Celebrity protestors looking to get arrested...I wore mostly black yesterday. I must say that this week I had not been focussed on May 7 vis-a-vis the Perak State Assembly all that much. May 7 happened to be the first anniversary of the passing of my cousin Zahari Zain and for me, it was a black day anyway. But I hadn't been planning to wear black at all.
That changed when Wong Chin Huat got arrested for sedition. I don't know the guy and can't remember if I've ever read anything he's written. But I don't believe that anyone should be arrested just for organising people to wear black to protest something. I'm not that keen on demos and such but I like creative acts of civil disobedience. I think they are more subversive. Wearing black is not that creative but it works because it's easy and you keep people guessing whether your wearing black is of any significance or not. (I went to a meeting yesterday and my colleague wore even more black than me...inadvertently as it turned out.) I decided to wear black really to protest stupidity...on the part of politicians and the police.
(The ultimate stupidity, to me, was how they handled the people delivering that cake to the PM's Department. It's a cake, for God's sake! Read Walski's witty take on it.)
Then it just got worse. Following what was happening in Perak on Twitter, I was left disgusted and fed-up. Firstly, there is nothing commendable about the behaviour of any of the politicians inside the Perak State Assembly. Obviously bad behaviour is not limited to any particular political party. How on earth do we teach our kids to respect these institutions if they're populated by a whole bunch of clowns?
All the events of the past few days had me wondering about the default settings of the police. Many years ago I helped to organise a free outdoor concert by the Japanese musician Kitaro. Kitaro is no heavy metalhead, doesn't dance around the stage and doesn't really have the language skills to incite a Malaysian audience to rise up and rebel against anything. But those were the days when the FRU regularly turned up at concerts on the premise that young Malaysians get easily agitated by listening to music and will almost certainly riot.
It was intimidating to have a whole line up of big guys with red berets , truncheons and shields standing in front of the stage. And sure enough, as soon as the beat got the audience to do a bit more than toe-tap, down came those truncheons on several bobbing heads. It makes you want to riot just watching that; maybe that's really why they are called the riot squad.
The default setting of the FRU is 'nip it in the bud'. So if someone looks as if they might smell of 'trouble' ( as defined by some unknown person), down the truncheons come.
But that concert was circa 1985 or so. 24 years later, that default setting has obviously not changed.
Meanwhile the public's default setting has shifted from 'unable to understand all this' to 'okaylah, as long as they're not damaging property'. Which means that most of us are quite happy to tolerate peaceful protests, vigils and acts of civil disobedience as long as those of us who choose not to participate are not inconvenienced.
To say the cops are out of synch with the public is probably an understatement. How do you explain an IGP who actually thinks that telling people not to wear black is a sensible statement? The effect of that was probably that more people decided to wear black than before he said that. Maybe the next campaign is to get people to wear police khaki...
Arresting a political activist was bad enough, then they had to bring out machineguns (according to some tweets on Twitter) against some students showing support for their lecturer. It was all of 20 students; did they really need to come out so hard against them like that?
Then more people get arrested for holding vigils, for trying to give legal support to those arrested. Anyone would think that the whole country was in pandemonium that there needed to be so many arrests. Yet most people went about their lives like normal. But that police default setting kicked in; if we don't nip these in the bud, the whole country will collapse. Wow, that's really giving a lot of power to a few people.
I can't say that I know who or what is correct in Perak. Like a lot of laypeople, I'm confused with all these legal arguments. But I don't see the need to react to it in this way because I can't see how it helps clear up matters.
Perhaps that's because politicians also have their own default settings. And that is "If they win, I lose. If I win, they lose. Therefore I must always win, at any cost." It's called a zero-sum game.
Maybe somebody will win in these cases but we definitely know who loses, and that's voters. Everyone seems to have forgotten that the ultimate decision should rest with the voters. So the only thing to do is, ask them again. Who do they want? And that should settle it once and for all.
(And personally I hope none of these clowns get back in. But I'm not from Perak so it's not my call.)
29 comments:
Kak M
Imagine if those over populous SB's and FRU's were to do crime watch instead, would Malaysia be a better place?
Well,
Tell your daddy & bro instead
In the case of Perak, simply changing the default settings may not be the answer. In such a complex and convoluted situation, the best solution is a complete RESET. And then tweak the settings.
However, I do agree, in general, that the "default" settings need changing. As to how the police (over)reacted, I honestly don't know if it's a legacy of paranoia, or some kind of new deadly H1N1-type mean streak.
But how they're behaving is not doing one iota of good - be it for their own image, or for the good of civil society at large. Your Kitaro story underlines a very important point - the several demonstrations and protests have become un-peaceful BECAUSE of police presence.
Then again (and I'm speaking for experience), my brushes with the police have convinced me that they can only see in "All or Nothing" terms.
