We Know What We Want

November 12th, 2007

if we can talk the talk, we can most definitely walk the walk, and walk the walk we did. some 40,000 Malaysians (and even some tourists!!) turned up at the BERSIH rally yesterday to submit to the King a memorandum demanding clean and fair elections.

from frail old men to ardent university students; from demure head-scarved women to activists, people of all ages and races took part in this peaceful demonstration - wearing yellow, walking proud and making a strong collective statement. shouts of ‘Hidup Rakyat’ and ‘Daulat Tuanku’ rang throughout the massive crowd that marched to the Palace that day, sending the message to the government that enough is enough, we know what you do and we refuse to be slapped around anymore. rakyat juga pantang dicabar :)

as we all know, many warnings and threats were used by the government and the police and even our Prime Minister (what happened to wanting to listen to the truth?) in the days leading up to this demonstration. the idea was to make people fear their safety so they wouldn’t turn up for this protest, but 40,000 people were brave and passionate enough to stand up for their countrymen and what they believe in. this is truly the dawn of something great; we’re no longer succumbing to scare tactics, and this is a HUGE step out of the blind fear that Malaysians have been groomed to live in ever since May 13.

it was really, really amazing being part of this march :) i was just awed from start till end - at the sheer size of the crowd, at the camaraderie displayed by all, the successful execution of this demonstration, at everything. i remember very clearly the moment we turned the corner at Pasar Seni and saw the first long line of yellow-clothed people crossing the bridge and marching towards the Palace. we couldn’t help but let out whoops of joy! it was the most inspiring sight ever. there is just so much hope for Malaysians.

we took the route from Pasar Seni towards the Palace, and we were safe the entire time. but unfortunately the crowd coming from the Masjid Jamek LRT station was tear-gassed and shot at with water cannons by the Federal Reserve Unit. incredibly reckless of the police to do so because this rally (despite what the mainstream media will have you believe) was PEACEFUL from start till end.

Pak Lah said a couple of days ago that whenever demonstrations happen, chaos usually ensues and thus the police have to ‘take action’ and then take the ‘blame’, when it is actually the fault of the people for causing the chaos. well, the only violence that occurred yesterday came from the cops - firing tear gas, water cannons and beating several protestants including reporters - and that was without warning or provocation. sigh see lah how can you say the rakyat wrongfully blames the police now. you cant help but get angry listening to news like this. but thankfully, other routes and the assembly point in front of the Palace - where the police just stood by the side and watched over the crowd and DID NOT INTERFERE - was violence-free. okay, good. we were actually very pleasantly surprised :)

but shame on the mainstream media. shame. shame. printing distorted facts and half-truths and cooperating in lying to the public. coal in your stockings for Christmas this year.

eventually all 40,000 people from the 4 different routes converged at the gates of the Palace at Jalan Istana to await the handing-over of the memorandum to the Agong by the rally representatives. while waiting, we all got to feast on the sight of FORTY THOUSAND PEOPLE (sorry ah must keep saying because i damn cannot tahan some quarters say 4000 people only please lah dont make me laugh) gathered together for a common purpose. it was really cool. you look around and you see all these CIVILIANS! your neighbours, people you pass on the streets daily, the guy who sells you your morning newspaper, the uncle from the kopitiam, your bus driver, your former schoolmates… all clapping each other on the back and smiling and congratulating each other for being there that day. sigh. so nice. i swear to you it was the most patriotic situation i have ever been in. there was just no segregation at all in the crowd; if only we were all like this every day.

my favourite parts of the rally :

- i stepped on this guy’s slipper and he almost fell. i was extremely apologetic and kept saying sorry to him over and over, but he turned around, smiled at me and said, “it’s okay, girl, it’s okay. we are on the same side.”

- this man brought his very young son (about maybe 6-8 years old) along with him to the rally. the kid was sitting on his dad’s shoulders and shouting Daulat Tuanku (long live the King)!

- throughout our march to the Palace, the cars that passed by would wind down their window, honk like crazy and roar encouragement at us while giving us the thumbs up. one guy yelled, “you are my heroes!” so inspiring :)

- the Unit Amal volunteers from PAS who directed the crowd and traffic were extremely nice and warm that day. as people walked past, they smiled at us and shook our hands and thanked us for being there. so this is a big THANK YOU back, Misters Unit Amal, for being such amazing and selfless people! Malaysia needs you.

- i saw these blond, Caucasian backpacker tourists asking route advice from the Unit Amal people! they weren’t wearing yellow, BUT they were wearing yellow ribbons on their shirts :) :) :) thank you tourists, for caring for our country.

- we walked past Pos Malaysia and there were all these staff gathered outside on the balcony. they cheered us on. we cheered back. they cheered even louder! aiyah why you all never take leave!

- texts from my friends and family and Martian saying how proud they were of me :) thank you guys. wish you all had been there to share the experience with me.

- when the memorandum was accepted by the Agong’s secretary, the crowd cheered and started dispersing. then the Muslims were chanting prayers in unison. it was such a comforting sight to behold.

pictures! :


#1 : walking from Pasar Seni in the rain


#2 : the bend before hitting Jalan Istana


#3 : cops stationed near Masjid Negara


#4 : the very patient and peaceful crowd at Jalan Istana


#5 : my ONLY yellow t-shirt - a Jaga Jazzist shirt from their last concert in Singapore. ‘what we must’. apt, eh? :)


#6 : me and Daniel and Jason, who both took very good care of me :P such great company.


#7 : rakyat being rakyat :)


#9 : BERSIH shirts and headbands


#10 : sigh this is the road i take to Bangsar all the time. this road will never look the same to me again.


#11 : YB Lim Kit Siang <3!


#12 : these ladies look like they wouldn’t hurt a fly. yet they were there beside us roaring with so much zest.


#13 : crowd


#14 : this tiny section where i was probably already held more than 4,000 people. what is our Inspector General of Police talking about when he said only 4,000 people attended the entire rally?


#15 : i asked these guys for a picture, and the bald guy said, “of course you may. we won today.”

this rally was more than just a demand for fair elections, it was more than just a lobby for indelible ink and abolition of postal voting. it was about the people’s dissatisfaction and their awareness. it was about democracy, it was about justice. it was a call for complete reform. and i hope this call is heeded. it NEEDS to be heeded.

that day, we were all living breathing proof that Malaysians are NOT ignorant, lazy or scared to make a difference. just look at us! we are so aware of what is going on despite them trying so hard to conceal the truth from us, and we dragged our butts out our of comfortable, SAFE homes and out into the highways and pouring rain to make our voices heard. see :) we’re not so bad after all. there is hope.

accounts from other bloggers :
Bersih.org’s blog
Jeff Ooi
Haris Ibrahim
Daniel Bong

Entry Filed under: Events, General, Photos

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