BERSIH 2.0 - Winners and Losers

So it is settled, after weeks of harassment and thuggish behaviour by the government, the people for free and fair elections will gather in a stadium on July 9.

This episode has once again demonstrated how fractious and divided Malaysia is with enlightened and liberal Malaysia on one side and almost facist powers on the other.

Some individuals emerge from this episode with reputations intact, others with image destroyed forever. The Malaysian Insider gives our take on the winners and losers.

Winners

• The organisers of Bersih: let’s be honest, until a few weeks ago this was a movement at the periphery of most Malaysians. Okay, so some 100,000 people would have marched on the streets on KL. But thanks to the government's blanket arrests, use of draconian laws and decision to behave like a repressive regime, Bersih became a buzzword. Much to the government’s chagrin, everyone has forgotten about Datuk T, all the wonderful projects under the ETP. Today, people remember Bersih as the people fighting for clean and fair elections, and the Barisan Nasional (BN) government as the people frightened of free and fair elections.

• Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan: She was called names by the prime minister and threatened with having her citizenship revoked by the Malacca chief minister and was under severe pressure from the police and security agencies. But the former Bar Council president did not lose her cool or become rabid like her detractors. She stayed the course and was always civil. Maybe our politicians should take a leaf out of her book.

• The Yang di-Pertuan Agong: his measured last-minute intervention gave the government and Bersih face-saving escape routes from confrontation. This is what Malaysians expect of the monarchy: for them to be honest brokers, not mouthpieces for the ruling party. In all likelihood he was asked by the government to issue the statement on Sunday but it does appear that he was unwilling to demonise Bersih.

• Malaysian public: in the wake of all this talk of riots and tension, the man in the street was unmoved and unconvinced by the fairytale stories of communist plots and Christian funding — a sure sign that the governed are more mature than the government.

Losers

• Datuk Seri Najib Razak: he has now agreed to meet Bersih leaders to discuss the venue for their rally. One has to ask why as the PM he did not engage the activists but instead he allowed them to be demonised by his Umno party. The mishandling of the issue also allowed Malaysia’s image to be tarnished and undid a lot of good work done by good men in the administration. He allowed the hardliners in government and his party to call the shots when he should have been leading from the front.

• Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein: where does one start with this major disappointment of a minister? He left many stumped by his illogical statements and his John Le Carre scenarios. He has ambitions of becoming the country’s prime minister. After this performance it is arguable whether he is the best person for the home ministry portfolio.

• Datuk Ibrahim Ali: he has been at the forefront of the attacks against Ambiga and Bersih. And he has also tried to turn the issue into one of race, to protect Malay rights. But it became abundantly clear that Bersih 2.0 had the support of many Malaysians from different races. It was not about race after all but the issue of free and fair elections.

• The PDRM: the police have made a mockery of the law by arresting people for wearing T-shirts. While it is arguable whether preventive action and detention should still be allowed, arresting people for wearing T-shirts was a ridiculous act. Continuing to detain people under the Emergency Ordinance over the rally is also a classic case of abusing the law. In the end the police should remember that if a permit was granted the rally would not have been illegal. The police must not act as if the country is under siege from its own citizens.

[Source: The MI]

There are two things Najib could have done to make himself look good and come out a winner.

1. He could have allowed the BERSIH 2.0 to proceed as scheduled with police assigned to ensure the participants follow the route. This is done in Hong Kong where the police even went to the extent of providing medical help for the ageds and children.

2. Agree to the eight demands and ensure they are implemented. If he wins in the coming GE, fairly and squarely, then truly he can claim to have receive the mandate of the people. It will make him look good both domestically and internationally and all critics will be silenced until the next GE.

But then again, had he gone ahead to implement either one of the above, it would have been suicidal for him, especially with that bloke Ibrahim Ali, waiting to spring on him. UMNO certainly has created a 'frankenstein' out of this Ibrahim Ali guy and they are finding it hard to contain him. Up to this point, he is still at it, in his most uncouth manner, this time questioning the wisdom of the King for granting an audience with Ambiga Sreenevasan.

