Being Bersih just for today

In support of the Janji Demokrasi gathering tonight at the Dataran Merdeka.

Raising enough suspicions in my mind

Delving deeper into the incidents of Bersih 3.0 now that I have returned to Penang, I am reading a lot of stories claiming that the Police had infiltrated into the unarmed participants of the Duduk Bantah sitdown rally at the Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur..

Several pictures have been posted on the Internet claiming suspicions of some people who seemed to be Bersih 3.0 participants one moment and undercover policemen the next. Their suspicions may be correct but on the other hand, they are difficult to prove. Like phantoms, these suspicious characters would have melted away by now.

Both sides - the Bersih organisers and the Police - have been accusing each other of brutality. But today, while people are still talking about the devious and underhanded tactics of the Police, they are also losing sight of what Bersih 2.0 or Bersih 3.0 were meant to be.

The Bersih rallies were not about toppling the federal government. They were about asking for free and fair elections in the country. Any sane person who is uncorrupted will want to see free and fair elections here in Malaysia. Don't you? Bersih has nothing to do with the opposition political parties at all. The ruling political parties were welcomed to join in the rallies at any time and they refused. So was it right to link the opposition parties to Bersih just because they piggy-backed on the latter? It's totally absurd and only a simpleton will want to believe it.

Bersih stands for CLEAN AND FAIR ELECTIONS in Malaysia. Who in their right minds will not want that, not unless they have something to hide? Have they? I do not wish to have phantom voters in my midst that can alter the voting patterns in my constituency. I also do not wish to have postal votes that are not credible. But I wish for foreign independent observers who can verify that our elections are fair and clean.

At the end of the day, Bersih is not about the Barisan Nasional or the Pakatan Rakyat winning the general elections, as long as they win cleanly and fairly. We only want our rights to pick the government we want, equally and fairly, and this is what Bersih is all about. It is not about toppling a government but to have a clean and fair election.

However, seeing how recalcitrant this Barisan Nasional government is, seeing how stubbornly they are refusing to recognise that people have already seen through them and come to the conclusion that the election process is terribly skewed in their favour, seeing how power has corrupted them irreparably, the only hope left for the common electorate like me is to throw the old furniture away and bring in the new. After all, a new ruling government can't do any more worse than the old corrupt regime.

Bersih 3.0: Should you still have confidence in this government?

It was really frustrating to be away on the East Coast at the time when the critical Duduk Bantah sitdown rally for FREE AND CLEAN ELECTIONS IN MALAYSIA was taking place in Kuala Lumpur. Going there meant that I was virtually cut off from the Internet the whole time and could only rely on the bits of information that friends were passing on to me.

Last night was the first real opportunity for me to read about what had taken place over the weekend. I was both surprised and appalled.

Surprised in the sense that I learnt of the 300,000 to 350,000 of my fellow citizens who had decided bravely to participate in the rally despite ominous warnings from the DBKL and the Police. This number was beyond my expectation. Looking at the picture below, which I picked out from facebook, it gave me a big sense of pride to see the turnout.

Then I felt appalled when I read that the Police was still clueless and had no idea or ready solution to crowd control. Yet again, they resorted to that most basic of animal instinct. They turned on their physical might against the people of Malaysia. They are damn bullies and hooligans, really bent on using any means - including infiltration and censorship - to create havoc and use the filmsiest of excuses to use their water cannons and tear gas on the defenceless citizens of this country.

It is a bigger shame that Putrajaya and Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur have to hide behind the skirts of the Police force. Don't they understand that crude might is never right? When governments and authorities resort to violence, it can only mean that they have lost their ability to negotiate with the people. Our federal government have failed us real bad. They have lost their mandate. They have lost the respect of the people. This Bersih 3.0 rally must make them understand that the people are the ones that elected them into power and the people will be the ones that will decide whether to give them the mandate again.

As for me and my family, our decision is very clear. There is no place in this country for bigots and racists like the Najib regime to continue for another term. Come this General Election, our votes will go to the Pakatan Rakyat. No question about that, our time will come to kick them out of office.

