Bersih sit-in goes global in 33 cities
Aidila Razak 5:15PM Apr 12, 2012
The Malaysian diaspora is all set to stand up for electoral reform, but this time, by sitting down.
Those in 33 cities have confirmed that they will organise solidarity sit-ins on April 28, in support of that organised by the clean and fair elections NGO Bersih 2.0 in Kuala Lumpur on the same day.
Out of that, at least 20 cities have settled on the time and venues for the events and started promoting their respective events on social media and local event listings.
The New Zealand group will kick off the global sit in at Aotea Square, Auckland at 1pm.
“Due to the time zone, Bersih 3.0 in Auckland will be the first one to kick off Bersih 3.0!” organiser Lydia Chai said in an email to Malaysiakini.
Neighbouring Australia would follow suit with gatherings in all seven capital cities, from Hobart to Perth.
Perth organisers got in the spirit early through a ‘yellow barbecue’ earlier this week, in keeping with Bersih’s theme colour.
In Asia, Bersih 2.0 steering committee confirms that Malaysians in the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzen, Hong Kong and Taipei will hold solidarity sit-ins.
In Singapore, organisers are waiting for authorities to reply to an application to use the Hong Lim Park speakers’ corner for their sit-in. It this fails, supporters plan to carpool to Kuala Lumpur.
Those in Osaka are also confirming the venue with authorities alongside those in Tokyo, who can confirm that it will be held at a venue along the Yamamoto train line.
Over in Europe, a sit-in is planned in front of the Malaysian High Commission in London while those in Edinburgh should head to the Meadow Park for a protest picnic.
Other venues in the region include Graz, Stockholm, Geneva and Newcastle.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, Malaysians in up to 11 US cities, too, will put on yellow shirts for electoral reform.
Sit-ins are confirmed to take place in Houston, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Portland and Columbus, with Canadian city Toronto, too, set to see some action.
Concurrent sit-ins in Malaysia
Back at home, up to nine other Malaysian cities will get their share of the excitement including Kuantan, Alor Setar, Miri, Sibu, Kuching, Penang and Ipoh.
However, only organisers in two cities have confirmed the venue - Dataran Pahlawan in Malacca and Padang Merdeka in Kota Kinabalu.
“The others will be announcing the venues at a later date,” said Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah.
Also joining the rally would be anti-Lynas group Himpunan Hijau, which successfully held a rally attended by thousands in Kuantan earlier this year.
The Himpunan Hijau group plan to meet at KLCC before making their way to Dataran Merdeka, where the Bersih sit-in will take place, and have urged Kuantan folk to join the events in Kuala Lumpur.
Supporting them will be the Bukit Merah residents who protested the Asia Rare Earth plant there in the 1980s. Their April 28 sit-in will be held at the former plant site at the Perak town.
http://malaysiakini.com/news/194856
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12th April 2012, 10:52 PM #1
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BERSIH 3.0 Global: Bersih sit-in goes global in 33 cities
py
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25th April 2012, 03:07 PM #2
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Bersih Global is in 71 Cities, 29 Countries
Bersih Global is in 71 Cities, 29 Countries
LETTERS/SURAT
http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolu...s-29-countries
Wednesday, 25 April 2012 Super Admin
3 Days Countdown to 428 Bersih 3 RallyBersih 3.0 Links to All Global Locations
Public Event · By Global Bersih 3.0
- Saturday, April 28, 2012
- 2:00pm until 4:00pm
Dataran Merdeka and other cities in Malaysia. Time on the event page is Malaysian time.
py
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30th April 2012, 06:12 PM #3
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py
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3rd May 2012, 08:16 PM #4
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BERSIH 3.0 London: High Commission Lowers Flag In Shame
High Commission Lowers Flag In Shame 33Share
Mariam Mokhtar
Sunday, 29 April 2012 15:57http://www.malaysianmirror.com/media...-flag-in-shame
Food always works with Malaysians. Tell them makan is available, and they will turn up at your event. Anything else and the chances are that they will give it a miss. So, if Malaysians are prepared to brave the elements, to stand opposite an empty building before walking 2.4 km in driving rain and cold, then what they have come for must be very important indeed.
