I received a message
warning all Chinese and Indians to stay away from Bukit Bintang and Petaling
Street areas this coming 16th
Sept, in case there breaks out a racial
riot. Apparently there are people
huddled in emergency meetings all over Malaysia planning for a ‘blood-bath’ on
that day. There was a reference to some blog-site calling for a Himpunan Rakyat
Bersatu. Accompanying it was a rather provocative picture of a masked figure in black wielding a sword superimposed
on the Malaysian flag with the words Himpunan Maruah Melayu, Tanah TumpahNya
DarahKu. This comes hot on the heels of
a Red Shirt rally which last I heard is planned to go ahead on Oct 10. I am
bemused; what is this Malaysian
obsession with the colors red and yellow?
In response I questioned whether
the allegations of a conspiracy
(that, by the way, is another hot
favourite with Malaysians) are true and
if so, whether the police had been made aware of such a dangerous situation. I had half-a-mind to go make a police report,
like some folks seem ever so eager to
do. But I confess I was just too plain lazy, so I did the next best thing in my
circumstances – I promptly forwarded the pictures to my
journalist-daughter. Trust the good old press (especially online media)
to dig up stuff. Which worked.
So now everyone (at least those connected to social media) should know there is this huge rally that’s
going to descend onto the streets of KL
– again. Looks like we are keeping our
police force very busy these days, doing
their job to maintain peace and order, rally after rally.
Truth is, after all the ra-ra-ra of Bersih 4, I can’t shake
off the sadness in my heart. Many good
and true things have been said about that
rally. Many are still extolling its ‘success’, noble aims, unity of spirit,
demonstration of people power, the voice of moderation, etc etc. All of which may be absolutely correct. I was one of those tens of or hundreds of
thousands who were just sitting around on Jalan Tun Perak that hot Saturday
afternoon. But I didn’t wear yellow,
unlike the previous rallies I attended.
I chose not to actually, not because I feared anything (heck, what’s
there to fear when I have had to run from riot police, climbed walls and been
tear-gassed before?) Put it down to a personal conviction that I
don’t want to be associated with calls to overthrow a legitimate ruling
government, no matter how rotten, obnoxious or downright bad it is. I have no quarrel, no doubts whatsoever about
the rightness of the cause for justice,
free and fair elections, transparent responsible government, etc etc.
But there are certain lines I will not cross when it comes to the ways that
man use to force change. The cause may be right, the methods may be all
wrong. Just like someone once said the road to hell is paved with all sorts of
good intentions.
Amidst all the noise of the mammoth crowd on the road that
morning, I was overwhelmed not with joy or pride, but strangely with sadness. I saw a handful of young Malays sitting by
themselves at my first pit-stop near Pasar Seni. I asked how many were in their group. The
youngster replied, 3 buses from Shah Alam. I gave them a thumbs-up. Further
down near Menara Maybank I spied another small group of Malays. Like the first
group, they looked so out of place and dejected; I joined them.
I remember the first
Bersih rally I attended; there were so
many Malays mingling around, even in the
so-called “Chinese” areas around Petaling
Street – the pak-cik and his entire family – wife and children all – from
Kelantan sitting on the curb. Tudung-clad women huddling together, giggling and
jabbering away in dialect. The Malays were the noisiest of the lot then,
blasting horns, dancing around in masks. They were the ones passing this old aunty the
salt and the water when the gas hit, they were the ones hauling me up the steep slope as we ran together, away from the cannons and the trucks.
No, I don’t subscribe to the rather simplistic view that
Bersih 4 is a “Chinese” rally, just because there were so few Malays. Causes like no corruption, good governance,
eradication of poverty, proper financial management transcend race and
politics. But let’s not brush off the
obvious lack of Malay participation as inconsequential or irrelevant. My Malay brethren are the majority in this
nation. If only 20% are out there,
marching beside my Chinese, Indian and Orang Asal brethren, how can I claim
inclusiveness? No, it’s not a numbers game, but numbers do make up a full
story. The story of a Malaysia for Malaysians will never be complete without
the Malays.
That’s why I was feeling so sad as I listened to the uncle from Penang telling me
how he had got together one car-load of friends to make the over-night trip.
They slept on the streets, because they didn’t want to spend on hotel and
didn’t want to inconvenience friends. That was when I felt the prick of tears
in my eyes. Whatever the reason so few
Malays turned up for Bersih 4 doesn’t
really matter. I miss them and it just hurts me that they – the majority
Malaysians - were ‘not there’ this time. I shook their hands and told them
to please go over to Sogo, since the Malay crowd was apparently bigger over
that side. I hoped that would lift up their spirits a little, being with
their kind. Because whether we like it or not, we are communal creatures; we feel more comfortable and at ease
surrounded by our own. It’s not
about being racist; it’s simply a fact that should be acknowledged without
shame. Birds of a feather do flock
together.
When the dust has settled, in the aftermath of things, are memories of a ‘great’ rally all that’s left of Bersih 4? Now a counter-rally is being planned. And definitely this one makes no qualms about being opened to a particular race. So we are back to square one - there’s the ugly race card being flashed again – it’s like playing a game of tit-for-tat – let’s see who can boast the biggest crowds, the most colorful parade. And meanwhile messages of fear are being circulated. Fear of this, fear of that. What kind of madness have we descended to, that we live in fear of each other? What will it take for us to recognize and accept one another with all our racial quirks and idiosyncrasies as simply valuable human beings in the eyes of our Creator and of ourselves?
Published MMO 8/9/15
It’s a sad day for Malaysia when we come to such a stage
that we fear the possibility of our
fellow citizens murdering us on the open streets of our cities. I, for one,
refuse to be burdened with this
kind of negativity; such messages only
add fuel to fire. Let’s not live in fear
of, but in love for, one another.
May God bless Malaysia and Malaysians with the perfect love
that drives out all fear.
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