Battleline drawn

I've just read this on facebook today, an extract from a Malaysiakini report:

Bersih 3.0 supporters at Dataran Merdeka this Saturday will face the same actions taken against activists who occupied the venue recently, said Kuala Lumpur mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail.

"Action has been taken against those kids at Dataran Merdeka... The same action will taken if you (Bersih supporters) do the same,” said Fuad.

Fuad said this when asked how Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) would react if the Bersih coalition proceeds with plans to hold a sit-in the square from 2pm to 4pm.

He was speaking at a press conference after a one-hour meeting with Bersih representatives failed to reach an agreement over the venue for the rally.

Asked whether DBKL will seek police help to stop the rally from taking place on Dataran Merdeka, Fuad declined to reveal details.

"When the time comes, you will know. Don't worry... We are ready. We don't allow them to go to Dataran Merdeka... let us do our job,” he said.

No choice but to go forward with Bersih3.0

This Saturday, in the major towns in the country, as well as at an anticipated 70 places around the world, Malaysians will be sitting down to participate in Bersih3.0. Duduk Bantah. The sitdowns will be a collective show of support for Bersih which is trying to get the federal government to make reforms to the election system. There is no choice for right-thinking Malaysians to do but support Bersih if we want the country to progress towards a matured democracy.  

Duduk Bantah comes after the Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms had failed to introduce meaningful reforms to the election system. After the Bersih2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur last July, during which the high-handed federal government reacted by unleashing the Police to clamp down on the participants through violent means, the Parliamentary Select Committee was formed to look into Bersih's original eight demands: clean up the electoral roll, reform postal voting, the use of indelible ink, free access to the media, a minimum campaign period of 21 days, strengthen the public institutions, stop corruption and put an end to dirty politics.

However, little was achieved when the Parliamentary Select Committee, comprising mainly Barisan Nasional parliamentarians, refused to accept that all the eight demands were worthy of adoption. A minority report of dissenting opinion from Pakatan Rakyat members of the committee was rejected and not even considered for mention in the committee's final report to Parliament.

Disappointed, Bersih came out to say that a third rally would be organised this Saturday. This time, it won't be a walk to the Stadium Merdeka. Rather, there will be a sitdown event at the Dataran Merdeka. Throughout the country, there will be other smaller sitdown events in the main towns.

At first I was rather surprised when the Home Minister said that there was nothing wrong with Bersih 3.0. Unlike Bersih2.0, Bersih3.0 would not be declared illegal. On the surface, it looked like the government had learnt its lesson. Anyway, that was what it looked like initially. There's a new twist. The federal government's strategy is now to use the Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur to prevent Bersih3.0 from happening. Very much like a sub-contracted job. Of course, we can still depend on the very dependable Police in Kuala Lumpur to say no too, contrary to the Home Minister's initial postulations.That's where we are presently: a stalemate between the DBKL authorities and the people.

By thr way, I have already asked a friend to buy me a Bersih3.0 T-shirt. It'll come in very handy on any Saturday. If I'm in Kuala Lumpur, I would join my fellow Malaysians to get to the Dataran Merdeka. As I'm in Penang, I should instead be making my way instead to the Speaker's Square at the Esplanade. Unfortunately, I'm due to travel to Kuala Terengganu this weekend and will be leaving Bukit Mertajam at about 5a.m. on Saturday in order to arrive there by two or three o'clock in the afternoon. My professional duties to fulfil and I'm told that it takes eight to nine hours to get there.

So while I'm unable to be at the Dataran Merdeka or the Esplanade in person, my thoughts will still go out to my fellow Malaysians who shall be there. By all accounts these should be peaceful sitdown rallies. Nevertheless, don't ever discount that those mamak goons will not turn up to disrupt the occasion. I will be very surprised if these good-for-nothing-except-receiving-handouts hooligans are absent.

Please take care....