Latest: Ambiga had an audience with the Agong

Following a meeting with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong this afteroon, Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan said the coalition had agreed to hold the rally in a stadium.

Met by reporters after the meeting with Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin at the Istana Negara, Ambiga said the coalition for free and fair elections "will cooperate with the government and accept their offer to have the event at a stadium".

"Therefore, the rally on the street will not take place," she said when met outside the gates of the national palace.

They do not know which stadium the event will beheld in, but it will be announced at a later date, said the former Bar Council president.

"We are very grateful for the meeting (with the Agong) and will accept the government offer," she added.

Asked whether the decision reflected a compromise on the part of Bersih, Ambiga said it was given the circumstances.

Ambiga, Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Zaid Kamaruddin and national laurate A Samad Said (right, in baju Melayu) had arrived at the Istana Negara gates about 1.55pm.

The trio had earlier refused comment when approached.

Yesterday, Bersih 2.0 submitted a formal request for an audience during which they intend to explain the movement's position and seek the Agong's advice on the rally.

Bersih 2.0 had requested for the audience because the Agong had issued a special statement on Sunday night.

The Agong had said that, while it is incumbent on the government to fulfill its responsibilities in a "just and wise manner", street demonstrations would bring more harm than good, even if the original intention is good.

Can you believe this?

Senior Customs officer Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed fell 10m to his death while trying to leave the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) building in Jalan Cochrane through its third floor window on April 6, a forensic investigator told the coroner’s court today.

DSP Sharul Othman Mansor, of the Bukit

Aman forensic division and the second person to take to the witness stand on Day 1 of Sarbaini’s inquest, had earlier described finding fingerprints and a palm print on a window left ajar on the MACC’s third level pantry.

The police officer added there was a distance of 10m from the third floor pantry to a badminton court on the first floor adjacent to the MACC building, where Sarbaini’s body was found in a pool of blood.

The police officer’s testimony prompted federal counsel assisting the coroner, Hanim Mohd Rashid, to ask for his expert opinion on the incident: “Based on the position of the body, how do you think he (Sarbaini) fell?”

“Based on the position of the body, I believe he (Sarbaini) fell from the window in the pantry on the third floor; possibly he left the room through the window,” Sharul replied.

Questioned further, he elaborated that Sarbaini “tried to jump to the roo

f nearby but couldn’t (make it) and fell onto the court.”

Sharul said the forensic team had measured the span between the third floor pantry window and the roof of the badminton court and found it to be about 11 feet and nine inches (3.5m).

“It (the roof) looks close when seen while standing in the room but it’s actually when we measured, it’s about 11 feet and nine inches,” he told the inquest.

Sharul said the forensic team had discovered a bone fragment in the tiled floor grouting on the badminton court, when canvassing the area.

The coroner’s court was earlier told that Sarbaini was discovered lying on his front with his right leg bent at the knee over the left on the court.

Close-up shots of the body as projected onto a white screen in court showed the leg bone protruding.

Sharul also told the inquest his team had discovered several friction marks and shoe prints on

the walls both inside the third floor pantry and the surrounding rooms as well as outside the pantry.

The police had also reconstructed the incident on April 13 with the help of the fire brigade, Hospital UKM (HUKM) and a stunt actor, Hasri Razif Ramley, from a company called Pentas Wayang.

The inquest will resume tomorrow with a site visit to the MACC office in Jalan Cochrane at 10.00 am.

[Source: The MI]

I am sure the late En Sarbaini knows the difference between a door and a window. I believe this was his first visit to an MACC office and it would have been excusable if he had mistaken a toilet door, pantry door or closet door for an 'Exit' door, but a window?? The other question is, why would En Sarbaini leave the office via a window and not a door?? Am I the only one feeling stupid or what?

Hail, the new Prime Minister of Thailand

This is Yingluck Shinawatra, the new Prime Minister of Thailand. The 44-year-old, whose Pheu Thai Party already has won a majority of 265 seats in the 500-seat lower house of parliament under preliminary results of Sunday's polling, announced an agreement that would boost her coalition to 299 seats.

