Are rallies and demonstrations in Malaysia losing their appeal, given the low turnout during such gatherings recently?
Associate Professor Dr Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk believes that it is not the size of the crowd that matters, but Malaysians must be allowed to express their views in a safe environment.
“Regardless of whether the gathering has five or 5,000 participants, what is important is that Malaysians should be allowed to voice their views, in the media or on the streets,” said Azeem, who is the director of the Centre for Policy Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
“No one should stop them from airing their views, especially a government that was born from the streets. This is the way for people to be heard.”
The country has seen several gatherings and protests in recent times, but the number of protestors is a pale shadow of the heydays of the Bersih-led rallies that drew in hundreds of thousands of people in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
In 1998, the Reformasi movement saw large crowds swarming the streets, protesting against then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the sacking and jailing of his then deputy, and now Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The first Bersih rally in 2007, called for democratic reforms, and drew huge crowds, with Bersih 5 held in 2016. These rallies were said to have contributed to the downfall of Barisan Nasional (BN) when the coalition was booted out of Putrajaya in the 2018 general election.
Since then, there have been pockets of gatherings and protests, drawing a smaller number of people. On Jan 3, some 200 people took part in the Himpunan Bangkit Ummah as they protested against DAP ministers Hannah Yeoh (Youth and Sports) and Nga Kor Ming (Housing and Local Government) for allegedly disrupting the harmony of Muslims in the country.
On Jan 25, the Himpunan Rakyat Benci Rasuah (People Hate Corruption Gathering) led by student activists also saw some 200 people demonstrating. Earlier, several Cabinet ministers had insisted that the gathering not go on. However, Anwar and other ministers said that Malaysians were free to express their opinions.
“I guess this is what happens when you are in power. Priorities change, and I’m sure the ministers who opposed this (gathering) in the beginning were concerned that this would expose their weaknesses. Instead, if they had allowed it from Day 1, it would have been to their advantage.”
“Many expected this from a government comprising those who had earlier gone to the streets to demand change.”
As for the modest turnout at the anti-corruption gathering last weekend, Azeem said this showed that the organiser lacked the necessary network. This, despite graft and its ills at all levels, being widely spoken about in the country.
“Anti-corruption is a subject close to the hearts of the people. But we didn’t quite see the numbers this time around, perhaps due to the organiser’s lack of networking.
“Let’s not forget that it was (political party) Pas who got the numbers in the 1998 protests. The Bersih rallies were well organised and also had their reach, evident in the number of people who turned up during their previous rallies. If the student activists had worked closely with these parties, perhaps they could have gotten a bigger turnout,” he added.
