e-lifesl: Bersih 3.0 - I was there

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Bersih 3.0 - I was there

Organisers believed that as many as 250,000 participated in this historical event. Despite the mainstream media play-down with only a 30 seconds coverage, I'm sure all of you have seen and read enough through alternative media and social platforms.

Much had been said about why and how and who should be responsible for the chaos, unnecessary pains, injuries (some quite serious ones) ..

I was thinking all day, replaying in my mind all that I saw when I was there, trying to remember how I felt when I was with the crowd as opposed to all that have been said and reported about why and how sadly it ended.

My conclusion:

It was just like a school sports day celebration where we didn't mind the scorching sun, we sat on the dirty floor singing and cheering merrily. Just like school, there will be some troublemakers, but we don't punish the everyione when only a handful misbehaved!

My friends and I were lucky that we retreated as told by one of the Bersih crews minutes before the gas attack went 'violent'. "Please disperse, Ambiga had already declared to bersurai, we have achieved our objectives of Duduk Bantah, please disperse"..he said repeatedly.

It was around 3pm, we were near the Masjid Jamek LRT station hoping to go nearer to Dataran Merdeka when we saw and heard the attacks from far. We felt the sting a little as we were walking away.

Regardless of what "some groups" did..there were other hundreds of thousands innocent citizens, young and old, on the streets. Those trapped in the LRT station waiting to board the trains that refused to stop. Those sitting on the floor happily chatting and cheering away...

It was outright brutal. No excuses.

Did they even think about the safety of the hundreds thousands of civilians?

There are different speculations floating in the air currently...some said that it was the ruling party that sent this group to create trouble.. on the other hand some believe that the oppositions are making use of Bersih and our support to Bersih as a vehicle to gain momentum.

It's beyond us to go into the details. We will never know what's the truth out there but as a normal citizen with a brain, it sums up to a few key indicators that are more than sufficient to help me decide whom I do not trust more:

It doesn't matter who signalled / instructed 'that group' to breach the police barricade. It doesn't matter about agent provocateurs there and who they are.

Think: Who does the police force take orders from? Who ordered the LRT not to stop? Who had the power to order the closure of the LRT station gate?

Need I say more?

Here are some other happy moments captured before the chaos..how we wished that that it ended just the way it started.

It was scorching hot but nobody seems to mind. Everyone was in joyous mood.

Wow.... did it occur to you that we don't see this sight very often these days, when was the last time you see Malaysian roads filled with true Malaysians, and not foreign Indonesians, Bangladesh, Mynmarist, Nepalist workers?

Only on this day, kiasu Malaysians, left behind their air conditioned cars, office, house, shopping malls to come out here and WALK the Malaysian road in the hot sun. Bravo!