BERSIH 2.0

[Edit 1214, July 9: I'm following Live updates on anilnetto.com and on LoyarBurok]

What a week it’s been: mass arrest, an audience with the King, and reneged words. I wonder if we’d made it to the list of “Top Ten Places You Have To Laugh At Before You Die” yet. See, by now many so called patriots (not the UMNO Youth’s Patriot movement) would have branded me a traitor. It’s spun in such a way that the moment you speak out against the government of the day, you’re an anarchist; hell-bent on destroying the country. It doesn’t matter if it’s a call against corruption or a rare earth processing plant.

As I’m typing this, some roads in Kuala Lumpur are closed and traffic diverted. The picture I saw does seem like a lockdown, which reminds me of scenes in The Siege. And nobody knows how the rally (and counter-rally) is going to turn out tomorrow at 2 pm.

Hii doing his one-man protest in support of Bersih in PJ. He was later detained. -The Malaysian Insider. Story here.

One thing’s for sure, BERSIH 2.0 has gone global. At least outside the country, these folks who gather will not be faced with possible arrests, threats by martial artists, or be called anarchists. Perhaps the best thing is that nobody will get arrested for wearing something yellow. The following listing was obtained from here:

UTC + 12 – New Zealand - http://on.fb.me/jMlCwc
UTC + 10 – Canberra, Australia - http://on.fb.me/kBLI2H
UTC + 10 – Sydney, Australia - http://on.fb.me/j0RzYt
UTC + 10 – Melbourne, Australia - http://on.fb.me/j0rDf1
UTC + 10 – Hobart, Australia - http://on.fb.me/jP0MWL
UTC + 10 – Adelaide, Australia - http://on.fb.me/klaDdS
UTC + 10 – Brisbane, Australia - http://on.fb.me/imhKwv
UTC + 09 – Osaka, Japan - http://on.fb.me/mUGxvB
UTC + 09 – Seoul, Korea - http://on.fb.me/lgB4oQ
UTC + 08 – Manila, Philippines – URL pending
UTC + 08 – Perth, Australia - http://on.fb.me/lihTnU
UTC + 08 – Taipei, Taiwan - http://on.fb.me/mIEOGW
UTC + 08 – Hong Kong - http://on.fb.me/lxYT2E
UTC + 08 – Singapore - http://on.fb.me/l87wNS
UTC + 07 – Bangkok, Thailand - http://on.fb.me/mmyiWc
UTC + 09 – Jakarta, Indonesia – URL pending
UTC + 02 – Egypt - http://on.fb.me/r4fvC2
UTC + 02 – Switzerland - http://on.fb.me/lQq8qB
UTC + 02 – Stockholm, Sweden - http://on.fb.me/kfrxAK
UTC + 01 – Austria - http://on.fb.me/kH9gBn
UTC + 01 – Paris, France - http://on.fb.me/joKlVQ
UTC + 00 – United Kingdom - http://on.fb.me/kQ9fsQ
UTC + 00 – Scotland - http://on.fb.me/kAefYr
UTC + 00 – Ireland - http://on.fb.me/pvu7iJ
UTC – 04 – Ottawa, Canada - http://on.fb.me/kb5OY4
UTC – 04 – New York City - http://on.fb.me/lWrJ8l
UTC – 04 – Washington DC, USA - http://on.fb.me/l9XgH0
UTC – 06 – Chicago, USA - http://on.fb.me/rjGpaq
UTC – 07 – San Francisco, USA - http://on.fb.me/jehClH
UTC – 07 – Los Angeles, USA - http://on.fb.me/iBJgM3

I sure hope everything would go smoothly later. Let’s see if it pans out. I look forward to pictures of the gathering in the cities around the world. You might be thinking why I’m not already in KL. Fact is, I gave the rally a long, hard thought. But I didn’t think I’d afford the trip there and the lodging too. If I’m still receiving my monthly stipend from my scholarship then I’d have typed this in a room somewhere in the city.

And whilst we're fixating on the rally, let us not forget those detained in connection to the rally; particularly the six from Parti Sosialis Malaysia (Socialist Party of Malaysia). I remember asking my friend, "What communism?"

“I would like to thank everyone who is supporting us by the hours, prayers, urgent appeals etc.The 6 of us have not broken any laws and our crime is that we are socialists and we are attempting to put the issues affecting the poorer 60 per cent of Malaysians in the national agenda. eg. Hospital privatisation, minimum wage and decent wages.

Our detention is totally unwarranted and we are working within the democratic framework.“Udahlah bersaralah“ campaign which involves pamphlet distribution and awareness calls for people to think properly for the General Election. The action and activity is totally within the democratic space allowed by Constitution.
Sad to see, higher ups in police unable to differentiate national and constitutional rights from the political party in power. Stand up for democratic rights and let us not allow this kind of intimidation hold us back.

* Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj is the Sungai Siput MP and is currently detained with 5 others under the Emergency Ordinance. His arrest is related to his involvement with the upcoming Bersih rally.

Source: Susan Loone's blog

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