Dr Toh Kin Woon: man on a mission

I have never made any bones about my respect and admiration for this man. I've already written about Dato' Dr Toh Kin Woon a few times in this blog here, here, here and here. Add to them this latest entry.

I've known Dr Toh for about 15 years now, since the days when he became the president of the Penang Chess Association, and I know that when his mind is firmly made up on something that is right and equitable, he will never waver in his convictions.

When he was still in government, he was the only outspoken voice in support of the disgraced Anwar Ibrahim. Through thick and thin, Dr Toh supported Anwar. During Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Dr Toh would invariably stop by Anwar's house in Cherok Tokun, Bukit Mertajam.

At that time, Dr Toh was still the state assemblyman for Machang Bubok. He would have to pass along the Kulim Road on his way to his constituency. Maybe this was a reasonable excuse for stopping in Cherok Tokun but essentially, actions speak louder than words and this was a very loud statement of his support for an ostracised leader.

Since 2008, Dr Toh had retired from politics. His main interest now is to participate in causes of non-governmental groups who try to work against corruption, excesses and inequalities in this country and attempt to bring about positive changes.

Among other efforts, he had been very determined in his support of the bersih 2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur last year. As everyone knows, this was an event that was feared and then declared illegal by the federal government which then turned its brute force on the people who assembled peacefully in Kuala Lumpur on 9 July 2011.

I've met Dr Toh occasionally since then. One of the last times was at an art gallery in Beach Street, George Town sometime last year.

The latest was about a week ago. I wasn't surprised to see him at the official launch of Kee Thuan Chye's book, No More Bullshit, by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng but it really knocked me to see him saunter quietly into Clove Hall wearing the totally recognisable yellow t-shirt of bersih 3.0. More than that, he was mingling with the guests and distributing bersih 3.0 leaflets and asking them to support this cause on 28 April 2012.

He was totally unobtrusive but later, he met up with the Chief Minister after the book launch had been concluded. It said a lot for the guests that they also warmed up to this very courageous man.

Getting ready for bersih 3.0

Subramaniam speaks out

Finally, I read here that the Human Resource Minister, Dr S Subramaniam, has broken his silence on the detention of Sungai Siput Member of Parliament Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj and five others. It is, of course, unclear whether he was speaking on behalf of his political party or in his personal capacity.

Nevertheless, he is quoted as having urged the Inspector-General of Police and the Home Ministry to review their detention under the Emergency Ordinance (EO) and to charge them in court "as quickly as possible" if they had indeed committed chargeable offences. "The IGP and Home Ministry should review the continual arrest of Dr Jeyakumar and five others under the Emergency Ordinance.To date the police have not shown any convincing evidence that they were involved in an armed struggle to overthrow the government. There are also confusing signals that they were arrested because of their involvement in Bersih. They were, however, arrested much earlier than the Bersih event. Moreover many others involved in Bersih have not been arrested and those arrested have been released."

I am glad that Subra has spoken out, although his statement was couched in very careful language. Both he and Michael may be on opposite sides of the political divide but in some ways they are similar. Both are medical doctors and, more importantly, there is the old school tie that binds them. Michael was junior to Subra at the Penang Free School by one year.

The original yellow Digi mascot?

Can anyone tell me who this was and where did this image come from?

The plight of Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj

For slightly more than a week now, my status on facebook has featured this simple do-it-myself appeal to the Najib regime to set free the Sungei Siput member of parliament, Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj. I could have used one of the more elaborate pictures from the Internet but I would believe it doesn't really matter.

What really matters to me is that the Najib regime must release Kumar and his other five detained political party colleagues as soon as possible. The longer Kumar and company are detained, the more scorn is poured on the Najib regime. Nobody in the 21st century can truly believe that Kumar and his Socialist Party of Malaysia or Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) are expounding communism from a few T-shirts and banners confiscated from them or capable of waging war on the country. They are just convenient scapegoats.

