Why I will walk tomorrow
November 9, 2007
I am a citizen of this country.
I have rights equal to the next citizen.
Those rights include the right to vote.
One man, one vote.
That was how it was intended.
For a long time now, much has gone wrong in this country.
And I want change.
I want the judiciary cleaned up, manned by citizens who will honour their oath of office.
I want Parliament rid of rudeness and incompetence.
I want an executive that is free of corruption and devoid of arrogance.
I want that the rakyat take back ownership of the governance of this country.
From self-serving politicians.
Yes, I want change.
Nazri says if I want change, vote for change.
Take the change that I want to the ballot box.
Yet, our electoral process has been so badly messed up.
So that those in power can perpetuate their hold on that power.
That includes Nazri.
And Nazri well knows this.
In 2004, I voted with 49,699 others in PJ Selatan to choose 1 representative.
In the same year in Putrajaya, 4,662 voters elected their representative.
My vote is less equal to that of the voters of Putrajaya and so many other constituencies.
Nazri knows this, too.
The Election Commission has long ceased to be an independent constitutional institution.
Calls to the government and the Election Commission to effect electoral reforms have fallen on deaf ears.
It does not serve their interests to effect the reforms sought.
The government and the Election Commission will not do anything to restore the equality of my vote with that of other voters.
They will not start to undo the damage inflicted to the electoral process over the years.
Therefore, I must.
Because this is my country and if I will not defend it and the people that I love, then who will?
That is why I will walk tomorrow.
To take my plea for reforms to the rakyat’s constitutional partner in governance : the Yang DiPertuan Agong.
Mine shall be a walk of peace.
I shall not retaliate against any aggression that may come my way.
No sloganeering, no battle cries.
None needed.
I shall walk in silence.
A walk of silence by so great a number that shall send forth a thunderous call for reform.
And by God’s Will, may this be the start of our healing as a nation of a single people.
November 9, 2007 at 4:02 pm
AAB would stand tall in this nation if he personally agrees to allow the BERSIH walk to proceed tomorrow. If he has nothing to fear and to prove his sincereity in wanting to wipe out corruption as he had pledged to do so, he should.I pray he does, and that he truly fears God alone.Miracles do happen!
After all the harm he has done to this nation for the past 22years that he was in power, and after having been given a new lease in life recently,Mahatir could redeem himself by walking with us tomorrow, even in a wheel chair-it does not matter- we will push the chair.Life is not in ones hands and we are all answerable to God.
November 9, 2007 at 4:43 pm
I walk with you, bro. with head held up high; neither sticks nor stones shall I fear but only God Almighty who walks with the righteous. As we hold each others hands, united in this peaceful march for change, may God’s blessings pour forth from heaven and heal this nation.
November 9, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Ebony, that was a very heartfelt comment. I shall join you and Haris tomorrow. I shall pray and then walk. God bless everyone!
November 9, 2007 at 5:38 pm
oh dear, with all that has been happening in myanmar, pakistan and so many other countries who have fought for freedom with a heavy price, i suddenly have this fear for all of you brave folks. if i were in the country, would i have gathered enough courage to walk with you and everyone else? i’m not sure. but my prayers will be with all of you who have decided not to bow to fear. may God preserve such thirst for righteousness.
November 9, 2007 at 5:39 pm
My dear brothers in the march,,
We hold dear to our beliefs and shall walk in silence
And from high above, God watches and blessed all that putting forth our feet for the little righteousness that we are trying to do for our nation.
God bless each and everyone of us.
God will transform this nation.
November 9, 2007 at 5:46 pm
i am so proud that malaysians are taking a stance to ask for what is rightfully theirs.
that they do not fear to stand for what they believe in.
that they have the initiative and courage to walk in silence for a better nation.
thank you all from the bottom of my heart for doing this, thank you for presenting an opportunity for change and for instilling renewed semangat anak bangsa malaysia.
god bless all of you…
November 9, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Why is the palace silent?
