We were just fellow-Malaysians...........

We were just fellow-Malaysians


And united, as fellow-Malaysians, we took to the streets in one voice to oppose what we consider a corrupt government. And we took to the streets not to do violence. We took to the streets as a demonstration of peace. That’s what we gained yesterday.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I got up early today. I wanted to get a head start and write something before I hit the road. That’s because at noon today, GMT, I will be at Julian Assange’s house to celebrate his 40th birthday and his home is a more than four-hour drive from Manchester. I will probably have to sleep in London and come home tomorrow.

But before I started writing I thought I would first have a look at the video below and I starting crying (old men of 61 like me get very emotional when we are nearer to our graves).

The government says that BERSIH was a failure. Some commentaries even said it is a lose-lose situation. No one won yesterday, they said.

I don’t know what they mean by win and lose. How do you translate win and lose? I suppose each person has his or her own way of looking at things. That would be their interpretation, of course.

I don’t know what we are supposed to have lost. But what we did win was that Malaysians all over the world, in particular in Malaysia, came together as one. That is what we won.

Yesterday, we were not rich men or poor. We were not Malays or non-Malays. We were not Muslims or non-Muslims. We were just fellow-Malaysians.

And united, as fellow-Malaysians, we took to the streets in one voice to oppose what we consider a corrupt government. And we took to the streets not to do violence. We took to the streets as a demonstration of peace.

That’s what we gained yesterday. All the rabble rousing and the enemies of Islam and enemies of Malays propaganda and rhetoric failed. Malaysians did not buy these lies and spins of the government. And yesterday was proof of that.

I don’t know in what way we failed yesterday. Was it because we did not get a crowd of 300,000? Was it because one man died and more than 1,000 were arrested? Was it because many got beaten up and injured? Was it because we failed to present the 8-point memorandum to His Majesty the Agong? Was it because even if we did get to present the 8-point memorandum to His Majesty there would be no electoral reforms anyway?

I don’t know what our failure is supposed to have been. But amongst all those so-called failures we met with one major success that overrides all those failures -- in the event you still see yesterday as a failure. And that major success is there were no Malays, Chinese, Indians, ‘lain-lain’, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics or whatever on the streets yesterday. For those couple of hours we were all fellow-Malaysians.

That was what we succeeded in doing yesterday. And that is worth all the tea in China.

Comments (29)...

written by lakian, July 10, 2011 16:49:45

so bersih 3.0 should we change the name to "bersih-1malaysia"instead of yellow t we change to sort like national flag alike the imalaysia logo.i suggest we start every month on the last week saturday. ..

written by SoundMan, July 10, 2011 16:45:48

Like it ought to have been and was in the misty past of our nation, we were one people Saturday 9th July 2011.

Witnessed it, felt it and behaved it yesterday at BERSIH 2.0 -nationwide !

written by Voter get Voters 1, July 10, 2011 16:36:17

BERSIH 3.0....if there are no GENUINE reform within 3 to 6 months then lets have BERSIH 3.0. For Bersih 3.0 if it shld happen pls smuggle in thousamnds of yellow ballons...easy to pass thru check points. I shall get a thousand to distribute there n then. bersih 2.0 was a great success and I am sure BERSIH 3.0 shall be even better with thousands of yellow ballons. ...

written by doggone, July 10, 2011 16:20:52

It is autumn for Nacheat. Leaves are falling off his goddamn trunk and winter is fast approaching to freeze his ass and stop his advances for another term. He has rode his last golden mile on the blood, sweat and tears of Malaysians.

written by Rodins Fist, July 10, 2011 16:16:50

I think Najib should get a refund from APCO. Najib screwed up perfectly for us to take advantage of the situation. Well done everyone. ...

written by Chimera, July 10, 2011 16:05:03

Thanks to allllllllll...Malaysians.... ...

written by Chimera, July 10, 2011 16:04:24

Overwhelming moment for all of us... ...

written by justice seeker, July 10, 2011 16:01:14

And united, as fellow-Malaysians, we took to the streets in one voice to oppose what we consider a corrupt government. And we took to the streets not to do violence. We took to the streets as a demonstration of peace. That’s what we gained yesterday.

THE ONLY GAINS THE KOTOR CROOKS GAINED IS TO DENY A MILLION OF US WITH THEIR LOCKDOWN AND CLAMPDOWN AND TALK K*CK NOW.

written by malaysianforever, July 10, 2011 16:00:20

I can't agree with you more, RPK. I waswatching the video of the demonstration in KL and I was moved to tears too. Tears of joy as well as sadness. Sad, because I felt real sorry for how the police treated our fellow Malaysians who were not armed and did not go on a rampage destroying propertes . In fact it is so obvious that it is the police who were destructive.