Whereas real life is actually 256 shades of grey. Black and white inclusive.
And thanks for the link, Marina.
Marina, cheers, for your comment.
Very good one,now in malaysia is very hard to find somebody like you who are brave to sound out that is not RIGHT. esp. most of all the BN component parties.most of them are all YES MAN,! sorry to say that. thats is how they teach their children. take care and GOD BLESSED. pls continue to voice out
to make malaysia a better place to live in, our children would not want to learn these type of culture that we are living in now.
Walski, yup I agree, in the case of Perak, reset is the only way. And it's Perak people who need to reset things.
And yes, police default setting is all or nothing ( with the FRU's specific one being 'nip it in the bud'). End result is usually 'nothing'. Or worse.
All of you have lost it. What is happening is that our visionary Prime Minister is forging ahead with his new political experiment. Rejecting the Separation of Powers Theory, a western concept with its potential for confrontation - an alien concept in Asian Culture - he is apparently endeavouring to address the divisiveness of society by merging all power sectors (legislative, executive, judiciary, security forces, administrative service, etc)into one homogenous unit under him. Not a new idea really - George Orwell wrote about it in "1984". Soon all of us citizens will be relieved of all the anxieties and sresses of daily decision making, so that we can live a happy carefree life! Big Brother will do it all for us. Afterall, thinking is a dangerous thing! Charlston Heston, no less, said that in one of his spaghetti cowboy movies before he gave a tight slap to an underling who dared to say "I think ....."
Marina,
i am agree with you. felling that we now living toward total dictatorship.
not sure where or how but the feeling keep coming as the police seem have absolute power.
i am not happy with the way this. tell you the truth i am fence sitter. i vote opposition once before because i want change by deniying 2/3 majority of BN gov.
after see what happen in perak, definitely i vote opposition one more. not because 100% oppposition correct but just to teach arrogant BN because they insensitive to people like us.
Marina, i felt helpless. i am not kind of person went to street to protess but inside me like a bomb wishing i have gut to join those activist. please initiate some movement.. worried about future of malaysia.
Everyone and his uncle Bob knows the only fair thing to do in this acrimonious atmosphere is to call for fresh elections!
But strangely HRH does not think so and neither does UMNO/BN who know they will be decimated in new elections.
And clinging on to power by misusing the Police, Civil Service and the Sergeant at Arms is as low as you can get.
If Najib truly believes in 1 Malaysia, then he knows that he should swallow his (false) pride or else this will, figuratively, turn out to be UMNO/BN's Vietnam!!
http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com
You wrote, "I can't say that I know who or what is correct in Perak. Like a lot of laypeople, I'm confused with all these legal arguments."
Isn't that rather disingenuous?
Please don't say that you've not been paying attention to what has been happening. These are important issues that will determine how this nation moves forward. Some of those arguments are quite plain and need no legalese.
First of all, several lawsuits are still pending and as such, the status of the parties involved remains uncertain. The correct thing to do would have been to wait for those cases to be concluded to remove these uncertainties. Plainspeak?
Secondly, the sitting of the Assembly cannot claim to have been started any time in the morning of May 7. As such, all resolutions taken at that time must remain invalid. Plainspeak?
Thirdly, there is no provision for invasion of the Assembly by any party under any circumstances. If you don't believe me, ask anyone you know who would know the law. That is, if you think it is important for you to understand this.
Are these too complicated for you? I can understand your having a problem with being seen to be taking sides. But to pretend that these things are too complicated... is that not a cop out?
Perak State Assembly on May 7th? Darn! I thought there was a circus in town!
I am sorry Marina,
with all due respect - this huge embarrasment has a lot to do with how Tun Mahathir conducted his goverment previously.
Severe partisanship on supposedly neutral state agencies such as the police, the ACA, etc.
Even the judiciary was raped.
Thanks to Tun.
Sorry Marina, but i have to say this.
oooh...I see it was Perak Assembly tat day...I tot it was battlezone ground, since I see barb wire, barricades, real marine army..some Rambo guys.
I tot war started....it simply doesnt look like a proper building for assembly.
Is the government uncivilised or the rakyat?
Yes Marina, what do you have to say on looes74 suggestion? Will you?
Kak Marina,
It doesn't matter which party we support as everyone has their own rights of whom they want to support.
Every political party wants to be in power. But the way UMNO is doing is just not right. Why? because it's so uncivilized!
UMNO should just serve the people good, be it as the ruling party or an opposition (state level), then definitely we will continue to vote for UMNO.
But what had happened in Perak was an insult to our intelligence and civilized minds!
For UMNO, we beg you not to play this kind of game..PLEASE!
Reset is the solution as far as Perak is concerned.What we have is even more bizarre than before. What we have is Leadership crisis, politicians are looking at short term gains than long term survival.Malaysia has a major leadership crisis looming and many thing that need solutions are being ignored. We should be able to progress with diversity. We hope sanity will prevail among our politicians, judiaciary and police.