November 9, 2007 at 6:20 pm
This is a mission to win heart & minds of the electorate. i pray for all to be brave, i pray for you to be safe and i pray that you all behave so go with your cameras, cell phones and camcorder. May the light be with you as always.
November 9, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Walking is good for your health.
Walking with like-minded, concerned Malaysians is good for the spirit.
C U there folks!
November 9, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Bro, hope to see you there.
November 9, 2007 at 7:39 pm
I had to walk an extra 5km on 26th September with the lawyers. Kept pace with a young lady at the back of the group because she couldn’t keep up but her determination to continue was overwhelmingly evident.
At the POJ, thunderous applause rang out from those who were already there to greet the us and in fact, the main event of walking from the POJ to the PMO was delayed in order to await the arrival of the ‘bus’ walkers.
At the PMO, we were completely drenched when the heavens opened up and gusty winds made staying dry and/or warm an impossible feat.
More importantly, the message of that day was delivered in peace and without incident.
I’ve walked with lawyers. Tomorrow, I’ll walk with citizens who share common concerns befalling our nation.
Besides, I’m a ‘veteran’ at this.
November 9, 2007 at 9:08 pm
My mom read something in The Star & turned to me & said, police are going to arrest the marchers. My reply to her was, Look, if there are 10,000 people, police will not be able to accommodate that number in their lock-ups.
However the Bersih rally turns out, it’s already
BN 0, Rakyat 1
i.e. Win-Win momentum. Here’s why.
If police are unable to deter a turnout tomorrow, the government loses face, especially the event coming on as it does on the heels of the Umno tribal drum-beating.
The fact that the public is giving their support to a street protest, despite the threats & media blackout is a milestone in civic participation. It’s also a benchmark in the turn of our thinking.
And it sends a clear signal to government that we will no longer tolerate being suckered.
Yes, the rally is a “percaturan politik” or strategic chess move by the Opposition. Well, it’s about time, isn’t it? Are we with them or not?
When I was a newsdesk cadet reporter at the NST, my senior (an award-winning environmental journo) confidently predicted that soon enough I’d be cussing & swearing like the best of them. I demurred, Oh no, I’m not that kind of girl. I’ve had a sheltered, goody-two shoes upbringing & my father would surely trash me for foul language.
As it turns out, the seasoned reporter was spot-on in her prediction. In fact, I used the phrase “when the shit hits the fan” in my mKini column which some properly-brought up editor on duty (dunno which Elder) bowdlerized to “turd”. So I contacted editorial & asked that “shit” be reinstated, which they did but with two asterisks. Aaah …
Since this blog’s administrator allows stronger language and the readership here is more robust, I’ll just say this: We ought to put goody-two shoes niceties behind us b’cos the BN is nothing better than a walking, talking Four-Letter Word.
I’m taking the rally as a proxy expression of my utter disgust at KJ for urging the arrest of its organizers, plus at the rest of them – feel free to pick your own gallery – who are arrogantly cloaked in their overweening hubris & looking upon us as beruk-beruk.
Remember: “Sepandai-pandainya tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga.”
November 10, 2007 at 12:02 am
[...] Why I will walk tomorrow [...]
November 10, 2007 at 1:10 am
Yes!!!….my Malaysian brothers and sisters,
Let us all walk tall with dignity,
To savour a new beginning for change,
To find hope and salvation in our common destiny,
As one people with one common journey,
Let us all make a choice for change,
Show our strength of spirit,
Come together, make a difference,
Take the first steps for a new tomorrow…..
November 10, 2007 at 2:53 am
While I may not be there with you all in person, I’m certainly with you in spirit, every step of the way.
YNWA, You’ll Never Walk Alone.
From Anfield with Hope in Heart,
KK.
November 10, 2007 at 3:43 am
50 years ago we won independence from the British.
50 years later today, time to win it from UMNO.
November 10, 2007 at 8:26 am
I am from the little red dot. I could not attend due to family commitments but will be with all of you in spirit. I am wearing yellow today. May the good lord watch over all of you
November 10, 2007 at 11:28 am
I love what Chin Haut said. I really hope this will turn out well. Let this go down in history.