Except for those with thick skulls in the Najib regime, everyone else knows that communism is outdated. China's communism ideology now embraces capitalism. The Chinese have the sign of the good old dollar firmly within their sights. If the Najib regime is serious about communism infiltrating into this country, then go and condemn China. The only more visible communist states left in the world are Cuba and North Korea. It doesn't take more than a dunce to see how their ideologies have affected their economies. So why on earth would Kumar and the PSM want to support communism? The Najib regime doesn't have a decent excuse to detain them further except perhaps to break Kumar politically. That's how evil, heartless and shallow the Najib regime is exposed to be.

Now, I don't know Kumar other than knowing that he is an Old Free like me. He was one year my junior in school but I must confess that I do not know him at all. But all the same, as part of the Old Boys network, I am very unhappy that Kumar remains jailed up and I want him to be freed as soon as possible.

After Form Six, Kumar went to Yale in 1974-75 but he decided to return to Malaysia to do Medicine at the University of Malaya. During his schooldays, he was already deeply aware of the social problems faced by many on the country but his years overseas reinforced his determination to help the disadvantaged back home. The was reflected in some of the courses he took at Yale: history, philosophy, sociology and political economy.

In the middle of Kumar's second year at Yale, he returned to Malaysia. He had felt that these Social Science courses had diverted him away from his medical studies. So he came back, completed his medical degree locally and readily volunteered to serve in rural Sarawak where he felt his services would be needed the most. How many of our present-day medical students can share Kumar's personal sacrifice?

One of my classmates commented to me that some people may think that Kumar wasted two years in the United State but more than that, those two years had actually developed his very different sense of awareness and purpose. Kumar sees the hardship and suffering of the many under-privileged and marginalised people who look to him for help, regardless of their race, creed or religion. On a daily basis, Kumar the humanist wrestles with this injustice.

I know that Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Association, which represents some 5,000 private doctors nationwide, has publicly called for the release of Kumar from detention. Prior to this, 176 medical practitioners in Perak have also issued similar calls for his unjustified freedom.

But I hope that we can all do more for Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj. And I appeal to the Old Frees' network in the country to look beyond Kumar's political views and lend their voices to support the release of a man who is, after all, an Old Free with a good heart in the right place.

Bersih 2.0: British humour

Bersih 2.0: An inconvenient truth

Here's more on the Tong Shin Maternity Hospital fiasco which has been in the news since last Saturday when the police fired tear gas cannisters and sprayed chemical-laced water into the hospital compound.

The blatant, shameless lies of the politicians are being refuted by a group of doctors at the hospital. The doctors' statement below is reproduced from an entry that I saw in facebook.

We, the undersigned doctors, wish not to enter into the polemics of the Bersih 2.0 march on 9th July 2011 but would like to clarify the inconvenient truth.

We are outraged at the incidents, and the subsequent responses from the authorities, to the events where tear gas and chemical laced water were shot into the compounds of Tung Shin and Chinese Maternity Hospitals, two adjacent buildings along Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, with scant regard for the safety of patients, staff and the general public who were at the buildings that afternoon.

Hospitals are considered as safe sanctuaries for all, even during war times, but these consecrated places of refuge and protection were violated by the defence forces that afternoon. Police even entered the buildings in search of some of these peaceful marchers. What was most frightening and witnessed by many was the unprovoked violent assault within the hospital compounds and apprehension of several protesters who had merely run into the hospitals to seek shelter from the tear gas and the water cannons!

It is repulsive that the authorities entrusted with policing the nation and protecting the weak and needy, have shamelessly denied publicly, the occurrence of these incidents  IN SPITE of countless photo/video and eye witness accounts of what was evident to all independent observers.

A few of the undersigned were actually visiting or working in the hospitals concerned at the time of the events and will gladly provide sworn affidavits, if required, as to veracity of the incidents.

The Malaysian public expect holders of high public office to honour their positions accorded by the citizens, by discharging their duties with moral integrity, dignity and transparency.

Their failure to do so raises the public's doubts in their competence and credibility as much as it demeans those high offices.