This is what happened in London when around 1,000 Malaysians gathered in front of the Malaysian High Commission yesterday.
Normally, Malaysians looking for the High Commissionin Belgrave Square need only look out for the Malaysian flag flying proudly outside the building. Yesterday, the Bersih protestors were stunned to find that the flag had been removed by the diplomatic staff.
Why?
Did the High Commissioner, Zakaria Sulong, act on his own initiative and order the flag to be lowered to spare his boss, the blushes? Did he receive a directive from the Foreign Minister Anifah Aman or from the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak?
It is clear that the Malaysian government and its foreign service do not want Malaysia to be associated with protests calling for free and fair elections. The Syrian Embassy is 50 metres away and has been beset by weekly protests because of the violence in Syria. Few will have associated Malaysia with dissent.
The impact of a tide of yellow outside the High Commission with placards bearing the words "Shame on you Najib" and "Stop Money politics" will generate ample bad publicity. The sting is worse for Najib, who places so much importance on image, when the Malaysian flag is flying in the background.
Perhaps, that is why the Malaysian flag was not on show at the Malaysian High Commission in London.
If Najib was shocked by last year’s Bersih 2.0 demonstration in London, he will not be happy about this year’s gathering.
When the UK riots last August resulted in the assault of a Malaysian student, Najib did not hesitate in drawing parallels between the two demonstrations, to justify the use of violence by his police force. He brushed aside criticisms that one was predominantly a social issue whilst the other was a demand to end electoral fraud.
He said, "The riots which have broken out in the UK are very serious and were absolutely not anticipated by the authorities there. Therefore, what the government decided in relation to Bersih 2.0's plan to march was to avoid any incident that could lead to a riot like the burning of shops or attacks on individuals".
He was condemned by Bersih for making unsuitable comparisons between the two types of protests – one peaceful and planned, the other was opportunistic and spontaneous - whilst the Home minister Hishammuddin Hussein and the Deputy IGP Khalid Abu Bakar were advised by DAP’s Teresa Kok to learn from the UK government about policing.
The British police whom protestors spoke to at yesterday’s Bersih 3.0 rally, were courteous, informative and helpful. One said, "The Malaysians are well behaved and easy to police."
The Malaysians had followed the strict guidelines stipulated by the Metropolitan police when making their way from the High Commission to the Houses of Parliament where they handed a memorandum to UK MPs on various Malaysian issues.
If there was any criticism, it was that one policeman’s boots were not as waterproof as he thought they should be and his cap was soaking wet.
The Malaysian government has been so rattled by the enthusiasm shown by overseas Malaysians for Bersih 3.0, that prior to the planned global protest, letters and verbal threats, were sent to Malaysian students in both America and England, threatening reprisals and punishments.
Sarawak Report has published various copies of exchanges from the Malaysian’s Education Department in Washington to Malaysian students receiving government aid.
Despite the bullying, several students were present at the London protest. Some wore masks, whilst others felt that it was time they made a stand.
Many Malaysians had the courage to want their names and professions to be published. When interviewed, they said that Bersih 3.0 had been a success.
One student who was happy to give his name said, "The crowd was ecstatic and everyone was inspired by the event. There were students from Oxford, Cambridge and Leicester just for the Bersih rally. Some of them rarely come down to London.
"This is of course very inspiring and shows that the students are not as scared as we thought they were. In fact, I also heard there were a group of students who had an anti-JPA (Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam or Public Service Department) placard as well!"
If the PM has not got the message about the objectives of Bersih 3.0, then he is more dense than we all believed him to be. Could Najib and his Cabinet have missed the 250,000 Bersih supporters in Kuala Lumpur and thousands more nationwide?
As reports filter in from the countries across the globe, Najib can only hang his head in shame. Bersih 3.0 has probably rung the death knell for Umno.
