THE NIGHT BEFORE 428

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