Dr Ng Kwee Boon - Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
Datin Dr Low Paik See - Consultant Paediatrician
Dato’ Dr Musa Mohd Nordin - Consultant Paediatrician & Neonatologist
Dr Mazeni Alwi - Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist
Dr David Quek - Consultant Cardiologist
Dr Sheikh Johari Bux - Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
Dr Steve Wong - Consultant Plastic Surgeon
Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa - Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon
Dr Ng Swee Choon - Consultant Cardiologist
Dr Mary Cardosa – Consultant Anaesthesiologist
Dr Jeffrey Abu Hassan – Consultant Chest Physician

Bersih 2.0: Refuting the lying politicians

Obstinacy still grips the Najib regime as they continue to deny in the face of mounting evidence that there was ever tear gas fired or chemical-laced water sprayed into the Tong Shin Maternity Hospital compound in Kuala Lumpur during the Bersih 2.0 rally on 9 July 2011.

One day after the Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai made a press statement denying these infringements into the private hospital, his political boss, Chua Soi Lek, came out in support of the minister. "The police had to fire tear gas near the hospital to protect its patients from Bersih 2.0 protesters who had sought refuge there," he was reported to say, adding that the situation should be viewed “in totality” as the police would be accused of not doing their job had they decided against dispersing the crowd of protesters that had run into the hospital.

Come on, what sort of logic is that? That comes from a very warped mind, completely out of touch with reality. I can't imagine that firing tear gas at a hospital is to protect the patients. It's just like the case of charging the reporter under ISA in 2008 to order to protect her. The MCA has totally lost its marbles if it expects the common people to accept their way of thinking or believe them anymore.

And while on this subject, I must say that the 11 doctors on duty in the hospital at the time of the assault who made a statement yesterday to refute not only the police, the lying Liow and the hospital's own board of directors are the true professionals who are above all the politics and lame excuses. The doctors are the ones showing the most concern over their patients' well-being, not the lying politicians or the directors of the hospital who, for their own reasons, agreed with the politicians.

So I take my hat off to Dr Ng Kwee Boon (consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist), Datin Dr Low Paik See (consultant paediatrician), Dato’ Dr Musa Mohd Nordin (consultant paediatrician and neonatologist), Dr Mazeni Alwi (consultant paediatric cardiologist), Dr David Quek (consultant cardiologist), Dr Sheikh Johari Bux (consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist), Dr Steve Wong (consultant plastic surgeon), Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa (consultant cardiothoracic surgeon), Dr Ng Swee Choon (consultant cardiologist), Dr Mary Cardosa (consultant anaesthesiologist) and Dr Jeffrey Abu Hassan (consultant chest physician) for exposing the lies of the police and the Najib regime.

But another big question remains: what made the hospital's board of directors agree with Liow?

Bersih 2.0: Liowing through his teeth?

At best, it's pure nonsense. At worst, it's a denial, again, by the Najib regime. I'm referring to Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai's statement that the Tung Shin Hospital was not caught in the water cannon and tear gas crossfire between the armed riot police and the unarmed Bersih 2.0 participants on 9 July 2011.

Among some of the ludicrous things he said: "Demonstrators should not ambush the hospital," "The wind may have blown smoke from the tear gas into the hospital," "The edge of the water from the water cannon may have entered the hospital" and "Don't cite whatever pictures or videos again."

Aiyah, all these go against common sense or visual evidence. Demonstrators should not ambush the hospital? Hey, they were like little animals fleeing and scurrying away from the attacks, okay? The hospital was just a building to them. I'm sure they didn't purposely use a hospital for hiding. Huh, perhaps with hindsight, the hospital should have known better than to have been built there in the first place. Then this problem would not have arisen.

There are also numerous evidence in YouTube that do not suggest that tear gas was not fired into the compound or only the edge of the water had entered the hospital. Can't be the wind. It must have been a tornado. But funny, I didn't know we live in a tornado zone. Here are two such videos. Question: As the evidence mounts up, is it that difficult to admit a mistake?