November 10, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Be safe.
November 10, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Finally I walked my talk. I salute all the pakcik-pakcik and makcik-makcik who walked, some with their walking sticks.
November 10, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Harris,
Each of us were in different places but it was real euphoria when you speak to the guy next to you and you find a grandfather/mother from Raub, a father from Kuantan and a family from Penang “on their way to visit relatives” in Malacca walking with us who live in the Klang Valley.
November 10, 2007 at 9:24 pm
walk nia hai lar walk!
November 10, 2007 at 10:15 pm
long live the king
and thank you the masses that gathered bravely to show people power in yellow
and may the king act on the letter that will be delivered to him
November 11, 2007 at 12:56 am
I’m going to die laughing at the spin the newspapers come up with tomorrow morning. There’s so many reasons t be unhappy. but i think the chief reason is arrogance. Arrogance that the position is a god given right. “Saya pantang dicabar”. Statements taking us for fools, and that we can’t see the reason behind it.Police giving us fashion advice, yellow is a fashion faux pas. Arrogance.
1000 lawyers were a minority of the legal profession. fine. they expect the other few thousand to come form around the country. here’s a hint for the spin, 50000 people are also a minority. there’s about 24million citizens? minority, no worries.
p.s. i like this idea i read on http://www.m2day.org
wear yellow every saturday. sweet. great way to keep the momentum up. and as a constant reminder/slap in the face. depends who you are.
November 11, 2007 at 4:20 am
Congratulations on the job well done. Your contribution to get the signatures did us & this beautiful nation all proud. Syabas !
November 11, 2007 at 11:36 am
Hi Haris,
Just to let you know that I’ve got my personal account of the rally up. We might need something to collect the accounts of others being at the rally as well.
I’ve split up the account of the rally into 2 parts, the blogger view account is seen at part 2. “The Yellow Revolution Part 2″
Melvin
November 11, 2007 at 1:35 pm
News travel in a New York minute. CNN report on police & protestors in Kuala Lumpur. My brother saw on Indian channel TV in Philadelphia the demolition of the Indian temple in Malaysia. Glad that you all came back safe!
November 11, 2007 at 1:40 pm
“The fact that the public is giving their support to a street protest, despite the threats & media blackout is a milestone in civic participation. It’s also a benchmark in the turn of our thinking.” – Helen Ang
Helen, this is so true. It was so easy to make friends yesterday. Whoever I turned to in yellow had a ready smile and friendliness that arose out of the sheer joy of pure solidarity. A Malay man I met insisted we have a cup of coffee together to talk some more. So we did while basking in the euphoria of the rakyat’s triumph over this BN “gomen”. The score felt more like like BN 0, Rakyat 40,000
It took me over three hours to reach the Central Market carpark, coming from Subang Jaya. This was the result of the gomen’s attempt to prevent people from getting into KL. Normally the journey from Subang Jaya to the point across the Guiness Anchor Berhad factory would take 10-15 minutes. Yesterday it took nearly two hours because at that point the police had blocked off two of the three lanes. The police team was headed by fairly senior officers, relaxing on the plastic chairs they had brought along for the long day they had planned. On my return journey, they were still there at 6 pm. This gomen is turd scared.
I think the momentum is very strong indeed. But it is at the ballot box where it really counts and my hope is that yesterday’s event (and I hope there will be more events to come) will be a wakeup call to the Chinese voters that it not the end of the world to vote against the BN.
November 12, 2007 at 12:07 am
Birdseye, I’m reading you, and as long as you keep writing from conviction – the most honest kind of writing – you’ll find other blog visitors on the same page. Thanks for sharing your 10-Eleven.
November 12, 2007 at 5:20 pm
The 40,000 people who went there didnt go for fun, they went for a reason, they represent the millions of Malaysians. Why be afraid of clean election? It’s just confirming something is wrong with our election process. THANK YOU FOR REPRESENTING US, THANK YOU FOR BRAVING THE RAIN, WATER SPRAY, TEAR GAS, AND SOME EVEN GOT BEATINGS.