Najib, his Cabinet and the Election Commission (EC) cannot be like the ostrich which buries its head in the sand and hope that the problem will go away. It won’t. However, these people can still redeem themselves. Accede to the demands of Bersih 3.0 and give the rakyat what it wants: Free and fair elections.
A PhD postgraduate student at King’s College, London said, "The tides of change have come, and Malaysia’s civil society is speaking loudly and clearly. Thank you everyone for your passion and perseverance".
His colleague had a more poignant message: "Before 2007 we could not keep up with the regime, but now the regime cannot keep up with us!"
MARIAM MOKHTAR
(The views expressed above belongs to the author in its entirety and does not represent the opinion of Malaysian Mirror in any waypy
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10th May 2012, 01:20 AM #5
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BERSIH 3.0 Global: Houston rally-goer awed at M'sians who didn't play safe
Houston rally-goer awed at M'sians who didn't play safe
Darren Ong
2:08PM May 2, 2012, Malaysiakini
One of my duties as a postgraduate student here in Houston, Texas is to lead tutoring sessions for undergraduates.
Last Sunday was the session before exam week so I had a busier session than usual, filled with panicked first and second-year students.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover a Malaysian student in my session - her accent gave her away.
We chatted a little bit about things at home, and since it was the week before the Bersih rally, I asked her if she was going to the gathering in Houston. She shrugged apologetically. "Would love to go, but cannot la. I'm a JPA scholar, so..." I nodded my head sympathetically.
The government would threaten her scholarship if she exhibited "deviant behaviour". She would make the safe choice and stay home.
And who could blame her for that? That was a lot of money to put at risk. I let the matter drop, and we resumed our discussion of Stokes' Theorem.
Malaysians love safe choices. Perhaps that's why we have kept the same government in power for the past 55 years.
Mom and dad sure as hell weren't going to the sit-in in KL. Sis reminded me that if she got arrested, she might get kicked out of pharmacy school.
Plus I have exams on Monday. Cannot go la. Must make the safe choice. All throughout the week, I spent reading news reports from home, listening to Hishammuddin, DBKL, the police, various other politicians telling Malaysians the same thing. Don't make waves.
Don't cause trouble. Maintain the peace. Make the safe choice.
Saturday morning arrived. Saturday evening in Malaysia, so the main protest was over.
I woke up early, and took in the news. Marveled at the number of people who turned up in downtown KL. Horrified by the outbreaks of violence. Inspired by the courage of the thousands upon thousands of Malaysians who refused to make the safe choice.
The rally in Houston was in a park, just a short bike ride away from my apartment. There were about a hundred people present, Malaysians working or studying in Houston.
I was responsible for making a video account of the event, so I had my video camera, tripod, and microphone ready and spent most of the two hours there interviewing rally-goers and hearing their stories. I found myself at awe at the lengths that some of them took to get here.
Drove three hours from Austin. Drove two-and-a-half hours from Lake Charles. Drove four hours from Dallas. Drove four-and-a-half hours from Fort Worth.
They were from all corners of Malaysia. A lot of Penangites and KL folk. Young family from Kelantan, with an adorable baby boy.
Ended up exchanging phone numbers with Zaibidi, an IT guy from Johor. Older family, with three teenage children all in tudung, from Terengganu.
We sang 'Negaraku', listened to some speeches, signed a petition. I was struck by the passion and the conviction of the folks at our little rally.
There was some anger and frustration about the problems in Malaysia, and a fair bit of complaining about the corruption and injustice back home. But I felt that the overwhelming sentiments in our gathering were love and hope.
Love for the country we came from, and for the friends and family we've left behind. Hope that we can make it to be a better place, if not for ourselves then for our children and children's' children.
Making Malaysia a better place will require Malaysians to take risks, for the sake of their country and for the sake of their countrymen.
The marchers in KL made those unsafe choices, and Malaysia is better for it. As for me, in faraway Houston, I did not make any hard choices today.
But I hope that when the time comes for me to choose between self-preservation and sacrifice, I will have the strength to spurn the safe choice, and show the same mettle as those thousands in KL did today.py
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11th October 2019, 09:38 AM #6
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Nice Post!
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