Bersih 2.0: Exposing the "Home Alone" kid

This is the Home Alone tin kosong (empty vessel). 

In case you still don't know who he is, Ibrahim Ali is one of Malaysia's members of parliament. He jumps about from party to party but finally decided to style himself as an "independent". But we know how "independent" he is. He placed himself as the head of a racist non-government organisation that called itself Perkasa. He spews a lot of racist rants under the pretext of championing his race. He doesn't care whether he is upseting the rest of society with his foul mouth. Under any normal circumstances, he would have already been hauled up for sedition. But our government, in its infinite wisdom, allows this guy to get away with verbal murder. It's all verbal garbage and verbal diarrhea, if you ask me. Unfortunately for him, he has been exposed as a yellow-livered coward.

For all his racist bravados and provocations, this tub of fat (as one of my Muslim friends recently described him) was forced to stay at home on 9 July 2011 because his wife did not allow him to go outside and play. But while this Home Alone Kid hid inside his house, he ordered his 15,000-claimed members to go take a walk at the Titiwangsa lake. I heard that all of 20 of them who bothered to show up went for a teh tarik drinking session at a mamak stall. Maybe the rest participated by SMS. How very pathetic. He's finished!

Bersih 2.0: The Najib regime blew three chances at redeeming themselves

Murphy's Law was probably thought up with the Najib regime in mind. In my opinion, the Najib regime had three chances to come out honourably from the Bersih 2.0 rally but they fucked everything up.

The first was when Bersih 2.0 invited all parties to walk with them to demand for clean and fair elections. I see nothing wrong with that. It was an open invitation to both the ruling party and the opposition parties. The Najib regime could have declared that yes, they were also for clean and fair elections and yes, let us work with you to improve on the electoral process. That way, they could have been seen as above board and they wouldn't be viewed with the deep suspicion as now.

Like I mentioned earlier, there can not be two ways about it. You either support the Bersih 2.0 cause for clean and fair elections, or you do not. By demonising Bersih 2.0, my only conclusion is that the Najib regime is not bersih (clean) and can only be kotor (dirty). Who can blame me for believing this? So the Najib regime failed in this respect and they should not blame the Opposition for supporting this cause. Najib, you had your first chance and you blew it!

The second was when Najib offered Bersih 2.0 the use of a stadium for their rally, instead of walking through the streets. Initially, I had thought that this was a magnaminous offer, an olive branch, a compromise made after the request by the Agong to avoid using the roads of Kuala Lumpur. But what happened after that? The Najib regime went back on their words. No use of any stadium in Kuala Lumpur, they demanded. Looking back, this smacked of insincerity, a plot to throw Bersih 2.0's plans into disarray. The regime could have regained some goodwill by opening up the Stadium Merdeka for this purpose. But they didn't. Najib, you had your second chance and you blew it!

There was still a third chance at redemption. Now, knowing jolly well that Bersih 2.0 was proceeding with their plans, the Najib regime brought in 7,000 policemen to shut down the Kuala Lumpur city centre. On the day of the rally, the policemen appeared in battle gear, all ready to confront unarmed citizens who only wanted to walk for clean and fair elections.

Now, if the Najib regime still had their brains with them, they would have used this opportunity to direct the policemen not to confront the people with chemical-laced water cannons or tear gas cannisters or shields and batons but be ambassadors for the government by ensuring that the walk to the Stadium Merdeka would be smooth. So what if the doors into the stadium remained shut. The whole objective was to walk to the stadium anyway. And if the policemen on duty can marshall the people along without incident - be a friend rather than an enemy - a lot of the tension would have been dissipated. Najib, you had your third chance and you blew it!

Bersih 2.0: Najib's different world

It is very importnt to take a very close examination of this picture from the Al-Jazeera website. This Reuters picture was taken in Kuala Lumpur on the afternoon of 9 July 2011. It was at the height of the Bersih 2.0 rally. What do you see?

