the times have changed, so much the rhetoric used to convince the populace who have entrusted their futures and the future generations into the hands of an elected few.

Rhetoric can no longer be used in the same way it has been in the past. This lesson is noticeably being learnt in Malaysia.

With a growing urban population strengthened by the extension of 21st Century media, Malaysia is showing gradual signs of an evolving participatory democracy, vaguely resembling the evolution of the British democracy in the 19th Century. Continue reading “The politics of division – a Malaysian rhetoric”