Mellow Yellow

There's a storm gathering in Malaysia, and I'm not talking about monsoon season. The clouds of civil rights violations, election fraud, self-serving political interests and frustrated citizens yearning to be heard are piling up on the horizon. Although it will be several days yet until the storm grows to its full proportions, early indications suggest that it's going to be a doozy.

Environmental Graffiti

Let me share a little background.

Back in 2007, several Malaysian political groups banded together to demand election reforms. Although one might assume that any clear-headed citizen would favor electoral integrity, the issue quickly polarized the population. Here's why: since Malaysia gained its independence in 1957, the ruling Barison Nasional party has held power through what many believe to be a corrupt and irregular electoral system. In an effort to level the playing field, a group of non-governmental organizations formed a coalition known as Bersih to call for free and fair elections.

Bersih means clean. What a great name.

To my American sensibilities, the demands of Bersih seem basic. The group calls for simple electoral practices like using indelible ink to mark ballots, granting all candidates equal access to the media, insuring a 21-day minimum campaign period, and cleaning up voter registration rolls. The only thing that shocks me is that these democratic essentials are not already in place.

Both in 2007 and again last summer, in 2011, Bersih has drawn attention to its cause by staging rallies. Again, I find this a perfectly normal and commonplace response. Here in the United States, we are quite accustomed to peaceful assemblies for a variety of causes.

Bersih 3.0 [Official] on Facebook

But things are different in Malaysia. In both cases but especially Bersih 2.0, the BN-led government has claimed that the gatherings were a dangerous threat to public safety. They attempted to prevent the rallies from taking place, and failing that, used a variety of heavy-handed measures, such as roadblocks, barricades, water cannons and tear gas to break up the large but well-behaved crowds. They even made it illegal to wear the iconic t-shirts bearing the logo and signature color of Bersih - bright bold yellow. The protesters' peaceful and passive resistance was met with seemingly unwarranted aggression and many were arrested before, during and after the rallies.

"Hey, are you sure there is no roadblock? I don't want my plane to be seized..." "It's ok, our king is supporting us.." The joke here, as I understand it, is that the king has been woefully unsupportive of the Bersih movement, taking more of a go-along-to-get-along partnership with the BN leaders. Bersih 3.0 [Official] on Facebook

Technology has played an interesting role in this story. Bersih has skillfully used social media to make its case, spread the word and share information as events unfold. Not only have major news outlets, such as Al-Jazeera and CNN, filmed the events as they have happened, but the protesters themselves, armed with cell phones and internet access, have tweeted about their experiences in real time. Their countless uploaded photos and videos show the unnecessary force and inhumane tactics used by the police.

As the rest of the world looked on, some powerful voices spoke out:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights voiced concern about the restriction of freedom of expression in Malaysia and urged the government to release detained Bersih activists.


The United States expressed concern over the crackdown. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said "We stand for... the right for people to freely express their democratic aspirations and express their views freely."

Amnesty International released a statement saying: "This brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters is undermining Malaysia’s claim to be a moderate democracy. Mr. Najib’s government has chosen the path of repression, not reform."

{Source: Wikipedia page for Bersih 2.0 rally; see linked page for footnotes sourcing these quotes.}

Obviously Photoshopped but still funny.  Bersih 3.0 [Official] on Facebook

Interesting. Troubling. Hard to imagine why the BN and its member organizations, including the UNMO, are so afraid of election reform. Wait. No, it's not. 

Okay, that's the background. So what's all this talk about the gathering storm?

Bersih 3.0 is on. Scheduled for Saturday, April 28, a third rally has been planned to draw attention to the same, still-unmet election reforms. And already, the mayhem has begun.

Bersih 3.0 [Official] on Facebook

Last night, a group of students protesting some issue regarding student loans were peacefully sleeping in their tents at a place called Dataran Merdeka, in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. Around 2:30 a.m., a group of 60 so-called thugs, dressed in black, attacked this camp. They assaulted the students, demolished their tents and damaged their cameras. Reports say that police in the area did not intervene. 


When informed of this situation, a government official responded by tweeting, "No one told them to camp out at Dataran. So when these things happen, don't cry for pity."


Read more about this incident here, here and here.

Dataran Merdeka

What's interesting to me, besides the government's apparent willingness to use blunt force to break up even the most peaceful protest event, is that Dataran Merdeka is also the site of next week's Bersih 3.0 rally.


That coincidence seems to put quite a sharp point on the government's unspoken message, doesn't it?


The whole world will be waiting and watching to see how events unfold over the next week. My hope is that the storm clouds of violence and repression will blow through and on April 28, the Malaysian sun will shine as bright and yellow as a Bersih t-shirt. 

Bersih 2.0 rally