Yong Yen Nie Apr 30, 2012
On Saturday thousands of Malaysians again converted some of Kuala Lumpur’s busiest roads into a sea of yellow. Clad in yellow shirts, these Malaysians flocked into the city to push for electoral reforms in a rally known as BERSIH 3.0 ahead of a widely-anticipated general elections.
And again the supporters who chanted “Bersih”, or “clean up” in Malay, throughout the rally came away teary-eyed and choking from several rounds of tear gas fired by the police force in attempts to disperse the crowd, after some protesters tried to storm into the Independence Square – the venue earmarked originally by rally organizers as the main gathering point.
The organizers of the rally still did not get permission to gather at the venue they wanted, the federal government still saw the rally for free and fair elections as defiant act against the ruling powers of the country and the mainstream local media still gave the rally bad press on Sunday morning, detailing how violent and shameful the rally supporters behaved the day before.
Nevertheless, the BERSIH 3.0 organizers could now claim some moral victory from the significantly larger turnout of supporters not just in the capital city of Malaysia, but also in other parts of the country as well as in the world.
A broad consensus among eyewitnesses put the attendance at the rally between 50,000 and 80,000 people – in what again appeared to be the largest protest in the country in recent history. The supporters have also evolved to be more multi-racial and cutting across social classes and age over the years – it is apparent that more middle-class Chinese had participated in this rally.
Over the years, Malaysians have come a long way from rallying for a particular political figure to rallying for a sophisticated political cause. It is also harder for people to tell whether the rally held was predominantly attended by only a specific race and creed.
For a nation that has been prominently divided according to race for more than 50 years, the demographics and turnout of the rally has set new benchmarks for the country’s political landscape. The sentiment of the rally is that there is now greater participation and political awareness seen among the nation than ever before.
The federal government, led by current Prime Minister Najib Razak, has some serious reputation issues to address. Depending on the severity of his popularity rating plunge, some say Najib may now have to reconsider the timing of the upcoming general elections, which has been widely anticipated to be held in the next one or two months.
Yet, it is likely that Najib and his administration is unperturbed by the massive rally, as it does not view the rally as a game-changer in the upcoming elections. At least, not yet.
After all, the National Front – the ruling party that forms the current federal government – has some fat carrots to dangle to other voters, including the expected windfall profit to rural Malay settlers following the listing of Felda Global Ventures Holdings. Earlier, Najib had also given out cash handouts to students and households in a move to woo voters.
Given that he could tap into the allocation of resources, the National Front – being the party that forms the ruling government today – would still have the upper hand in the upcoming elections and may hold out for several years more.
But, it will also gradually be harder for Najib to hold on to power as a reformed leader, if he keeps on failing to keep up with the times and listen to the voices of the people that came out to rally that Saturday in April.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment