Today 9 July 2011 is sure to go down in the political history of Malaysia as a remarkable day. Today is the day "Bersih 2.0" rally (also called the "Walk for Democracy") is held in Kuala Lumpur and simultaneously organized by Malaysian citizens in more than 30 cities in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Egypt, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, the United States and Cambodia. The movement is championed by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), chaired by former president of the Bar Council Ambiga Sreenevasan. It aims to push the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) to ensure free and fair elections in Malaysia. It demanded that the EC clean up the electoral roll, reform postal voting, use indelible ink, introduce a minimum 21-day campaign period, allow all parties free access to the media, and put an end to electoral fraud.
The following emails and Facebook postings are reproduced for the record:
On Fri, 8/7/11, 10.44 AM, Annie Lee wrote:
Dear All,
Can you believe this? The mighty overlords, the godfathers of Malaysia, the goons and their MCA stooges are suddenly running scared! Of what? Of this woman!
This woman is NOT afraid of tyranny.
She is the brave and outspoken lady who will lead a world wide march against the tyranny and ruthlessness of the Malaysian Government!
Read on and forward this on:-
The lady who will lead the worldwide BERSIH March on 9 July 2011.
Ambiga with Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama
12 Mar 2009, 0853 hrs IST
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama present give away Secretary of State's Award for International Women of Courage to Malaysia's Ambiga Sreenevasan (Malaysian Bar Council) at the State Department in Washington, DC (AFP)
This picture made it to pages of India Times but not in the Malaysia's govt. controlled press! The shame of it all that we should be so proud of our own Malaysian receiving an international award, but the Malaysian government is too cowardly!
They are too frightened that the public will get to know the truth! It was only published by THE SUN but rather small and hidden in the inner pages. WHY??!!
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Friday, 8 July, 2011 11:15 AM
From: Tai-Onn Lau
Dear Annie,
Your mail reminds me of the 15-yr-old African-American school girl Claudette Colvin or better known Rosa Parks who in March 1955 refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in compliance with the Jim Crow laws and triggered the famous “Montgomery Bus Boycott”, spearheading the African-American civil rights movement in the sixties of the last century. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudette_Colvinlvinlvinlvinlvinlvinlvin)
That led to emergence of other civil rights movement fighters, the most famous being Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. who delivered a monumental 17-minute public speech “I Have a Dream"calling for racial equality and an end to discrimination as follows:
“………I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
“I have a dream today.
“I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
“I have a dream today.
“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together…….”
More complete video clip to see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk
WE MALAYSIANS ALSO HAVE A DREAM --- CLEAN & FAIR ELECTIONS!!
Thank you.
Cheers,
TO Lau
08/07/2011
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Reference: BERSIH 2.0 - Ambiga & The Rise of The Rakyat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5BgjCZzEhY&feature=share
A posting by Mey Lim in the FB:
这份新闻，当时我也是只有在 The Sun 才能读到，而且占位极小，其他媒体一律。。。。。连影都没有~~~
Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan，就是她，从 Hillary Clinton 手中和美国第一夫人的见证下，是2009年全世界8位中的其中一位，得到International Women of Courage Awards的奖状的，而且实质名归的。
Hillary Clinton 对她的评语 ：
“She has pursued judicial reform and good governance, she has stood up for religious tolerance, and she has been a resolute advocate of women’s equality and their full political participation. She is someone who is not only working in her own country, but whose influence is felt beyond the borders of Malaysia. And it is a great honor to recognize her and invite her to the podium."
我们的“第一”夫人还要花大把钱来通路才能和美国第一夫人握个手，Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan 可是被欣赏，被敬佩而被“请”去领奖的。
Hillary Clinton 对她的赞美，就是任何一个马来西亚人听到，也会分享到那股光彩，感到欣慰。然而，国阵却只想要将她ISA!
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IS "BERSIH" A DIRTY WORD? (A letter from an Australian tourist)
We have just finished a wonderful holiday in Malaysia. Except for a few things, like the toilets and the drivers, it was great. The people are friendly and helpful. The food is quite exciting and the country is spectacular.
There was one incident, which caused us no concern and no problem, but left us more than a little baffled.
We were in the Chow Kit area buying some things to take home when we found some shirts with “BERSIH 2” on them. We asked the man what the word meant and he said “clean”.
So, we bought some. They were good quality and cheap. As we were leaving the stall area we were approached by a man who warned us not to wear the shirts or we would be in trouble with the police.
We went back to our hotel thinking that we misheard the man at the stall who sold us the shirts and that bersih must be a very dirty word. So we asked the concierge and he told us it meant “clean”. We were confused.
At dinner that night, we struck up a conversation with the people at the next table. We raised the matter with them. They told us the shirts represented a call to the people and Government for clean and fair elections. They also told us that people wearing the shirts are being locked up without trial for waging war against the King. They explained that the Government and some people were against free and fair elections.
Fair enough, it is not our country. What we still do not understand is why the King would be against free and fair elections because he is not elected. Our friends warned us that even talking about free and fair elections could land us in gaol.
Perhaps the government could put signs at the airport warning travelers that bersih is a dirty word in Malaysia and that the King and Government are against free and fair elections. In this way, no one will make a mistake that could land them in trouble.
Doug and Helen White
Flinders Park,
South Australia
Cheers,
TO Lau
08/07/2011
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Reference: BERSIH 2.0 - Ambiga & The Rise of The Rakyat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5BgjCZzEhY&feature=share
A posting by Mey Lim in the FB:
这份新闻，当时我也是只有在 The Sun 才能读到，而且占位极小，其他媒体一律。。。。。连影都没有~~~
Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan，就是她，从 Hillary Clinton 手中和美国第一夫人的见证下，是2009年全世界8位中的其中一位，得到International Women of Courage Awards的奖状的，而且实质名归的。
Hillary Clinton 对她的评语 ：
“She has pursued judicial reform and good governance, she has stood up for religious tolerance, and she has been a resolute advocate of women’s equality and their full political participation. She is someone who is not only working in her own country, but whose influence is felt beyond the borders of Malaysia. And it is a great honor to recognize her and invite her to the podium."
我们的“第一”夫人还要花大把钱来通路才能和美国第一夫人握个手，Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan 可是被欣赏，被敬佩而被“请”去领奖的。
Hillary Clinton 对她的赞美，就是任何一个马来西亚人听到，也会分享到那股光彩，感到欣慰。然而，国阵却只想要将她ISA!
-----------
IS "BERSIH" A DIRTY WORD? (A letter from an Australian tourist)
We have just finished a wonderful holiday in Malaysia. Except for a few things, like the toilets and the drivers, it was great. The people are friendly and helpful. The food is quite exciting and the country is spectacular.
There was one incident, which caused us no concern and no problem, but left us more than a little baffled.
We were in the Chow Kit area buying some things to take home when we found some shirts with “BERSIH 2” on them. We asked the man what the word meant and he said “clean”.
So, we bought some. They were good quality and cheap. As we were leaving the stall area we were approached by a man who warned us not to wear the shirts or we would be in trouble with the police.
We went back to our hotel thinking that we misheard the man at the stall who sold us the shirts and that bersih must be a very dirty word. So we asked the concierge and he told us it meant “clean”. We were confused.
At dinner that night, we struck up a conversation with the people at the next table. We raised the matter with them. They told us the shirts represented a call to the people and Government for clean and fair elections. They also told us that people wearing the shirts are being locked up without trial for waging war against the King. They explained that the Government and some people were against free and fair elections.
Fair enough, it is not our country. What we still do not understand is why the King would be against free and fair elections because he is not elected. Our friends warned us that even talking about free and fair elections could land us in gaol.
Perhaps the government could put signs at the airport warning travelers that bersih is a dirty word in Malaysia and that the King and Government are against free and fair elections. In this way, no one will make a mistake that could land them in trouble.
Doug and Helen White
Flinders Park,
South Australia