Tie a yellow ribbon around the Malaysian tree

I once read that the only thing worth reading in the newspaper is the date itself. Nothing more.

And judging from the amount of bollocks appearing in my country's local dailies, I think the statement is true after all.

Recent news have been centering on the recent Bersih 2.0 rally which if I must say, the event itself is a good reflection to show that some of us are not afraid to stand up for our rights. However, the spin given by the local dailies seemed to point these courageous souls as problem makers and an ungrateful lot who offended the concept of 'democracy'. Well, whose idea of democracy is it exactly that we are offending? Because as far as I know and have learned (both definitely not from the Malaysian system of governance), democracy is more than being given a right to vote once every five years. Democracy is about being able to vote without fear or favour and once you've voted, for that vote not to be tampered with or you suddenly finding that your vote has been silenced by multiple mysterious boxes containing votes leaning towards one particular alliance. And since we're at it, democracy is about our freedom to speak. There is no democracy when batons are lashed and chemical gases sprayed at civilians who wanted to speak their minds.

Although I was not surprised by the blatant one-sided and unfair coverage by the dailies, I was amazed by how the national media is now airing advertisements showing wartorn countries accompanied by the glaring message 'Ini Bukan Budaya Kita' (This is not our culture). The government talks about culture but seriously, what culture are we preserving thus far? Other countries preserve their heritage sites and buildings. Not us. We bulldoze them to the grounds in name of development. Either that or the once-important buildings are left abandoned for the likes of spirits and addicts. We build new (and most of the time, uglier and yes, weak) buildings which somehow leads us to wonder whether the country is deprived of good architects and civil engineers. In short, appreciation of history is definitely not a culture which the government is seeking to preserve.

The only culture which comes to mind is for Malaysians to continue swallowing 50 years and more of bollocks. The government wants us to silence the voice that we've been given. They want us to insult our brains by not thinking about the many misdeeds we had to suffer from. The government prefers indifferent citizens who are blind to the ways the country is run and how the taxpayers' money are treated like the government's God-given right. That is the only culture that those on the pedestals of power are interested in. For that, democracy must certainly take a back seat.

Yet, there were some who swallowed the government's propaganda hook, line and sinker. These narrow-minded creatures (I'm not even calling them as humans because clearly, they were not bestowed with the gift to think and rationalise) villify the rally as attacking Malaysia's social fabric or targeting a specific race as the catalyst for a pro-socialist movement. Stop it. Think, for once. Unlike what the government wanted us to believe, Bersih 2.0 was never about a particular race or religion. In fact, it was merely a push for electoral reforms which would ensure that the Malaysian election (which has been condemned time and time again) is free from any unholy influence. Electoral reforms affect everyone, whether or not you belong to one race or profess another religion. I thought it was plain common sense to support this cause. And if the cause is obviously good, then why would the ruling government oppose them? Think about it. If the ruling government did garner majority support during the last election (or all the elections during the past 5 decades) and has been doing a good job, then they should not mind these reforms. Who knows, it may even lead to a higher vote of confidence in the administration. The very fact that they are vehemently opposing these reforms (and shamelessly using the country's resources which are, by the way, paid by the tax payers' money!), we could only deduce one logical explanation. There must be skeletons being hidden in the political parties' closets and the accumulated stench (of 5 decades worth of improper governance and massive plundering of country's wealth) which must be covered at all costs. If I'm reading along the lines correctly, these electoral reforms, if they are in place, will see skeletons being paraded in the open and political leaders removed from their high pedestals of powers. Now, that is something they can't afford.

Although I did not manage to participate in the rally, I was immensely proud of my friends who did contribute to make our voices heard. They marched in their yellow attire regardless of their race and religion. All they wanted was for the election system to be cleaned.

I'm all for Bersih. The dirt and grime must be removed, even if it means I may just lose a whole lot of relatives. Perhaps I should do something along the likes of the British Queen. Anyone wants to tie a yellow ribbon around the Malaysian tree?