Angry Birds And Road Blocks

From The Malaysian Insider (July 8, 2011):

Several offices sent their staff home early today as police began locking down the federal capital ahead of the Bersih rally calling for free and fair elections tomorrow.

National oil company Petronas sent their staff home at 4pm today while other offices in the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers closed for the day after lunch. It is understood the management of the Suria mall beneath the iconic twin towers will also put up blockades around the shopping complex as a security precaution although it remains open to the public.

City police have already closed off Dataran Merdeka in the middle of the city today but most roads will be closed from midnight.

The roadblocks and diversions will affect entry points along the entire stretch of Jalan Syed Putra, Jalan Istana, Jalan Bukit Petaling, Jalan Bellamy and the area surrounding Istana Negara, police said in a posting at the www.rmp.gov.my website.

Also affected would be the area surrounding the National Mosque in the Lake Gardens area, covering the entire stretch of Jalan Sultan Hishammuddin, Jalan Lembah Perdana and Jalan Chenderasari.

Read more HERE.

Donations: Support Bersih in its moment of need

Bersih needs financial support. The following is from Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan's open letter to the public.

To read further or learn how to donate to Bersih 2.0 please click HERE.

I would like to thank all Bersih supporters for your kind outpouring of support thus far. Bersih 2.0 has come a long way in carrying the aspirations of the rakyat for clean and fair elections, and it is the rakyat themselves above all who have made this possible.

We have faced massive obstacles, vilification and oppression, but inspired by the bravery of the Malaysian people, managed to overcome them all thus far.

Like many other Steering Committee members, it has been challenging personally to face threats of murder, gang rape and various other violence directed against myself and others. Nonetheless, we understand our responsibility in holding the line on behalf of all of you who want nothing more than a clean electoral system and a better Malaysia.

Malaysians both at home and abroad have already been called to make so many sacrifices, so while we do not aspire to add to your burdens, we are writing this in the hopes that you can spare some support.

The cost of our campaign increases every day, complicated by constant harassment by the authorities. In addition to our operational expenses listed below that are necessary to organising our gathering successfully in a peaceful and secure environment, we find ourselves having to raise money to bail staff at the secretariat of Bersih 2.0 that have been unjustly arrested and are now facing charges that make no sense whatsoever. Having key staff detained will cripple our operations in devastating ways. ....

Here We Come

From The Malaysian Insider (July 7, 2011)

Bersih has insisted that it will not move its rally away from Stadium Merdeka on Saturday, stating that it was too late for its supporters to change their plans.

Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who leads the electoral reforms movement, told reporters after meeting the Inspector General of Police that Bersih would go ahead and apply for a police permit and permission from the stadium’s administrators as soon as possible.

“Some of our supporters may still head to Stadium Merdeka,” she said, despite police chief Tan Sri Ismail Omar’s advice that they move outside the capital city.

“I am horrified that the federal government told us to go to a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state. Is the federal government trying to tell us that PR is better?” Ambiga added, referring the suggestion made by Barisan Nasional (BN) yesterday.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had already offered to host the rally at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Ambiga, who was accompanied by Bersih steering committee member Wong Chin Huat and national laureate A. Samad Said, said that they were initially rejected by Stadium Merdeka for not having a police permit in advance.

More HERE.

From 'Bersih' To 'Kotor'

From FreeMalaysiakini.com (July 6 2011):

Two Perak lawmakers switch to 'Kotor' T-shirts to poke fun at the police crackdown on those wearing Bersih 2.0 T-shirts.

"They don't want to be Bersih (clean), so we give them Kotor (dirty)."

That was one reaction to Gopeng MP Dr Lee Boon Chye this morning, when he return to the Gunung Rapat wet market in Ipoh where he had been arrested for wearing a yellow Bersih 2.0 T-shirt last week.

Along with Simpang Pilai assemblyperson Chan Ming Kai - who had also been arrested last week for the same reason - Lee and PKR Perak members found amusement on their walkabout, wearing shirts with the word Kotor emblazoned on it this time.

A spoof on the Bersih 2.0 T-shirt, it has 'X' instead of a tick, while the words bersikan pilihanraya (clean up the elections) is replaced with 'BN' and '53 tahun' (53 years in power).

The link to FreeMalaysiakini is HERE.

Samad Said: Stop cari makan!

According to Malaysiakini (Jul 3, 2011), "A Samad Said urged intellectuals to stop being 'carma' but dare to make a stand against cruelty and injustice.

"He coined the word 'carma' which is the acronym of 'cari makan' (seeking to profit), during political satirist and cartoonist Zunar's book launch last night at Kuala Lumpur.

"Writers seldom take a stand. Most of them are 'carma' and are always prepared to not take a stand. This has caused all the evil to grow and spread tremendously.

"The septuagenarian then directed his criticism against editors of mainstream media which has been demonising the July 9 rally called by Bersih 2.0 in favour of free and fair elections.

"Fortunately there is still a small number of writers who dare to take a stand, who know that Bersih is pure," he said.

Note for Non-Malaysian reader: A Samad Said is a Malaysian poet and novelist.

Yellow Fever

Sea Of Yellow

Yellow has become a sensitive color in Malaysia. To understand why for this LINK and this LINK.