July 9th marks a very significant point in our history. A rally to push for the cause of freer elections and other mandates. Offices called it an early day in the city center today as many employers urged their staff to head back home to avoid the roadblocks and traffic jams.
As I was making my way back home it got me thinking about why this whole campaign even came into being. Why was this rally even happening in the first place? I was asking myself thinking, on the way back from work yesterday. For years now, the citizens of this country has been growing restless with the state of affairs with our government. And it’s really quite sad. Like most Malaysians, I have been following the rally’s progress over the last couple of weeks. More specifically, I have been observing the Government’s response to the situation and it has been disappointing by large measures.
First off, I don’t see why the Government is so against the rally? Apart from the “security issues” that the rally could pose, what is wrong in having a rally that is focused on promoting freer elections and fairness in the media? Doesn’t the country want a fairer and a more just society and isn’t it that the duty of the elected government to ensure this happens?
The vary fact that the government has been trying to use all tactics to stop this rally just goes to show that there is something really wrong with our country’s leaders today. I mean just this whole week, we have seen the PM proposing for the rally to be held in a statidum so that “they can shout all the want in the stadium and leave peacefully” and also the King reinterating that it would be best to have the demonstations in the stadium.
Both messages have been receieved well by the rally’s steering commitee but then why is the government then putting all stops to ensure the rally doesn’t happen? Why is the Minister saying that it’s still illegal to hold the rally despite the king’s approval and consent?What kind of message is the Government sending out to it’s people when it does and says things like this? Where is the justice and fairness in this?
And to say that the Government is rejecting the permits for ALL kinds of demonstrations is hardly effective because the rally is not a politcal entity. Other political entities should not simply have a counter-rally movement just to prove a point. The mandate made by the rally calls for freer elections and fair use of media, not to topple the government or anything like that, so what’s the big issue? Doesn’t the government want to promote justice and fair usage of media?
What saddens me I guess the most, is that the Government COULD have used this opportunity to raise to the occasion by supporting the campaign through letting the organizers schedule their demonstrations in a peaceful manner. The government could have still maintained it’s security measures while at the same time allowing the rally to go on smoothly. But alas, this is complicated by the fact that we have other counter-rallies that the political parties want to embark on and thus giving the government “no choice but to be equal to all” and just reject all permits.
So in a way, this rally is good. It sends a message to the government that the rakyat is NOT happy with the way things are going. Perhaps the Government should just take heed and use this rally as a learning platform to improve itself and it’s image.
Or maybe perhaps it’s time the Government goes..