Then take a look at this YouTube video below. Never mind what you see and hear about people recounting their harrowing experiences during that same afternoon. Just concentrate on what Najib Razak said. But remember, that short clip on him talking was carried on Channel News Asia the day after the Bersih 2.0 rally.



Reuters. Al-Jazeera. Channel News Asia. All rather respectful sources of information. So what was it that Najib was saying? Just this: "Police used minimum force. There was no actual physical contact at all with the demonstrators." 

Oh, how pathetic an explanation from the man who is supposed to control this country! If there was no actual physical contact, how can he explain this to the people who were handcuffed? Did the Police just handed out the handcuffs and asked the people to put them on by themselves? There you are, please put it on yourself. Or ask your friend here to put it on for you. Thank you. No actual physical contact. Indeed!

Heroine from Bersih 2.0

In my opinion, this is the most haunting image to emerge from the Bersih 2.0 walk in Kuala Lumpur on 9 July 2011.

[An update: Before you read further, this is an email from my friend, Kee Thuan Chye, in which he commented This is a great picture. It shows the desolation of a war zone, which was what KL became on July 9, and the figure of a steadfast symbol of defiance. And she's bearing a flower, an emblem of peace. Juxtapose that with the formidable line of brute force behind her, and you see ...]

Photo: Hugo Teng

The lady has been identified as Annie Ooi Siew Lan. There's some information about her here. She was just one of countless aunties and uncles who participated in Bersih 2.0. But the world's eyes may be now on her just because of this iconic picture.

Originally from Kedah and Penang, this retired teacher now lives in the Setapak area and is aged 65 years old. A firm believer of the ideals of Bersih 2.0, she put on a yellow T-shirt and took a bus ride to the city centre by herself. Along the way, the Police stopped her several times to check her identification card. When questioned about her attire, her answer was always the same: "Why can't I wear yellow?"

She walked with the other supporters of Bersih 2.0. And then she was sprayed with chemical-laced water or fired upon with tear gas or both. Violence was the furthest from her mind; she came unprepared for it. And all she carried with her were a water bottle and a stalk of flowers. A stalk of flowers. A symbol of peace.

"It's so sad," she lamented. "It's so sad that the Police are treating our rakyat like this. When you come to rallies, there's a spirit of unity, something I cannot describe, when everyone is united for a cause. Why do we have to feel so scared in our own homeland. And by our own countrymen too?"

Yes, why indeed?

Bersih 2.0, you have my respect

I am astounded by the depths which the federal government has plunged into by trying to prevent the Bersih 2.0 rally from taking place at the Stadium Merdeka. I am upset by the way that the police force has been used to harm the people of this country. I am sickened by the constant denials spewed by Najib and company. I laugh with derision at the Home Alone "tin kosong" who chose to hide behind his wife's sarong while urging his goons to go for a stroll by the lake. However, I am deeply proud of the 50,000 fearless participants that were out on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

This is the rally that will change people's perception of what a stupid and power-corrupted federal government will do to retain power. They may have tried to cover wool over our eyes but they cannot silence the anger that's all within us. We have seen and heard what actually happened n Kuala Lumpur yesterday. We have seen how our fellow Malaysians in faraway countries have supported Bersih 2.0's cause by holding events of their own. We have heard how the callous police force fired their tear gas cannisters into the Tong Shin Maternity Hospital grounds. What if the patients, expectant mothers and newborn babies were endangered? Yes, najib and company have a lot to answer with their suppression of people's right to be heard.

To my Malaysian brothers and sisters who participated in the Bersih 2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur on this eventful date, 9 July 2011, I deeply salute you!

Our support for Bersih 2.0's Yellow cause

Though we are too far away from Kuala Lumpur, there is a need for us to show our support for the men and women who shall be facing the might of the federal government's machinery this afternoon. Here is Long Kin and I, togged in yellow, before we ventured out to the Taman Bukit food court in Bukit Mertajam for our breakfast.