Sometimes I wonder if our police and Riot Squads and all might be even more loyally and dutifully carrying out their duties than the secret police , police and military that kept the regimes of the former East Germany, Romania, Poland, Russia and so on going.
I remember Christmas day 1989 when I woke up at a fiend's house in Wales and the CNN news had it that Romania's Nicolae Ceausescu was holed up in his Presidential Palace. Then later that he was missing. And a little later that he had been shot on the streets somewhere together with his wife like strays. Obviously there was a breakdown in the security offered by their equivalent of our Special Branch, police, riot squads, military, Malay Regiment, UMNO Youth, Perwaris, and whatever not.
Do our police really think they are made up of better stuff than the KGB, East German Stassi and the Romanian Police and so on?
I personally reckon not. When such as what happened there were to happen, and not even close, I reckon these guys would be the first to quit and run.
I'm no fan of Tun M, I spite that old man by never visit his blog, not even once.. I get "heart-burn" everytime somebody mention his name..!!
The facts remain that Marina is not her father; so
This ad hominem attacks against her is unjustified and should cease.
Focus on issues not person I must say.
Regards
Arif
Hypocrite, you choose not to understand what you do not want to understand. Your own father started this.
Am in london for 5 months of work. I wore black for 2 consecutive days, oppss.. even today! Wonder how the barbarian police is going to fly over to get me. ( maybe they will, spending those millions). I have seen almost daily protests, orderly .. being perform here. It is respect. People will only be aggressive if cornered. Indeed, the lack of space under Najib is too real.
You hoping that these clowns don't get back into the Assembly, and understanding that it's not your call, perfectly illustrates why we have this problem.
The system has been unchanged since 25 years ago: no independent commission to check the police, weak opposition apparatus (in parliamentary committees and suchlike) to check the executive, who controls the police.
An overtly strong federal executive, which controls the police (many countries allow regional law enforcement, since most crimes are highly localised).
No recourse for those police officers who conscientiously object to any police action.
etc. etc.
The fact tat you can only hope for change, as opposed relying on our institutions to check certain forces, shows our ultimate powerlessness.
And the fact that even if the Perakian voters follow your hopes, the police still won't change (them being a federal institution with one single administration acting in one manner, like putting all our eggs in the same basket) emphasises this.
cheers
Hey, if it moves, arrest it. Who knows what those moving limbs might do to affect the 'stability of the country'.
Also, I'm getting tired of those who must mention Marina's dad and brother(s) every time she writes something about politics, as if they're all joined at the hip, share one brain and act as one person. Surely even people who are related by blood and love each other to death must have different ideas at some point?
As much as I despise Tun Mahathir for what he has done to Sabah and Sarawak, I feel that personal attacks on Marina just because of her ties with her father are very unfair.
Arif was correct to say that Marina is her own person and therefore we should take her opinion seriously as her own.
On this point though, as a law student, I thought that the coup d'état was perfectly legal. It's simple. The monarch appoints a person who has the confidence of the majority as Mentri Besar. BN is clearly the majority, albeit thanks to the 3 froggies.
That said, I find this episode highly immoral and we should return to the voters for an answer, not from the courts. (because we all know that the Chief Justice was a member of the UMNO disciplinary board)
no, you guys got it wrong. This is not a personal attack on Marina.
I respect her for being different.
However, it probably because she is the only person closest to Tun M who are willing to listen to our deep grudge against the ex-premier.
Again, this is never intended to spite/attack Marina.
She has my highest respect. However, I will be open about huge displeasure with Marina's father.
Aren't there any other ways to settle issues rather than always turning to the people for support, in the process turning them seemimgly look like mobs, and needing battalions of police?
fooji, if you were referring to my comment, I wasn't actually referring to you. I think you made a fair and professional enough comment.
Dear MarinaM,
I suggest the police should pay a visit to Limkokwing University of Creative Technologies at Cyberjaya to check for themselves how many studets and staff are wearing BLACK on a daily basis.
The police should also order the Chinese community in Malaysia not to wear BALCK when they are mourning their dead family members or performing funeral-related activities.
What's wrong with the police quality and mentality in Malaysia? What policies are these? Are there Rakyat-friendly or anti-rakyat? Who paid for their salaries??
Police = follow like a buffolo
umNO-BN = stupid like buffolo!
"Aren't there any other ways to settle issues rather than always turning to the people for support, in the process turning them seemimgly look like mobs, and needing battalions of police?"
I think this is a very dangerous comment to be honest. In a democracy we must always consult the people as to how we want ourselves governed. Anything else and the essence of our democracy will cease to exist.
We can of course turn to the courts but at this moment judges are appointed by the Prime Minister so there is no public confidence in our court system.
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