Bersih 2.0 held on 9 July 2011 was an exciting historical
event that I missed participating. So when Bersih 3.0 announced the Duduk
Bantah at Dataran Merdeka on April 28, I am all ready to go. Judging from the
overwhelming support and response from the people, the turnout in KL alone could
easily surpassed 100,000. This would be a monumental and unprecedented figure
for civil disobedience in this country.
However, what was proposed as a peaceful sit down protest calling
for electoral reforms has since been deliberately manipulated by the
authorities in their twisted attempt at portraying it as another violent street
confrontation. What the government of the day fear most is the anticipated
massive show of support that could easily translate into votes at the ballot
boxes in the GE13. Given their record of intolerance and high handed tactics in
handing dissent, the regime’s suppressive response was as expected. The
intended 2 hour family picnic in the park has since been turned into a battle
field. The 48 hours shutdown of Dataran Merdeka has begun. The event has been
declared illegal in court. Some 5,000 police and the riot squads armed with their
arsenal of batons, shields, tear gas, water cannons, etc will be deployed in
the city to manhandle and arrest the protestors. The mind game of the
authorities is to strike FEAR and reduce the turnout. This blatant intimidation
and show of force might make it difficult for children to join in and deter
some uninitiated participants, but to the seasoned campaigners this is all part
and parcel of the cat and mouse game.
My first taste of the protest movement was the Anti-Vietnam
War marches during my high school years in NZ. Subsequently, there was the
organisation of anti-fee campaigns by foreign students during the university
days. It has been a very long lapse since then but it is never too late to get some
exposure to the Malaysian culture of street protest. All for a good cause of
course.
simon 27.4.2012
