A misperception common amongst many opposition supporters is that democracy is actually a luxury, not a necessity. This view sees democracy as a fragile china that needs to be protected, rather than a sharp spear to attack.
When the supposed democrats have little faith in democracy, is there any wonder why democracy had failed to take off before March 8 and remain slow even afterward?
Unwittingly, we have become the slave of BN indoctrination. By not believing in the enabling potential democracy, we are believing in BN’s propaganda and disarming ourselves.
It’s time to examine our value system now before we talk more about regime change. Taking on the case against a PR shadow cabinet, I hope we can have a good and honest debate here.
I told PYWong on Monday that my column this week would be a call on Anwar to set up his shadow cabinet. Here’s his arguments against the idea published yesterday:
“1. Those that are appointed are going to be happy. Some may even be unhappy because they may think that they deserve more. Recall the case of the Deputy Cabinet Ministers from Sabah and Sarawak who resigned from Badawi’s Cabinet shortly after they were appointed. They expected to be promoted to full Ministership.
2. Those that are not appointed are definitely going to be disappointed. They may even develop amphibian characteristics resulting in an overwhelming urge to hop.
3. The potential BN cross-overs on seeing that all the Shadow Cabinet Ministry posts are filled up, may feel that there is no benefit for them crossing over and decide to stay put. If Anwar cannot persuade 30 MPs to cross over, he can’t form a government.”
He instead calls for a Shadow Committees which can rope in even the state assembly persons.
I think healthy debate is important. Will respond later today or tomorrow.
So why is there no shadow cabinet nearly nine months after the elections? Will there be one before the next elections, after which Malaysia may actually see a new government? If yes, why can’t we just have it now?
As if his instruction of assaulting citizens singing the national anthem and then blatantly denying it are not offensive enough, the Selangor Chief Police Officer now compares anthem-singing citizens to criminals. The Freudian slip shows that he may see himself as the colonial governor in a police state.
The Star
Police chief: Why sing the national anthem?
By LOURDES CHARLES
SHAH ALAM: The state police chief has questioned the rationale behind
Internal Security Act (ISA) protesters singing the national anthem at
their illegal gathering near the Amcorp Mall on Sunday.
“Are they expecting policemen to stand at attention each time they
sing the anthem? If so, what would happen if every criminal that we
confront starts singing the national anthem?” asked Deputy Comm Datuk
Khalid Abu Bakar. (more…)
If some senior police officers have so much contempt for our national anthem, we must be patient to educate them like a patient kindergarten teacher would do with the mischievous kid.
Let us sing national anthem every time we feel like declare our constitutional right to gather with more than three persons without asking for police permit.
Let us carry our camera everywhere and see how many times the police can beat citizens up for singing the national anthem and then lie to the public.
Let us sing it aloud:
Negaraku
Tanah tumpah-Nya darahku*
Rakyat hidup, bersatu dan maju
Rahmat bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan
Raja kita selamat bertakhta
Rahmat bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan
Raja kita selamat bertakhta
*No, Khalid Abu Bakar, that’s not the cue for your men to beat us up!
(Dian Abdullah. Photo: Merdekareview.com)
(Peaceful Malaysians withstanding police violence. Remember November 25!)
“When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news”, as it is attributed to an American editor John B. Bogart.
Do you wonder why the media – at least Utusan, NST, The Star, The Sun, Sin Chew and Oriental Daily that I have checked through – choose to downplay the Selangor Police’s attack on citizens singing national anthem?
You expect people get punished only for showing contempt, not respect, to the national anthem.
In Thailand, you will get fined for standing up when the national anthem is played in the cinema.
Where on earth would you find police attacking people for singing their own national anthem?
Police Attack on Citizens singing National Anthem: Contempt of Nation and King
We, the undersigned civil society groups, express our strongest condemnation of the brutal attack by policemen on a 100-strong crowd of Malaysians who were singing the national anthem Negaraku. The event took place last night (Sunday, 9 Nov 2008) at the BERSIH peaceful gathering outside MBPJ’s Civic Hall, Petaling Jaya.
Members of the public had gathered to commemorate the first anniversary of the BERSIH rally on 10 November 2007 as well as demand for the abolition of the ISA. The attack was not only an outright human rights violation, but it also demonstrated outrageous contempt of the Nation and Hia Majesty The King.
The police used brute and excessive force on the peaceful crowd. As the crowd sang the following lines of the national anthem – “Raja kita selamat bertakhta” [May the King reign in peace], FRU personnel and plainclothes officers charged at the crowd and started chasing and grabbing people at random. (more…)
It’s now crystal clear that we have one whose character is low enough to order attack of civilian singing national anthem and to lie to the public afterward occupying the top office in Selangor Police Force.
In most countries, citizens are taught to respect their national anthem by standing still when it is sung.
Malaysian riot police last night taught a 100-strong crowd calling for free and fair elections a very different lesson: singing national anthem without the police approval may get you beaten up and arrested.
The police accused the crowd was gathering illegally even though Malaysia’s constitution guarantees the citizens’ freedom of peaceful assembly.
Normally, the police would issue warning for participants of illegal gathering – a group of minimum three or five persons (according to different laws) qualifies to be one – to disperse within three to five minutes. Most organizers can even count on to negotiate for a longer period.
The crowd was therefore completely caught off-guard by the attacks as they were singing “Negaraku” to end their programme. The police seemed to be annoyed by their singing and could not wait to stop them by charging into them violently.
Dian Abdullah, 53, found the back of her head bleeding after several policemen attacked her from the back and caused her to fall. She was however left unattended by the police who went on to arrest her son, Mohd Khairuz, 24 who was also singing the national anthem.
Dian Abdullah was later sent to hospital by a passer-by. Her injury required four stitches.
Also arrested are 23 other participants, including one parliamentarian, one state assemblymen and a local councilor. Both the federal and the state lawmaker complained being manhandled or punched.
The Selangor State Chief Police Officer Khalid Abu Bakar called a press conference later in the midnight. He offered neither apology nor explanation for the attacks of citizen who were singing national anthem.
He instead put the blame on the gathering organizers for organizing illegal assembly. For four consecutive weeks, a small-scale gathering had been organized by activist-bloggers to press for the abolition of the notorious Internal Security Act which allows for detention without trial.
The gathering last night was special as the crowd also celebrated the 1st anniversary of a 50,000-person rally organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH).
The police had earlier blocked many roads connecting to the Amcorp Mall, a field opposite which was used for the previous gathering. This however did not stop many supporters of the causes to turn up. Warned to leave the tentative field, the crowd were forced to cancel its vigil temporary and leave the mall at about 9.30 pm.
Later at about 10 pm, another group of citizens gathered at the Civic Centre to also celebrate the 1st anniversary of BERSIH rally. This group was attacked at about 10.30 pm without being given any warning to disperse.