Happy because I could see among the crowds a broad representative of all races. Usually it is the Malays who are at the for front. No , it was not to be this time. It is the Malays together with Chinese and Indians who march together. Thhis augurs well for the opposition, but definitely bad for BN. ...

written by StraightShooter, July 10, 2011 15:59:36

"We gathered 6,000 members here today in a short amount of time ... they are waiting for a signal, they’re willing to do anything,” Najib told reporters later.

During his speech, Najib thanked everyone who attended the “Majlis Penerangan Perdana” event, saying that the NGOs present, including silat organisations, were waiting to defend the country at a drop of a hat.

“If you mention or question Islam, they will rise up,” he said.

“Don’t (make us) start street demonstrations. Yesterday, we only sent our Umno Youth wing, led by Khairy Jamaluddin, to represent us,” Najib said, amid deafening shouts of support for the Umno Youth chief, who was also present.

All top Umno leaders were present today, including Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan, Wanita chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil, and secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

“You didn’t want Wanita Umno to go to the streets, otherwise we would have done so,” chimed an excited Shahrizat to Najib during a press conference here.

Najib also said the government was serious about improving the current electoral process, citing the introduction of a biometric system as proof. He stressed that his administration practised “true democracy.”

“Umno is not afraid of fair elections,” stressed Najib.

He urged all Umno delegates present to be united, and said that once the party was ready, he would ask the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament.

“We will show that Umno is the best in the world ... Long live Umno! Long live Barisan Nasional! 1 Malaysia!” exclaimed Najib.

Pete, please help articulate why there are too many things wrong with this speech by Najib. I'm too pissed off to make a coherent and foul-word-free attack.

written by JJFoo, July 10, 2011 15:55:35

It was a success, thanks to you RPK. ...

written by JJFoo, July 10, 2011 15:54:36

Risking chemical laced water cannon, tears gas, pepper spray, police baton and arrest under ISA, tens of thousand brave souls from different walk of life are still willing to take the street, that itself speaks volume. Well done Rakyat, well done.

One of the great success in this demonstration was the successful exposure of UMNO/BN government willingness to go for broke, compromise all principles, to intimidate and oppress the Rakyat just to remain in power. The hideous evil face of UMNO/BN has been clearly unveiled by BERSIH 2.0. ...

written by MrHot, July 10, 2011 15:38:15

YES RPK SIIR !!! We DID it !!! And we would like to THANK YOU for bringing US so far !!! I was there with my fellow Malaysians men & women, young & old, Malays & non Malays as ONE !!! Never mind about teargas or the water canon that came our way. Never mind of the heats and rains that came along. Never mind about our aching legs & tired body. But one thing that has made all of us HAPPY & JOY was our 1Aspiration to LOVE this nation no matters what !!!

Thank you BERSIH for making this possible & you too RPK!!!

written by lobster, July 10, 2011 15:36:59

Failure? Fine. We will show them the effect of this so called failure in GE13.

HIDUP, HIDUP,

HIDUP RAKYAT!!

written by Alice, July 10, 2011 15:31:21

We definitely won

written by singhkris, July 10, 2011 15:31:05

These are the faces of the million youths who will defend Putrajaya from Najib. ...

written by datuk tanah, July 10, 2011 15:17:10

Pete,
We achieved greatness. We have proven that we a mature nation of one people. We are Malaysians and we are not to be judged by the colour of our skin, race, religion or creed. We are no longer afraid. I was moved to tears when I saw mature age people, senior citizens and disabled people on clutches and people on wheel chair marching. These people were easy targets for the PDRM anjings. They were not afraid to face arrest nor brutality. Our citizens have mustered great strength and resolve to be part of history. ...

written by malsia1206, July 10, 2011 15:12:20

Bersih in 2007 and Bersih 2.0 were the only 2 occasions whem Malaysians truly get together to rally for a common theme - clean, clear and free elections.

PM Tun Mahathir Wawasan 2020 is a pipe-dream

PM Badawi never even have any theme to promote during his short tenurs.

PM Najib's 1Malaysia is sectoral and a disguise for divisive politics.

Bersih beats them all. And it's not even politically-based. That alone shows the failure of the Barsian ruling Government to unite Malaysians since Merdeka 1957.

