The Bersih 4 that never was

At the stroke of midnight on August 30, when the countdown to Merdeka Day ended, “Negaraku” was sung and shouts of “Merdeka” rang out throughout the areas around Dataran Merdeka, the crowd dispersed quietly without much fanfare, ending peacefully the biggest and longest protest ever in our nation’s history.

Like the rest of the participants, I was making my way home and came across a group of fellow protesters still standing around a road junction.

I greeted them goodnight and goodbye expecting a friendly response. Instead they told me off and questioned why they cannot hang around if they wanted to.

One of them told me angrily to my face that they are not happy. They did not come for a carnival but for a protest and that Bersih should have pushed to stay on until Datuk Seri Najib Razak resigned.

I was dumbfounded and mustered every ounce of self-control I have to just say, if you want to stay, you go ahead and stay. I walked away.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that there are some who saw Bersih 4 as an opportunity to be a Tahrir Square moment to bring about the overthrow of the Najib’s administration.

They knew from past events that any protest called by Bersih is likely to draw massive support and with the numbers, we could be a catalyst to hasten the downfall of Najib and even the Barisan Nasional government.

We heard the proponents of such notion during the build-up to Bersih 4, during and even after.

They are not happy that the organiser has chosen to have a peaceful protest and are “soft” with the authority, giving in to their demands that the protesters do not enter into Dataran Merdeka’s sacred turf and not set up tents around the area.

To this “occupy until the government falls” group, Bersih has sold out.

The anger and frustration against Najib is shared not only by the people who turned up for Bersih 4 but by a majority of Malaysians over the 1MDB scandal, the discovery of the RM2.6 billion “donation” into his personal account, his dismantling of the special task force investigating this affair and the stifling of any dissent, including those within his own party.

But people express their anger differently. Some just need to let off “steam” by hammering away at their keyboards, while for some, to come to Bersih 4 dressed in yellow.

Some others feel that more must be done, including whatever it takes to bring down the government.

They have no qualms about provoking the police by breaching the barricades set up around Dataran Merdeka.

The organiser and their security team had to deal with a couple of such attempts during the 34-hour protest.

They have no qualms should innocent participants are hurt or lives are lost in the ensuing retaliation by the police. To them, the ends justify the means.

In fact, for some of the more extreme of this group, it is necessary that lives must be sacrificed in order to bring about a regime change.

They see themselves as the true heroes of the revolution, the Che Guevera of this struggle.

The problem with this image is that Che was willing to die for and did die for his cause.

These “revolutionaries” are keyboard warriors, occasional activists or just big talkers.

They know how to criticise and stir up emotions but when it comes to actually organising anything meaningful for their cause, nothing much.

But the most disturbing thing about these “superheroes” is that they are willing to throw others under the tank, figuratively-speaking, or self-immolate than to do the noble act themselves.

Have they missed the point of our struggle, which is to provide a better condition for justice, harmony and compassion for our people?

Because we love our country? Surely that means we love the people that make up this country.

How can we then, in our struggle, put these people at risk of harm or even death?

Make no mistake about it. Any struggle for a noble cause against an entrenched regime requires great self-sacrifice. The key word is “self”.

The organiser of Bersih 4 made that sacrifice by taking the lead to call on Najib to step down and for the whole system to be reformed.

They risked their own freedom and even threats to their lives over the years.

But when it comes to organising a mass rally like Bersih 4, the safety and security of Malaysians are paramount because it is for them and their children’s future that we are fighting for.

It would be totally against the law and dishonest if Bersih had intended a bloody revolution but lured the people out to the street on the pretext of a peaceful assembly.

No. Bersih has always championed the right of all Malaysians to assemble peacefully without arms. For Bersih 4, the organiser invested logistically, planned to the best of their ability to have a peaceful assembly and they achieved it.

If the “revolutionaries” among us want a different kind of Bersih, they can go ahead and organise it themselves but don’t ride on the coat-tails of Bersih.

As for Bersih and the vast majority of those who turned up for Bersih 4, we will celebrate the fact that Malaysians overcame their fears and showed their discipline to have the most successful, peaceful demonstration in Malaysia on the eve of Merdeka.

Indeed, may it be the eve of true independence for our country. – September 6, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.