BERSIH 2.0- my silent prayer answered!

No word can adequately describe how proud I feel for my fellow Malaysians, when they came together to demand for their rights, as enshrined in our Constitution. The rally, which was fraught with danger, could have led to bloodshed and I'm heartened to hear that there were only a few minor injuries and no reported case of death (except for one fatal heart attack). At the same time, I am deeply embarrassed that I wasn't there to participate in the exercise of our rights. For those brave Malaysian who gathered yesterday for BERSIH 2.0, I salute you.

I am deeply disappointed by how badly our government reacted to the legitimate demands made by BERSIH 2.0 for safeguards & rules to ensure that we have a free & fair election. Without a free & fair election, what is a democracy? Should we be a democracy only by name, like North Korea which called itself the Democratic Republic of Korea? And, how did the government reply to such legitimate demands? It merely states that our elections must have been free & fair for otherwise Pakatan couldn't have won 5 states in the last General Election in 2008. That's not a good reply. One may wonder whether the last General Election could have been won by Pakatan outright if the election had been a free & fair election?

The missed opportunity for Najib was his refusal to take up the suggestion by one of the component parties of BN, Gerakan to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to look into our election procedure. I thought that was an excellent suggestion which both sides could agree on and the rally could have been postponed. Alas, Najib did not have the wisdom to salvage himself from a loss-loss situation. I especially surprised by his flip-flop where he offered to meet with BERSIH 2.0 & allow it to use a stadium for the rally & his volte face 24 hours later. Was Najib overruled by his own party?

The greatest surprise came later when he attended the 50th anniversary celebration of Pertubuhan Seni Silat Lincah Malaysia ('PSSLM') at PWTC. He described silat and other self-defence exponents as the third line of defence in the country. PSSLM is the same group that had earlier threatened to wage war against BERSIH 2.0 if it proceeded with the July 9 rally. Such political misstep is plainly stupid. For more, go here.

Nexttrade is not & will not be a political blog. They are many excellent political blogs which publishes views that I shared. On the issue raised by BERSIH 2.0, the following three blogs are my points of reference:
1) Ktemoc Konsiders
2) SAKMONGKOL AK47
3) mind NO EVIL

As such, this is likely to be my last post on the subject of BERSIH 2.0. Readers could have concluded that my political sympathy lies with Pakatan. That's only partially true. I support Pakatan by default because BN practices racial politics & does not govern the country efficiently & fairly. Most of all, I like to see a better government as well as a better opposition, so that our country will have a better future.