Quotable quote: 'I don't like to say that Pheu Thai has won, but I'd rather say the people have given the Pheu Thai party and me a chance to serve them." Will BN say this or will they say 'to serve themselves'?

BERSIH 2.0 - Imagine

One of the most prolific songs ever created by one of the worlds great musicains / peace activists .This song has stood the test of time and is an anthem for peace

THE KARAOKE VERSION

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One more 'YELLOW' song

Truly, UMNO-BN has been checkmated by people's power

Never have we witnessed UMNO/BN in such paranoia until Bersih 2.0 got going. And the most painful lesson, amongst several others that Bersih 2.0 has forcefully taught UMNO/BN is that the rising middle class citizens of Malaysia are more politically mature and better informed than what the politicians within the corridors of power always thought.

In the very first place, UMNO/BN should never have underestimated not only the citizens but also a whole spectrum of people-representation forces that make up this 21st century social fabric.

To begin with, NGOs today do not operate in isolation. They are riding on the networked society, traversing the world through the 21^st century’s technological breakthrough. They are akin to swamps that descend on any issues anywhere in the world in a show of solidarity marshalling global opinions of fame and doom.

Even if local governments try to outlaw any NGO, the damage that these new age NGOs can inflict on errant leaderships can be easily understood from the developments in the world today and in these past two decades.

The other truth is, in any nation that proclaims to rule with democracy, the mantra of ‘divide the citizenry while battering your opponents’ – is long gone with the advent of the 21^st century’s global call for the benchmarked true democracy and civil liberties.

New ground rules

In this age and times, the ground rules for power and control are fast changing. To remain in power one must demonstrate leadership, not control. And that calls for acknowledging your democratic opponents as collaborators and not attempting to annihilate them. The industrial revolution styled leadership and power brokering has seen sunset.

Citizens today, particularly the rising global middle class who are the real economic powerhouses of the future are championing that their demands are met through the channels of NGOs and political parties that propagate democracy as understood in this new age technologically driven society.

NGOs have quickly reinvented themselves to serve the changing framework of society that has been liberated with communication technology.

And political parties are building collaborative bridges with people-centric organizations with proclamations to meet civil society demands.

Likewise, professional groups and associations as well as religious bodies are quickly aligning themselves with the tides of change that is set to sweep the globe where values, beliefs and cultural frameworks are being revolutionized by the networked society.

UMNO/BN has in essence handled the Bersih 2.0 saga not only badly and to its own disadvantage but very obviously has re-affirmed the public’s suspicion that it may have outlived its very purpose.

Even if its leaders have made clarion calls to re-invent or even ‘transform’ the party, the barrage of actions and in-actions from UMNO/BN quarters have only proven that the UMNO political party and its BN coalition may face a steep uphill challenge and even risk going off the cliff.

Blinkered

Bersih 2.0 has very clearly – although much to the embarrassment of the UMNO/BN party wigs and even its followers, demonstrated that emotional outbursts, knee jerk orders and accompanied threats to bolster the politicians’ show of power and control does not work in today’s world where there is a resurgence of people participation in leadership and national destinies.

For as long as UMNO/BN remains adamant and deeply rooted in its old age politics, its demise will be inevitable. The very fact that Malaysia’s sovereign ruler His Majesty the Agung had to intervene is already a setback for UMNO/BN’s leadership.

It is also an irreversible signal that in today’s growing transparent and accountable, global, political environment, the independence and separation of powers are the very safety nets for political survival in a networked society. Hence as long as UMNO/BN continues marshalling the various gentries and agentries – namely the media, the law enforcers and unthinking street rowdies, to force swing the pendulum of public opinion, the survival of that political party/parties is timed-out.

A scan across the global media clearly hints how the failures, glitches and sheer lack of integrity and leadership within UMNO/BN have been showcased to the world community.

Hopefully, if UMNO/BN desires to either be the ruling political party or even end up being in an effective opposition position, it must wake up from its blinkered views about the rising tides of the middle class population in the networked society wher the flow of space and time flows are dramatically being challenged.

The latest from Nasi Lemak 2020

This is one video too good to miss using Stephen Chow's "Shaolin Soccer" to spread the good news.