So what have they been doing for the past 54 years? Promoting corruption, enriching their own pockets, wastage and abuses of power. ...

written by uxzee, July 10, 2011 15:09:05

And we proved to ourselves that the PDRM, RELA and FRU are not invincible and not smart. That Perkasa and UMNO youth are only a big chatter box - no matter in their head. That the 4 million ' Silat exponent' is the only force that got us ' very worried '. That we still do not read or believe all the MSMs.

We are looking forward to a change and New Malaysia. And the message to Najib and UMNO is, we are very united, we believe in ourselves and we are growing fast.

We are tired of the UMNO/BN government. ...

written by truthbespoken, July 10, 2011 15:08:18

Yes, Bersih1 & 2.0 have succeeded building the first concrete steps up the staircase towards Malaysian unity! The silent majority Malaysians have shown their faces! We are all together moving in the right direction! March on with Bersih's spirit! March on fellow Malaysians! We shall eventually succeed in our noble endeavour for a united and progressive Malaysia through our persistence of action and patience in thoughts! Thank you RPK for inspiring! ...

written by Angela Ooi, July 10, 2011 15:04:04

Yesterday was special n a SPECTACULAR SUCCESS despite the many constant threats of violence n.jail. Many were glued to their computers to follow the TRUTHFUL, latest happenings. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to join my fellow Msians in yesterday's historic Bersih rally. However, I prayed for the success and the safety of my countrymen who were heroes of the day.. (Till date, I have not collected my Bersih tees ordered earlier due to police intimidation n harrassment)

If one has attended such events before, I strongly encourage one to do so. One would surely be swept up within feelings of love, consideration, unity, camaraderie that all men are brother... what a great feeling it is! AND ONE IN WHICH, NO RAKYAT"S $MILLIONS needed to be spent to create that plastic superficial 1MALAYsia! feel. ...

written by Kaneeneh, July 10, 2011 14:54:16

If we used to say Pak Lah was slept through his PM days, Najib is a level above.

He's dreaming - of the good old days when UMNO was King and BN was the chariot.

Unknown to him, the chariot is on fire and his days are running down. ...

written by miya, July 10, 2011 14:47:49

i love u rpk. thanks for showing us the way ...

written by arazak, July 10, 2011 14:45:33

Jibby's 1Malaysia was all rhetoric with no substance. Bersih on the other hand, unites Malaysian of all ages, race, skin colour and religious faith! What Jibby had failed, this so called "illegal" entity as what was claimed by the regime, succeeded!

So, who won. . ., the people or the regime? ...

written by NSTPravda, July 10, 2011 14:42:21

Read lah my Oafs 1My Qur'4n swearing pink pouting lips:

What did we achieve yesterday? You really wanna know ??!!

1. You bersih yang kotor punya renegades, let 1moi tell you. You really pissed of FLOM by stealing her copyrighted personalised yellow thereby ruining her carefully color coordinated yellow dresses that went her birkin bag. Thank goodness she is such a forgiving person and these are cheap, only Rm1.5 million ringgit. Luckily my good pendatang friend (1st class) Vincent is willing to donate a few dozen more.

2. The FRU has expended about USD5 million worth of tear gas that we need to replenish. Luckily, I feel generous not to raise my commission on the replenishment. Please do not hold Bersih 3 until the new order arrive, that should save me some commission paper work.

3. that fact that Renegade said that it is ".. worth all the tea in China" shows how bodoh he is and his followers. You have no sense of values. Commission USD and Euro are worth more. I will not even talk about the troubles I had with mongolians, and who needs Cina pendatangs!

Bersih is kotor, PIG is halal, I am handsome, Ro$mak is more than above average....

Rasuah sayayng eh! ...

written by Vivarium, July 10, 2011 14:40:29

Yes, that is exactly 1Malaysia spirit, and it begins to work against Najib and UMNO now. ...

written by claude, July 10, 2011 14:38:21

Let us not forget Baharuddin Ahmad, who died fighting for free and fair elections on 9/7/11. Let his death not be in vain.

written by Revolution, July 10, 2011 14:28:48

Thanks to show the way , Uncle Pete . ...

written by antares, July 10, 2011 14:26:38

"Rakyat di dahulukan; Pencapaian di utamakan". That slogan has no relevance now and it is best that it be changed to "Rakyat diperbodohkan; Kuasa memerintah dikekalkan". Follow this link http://mindnoevil.blogspot.com/