Nine years ago, this was the story of Bersih 5.
It was 3.12 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, the eve of Bersih 5. A group of 10 police officers from Bukit Aman raided the Bersih office in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
After two and a half hours of searching and ransacking our office, (Bersih 2.0 chairman) Maria Chin Abdullah and I were taken away. The intention of the then (Barisan Nasional) -regime was very clear – to block the Bersih 5 rally.
I was then taken to the Kuala Lumpur Police Contingent headquarters and Maria was taken to Jinjang (police station). The regime failed to stop the people from taking to the streets and demanding reform and a better Malaysia under the name of Satukan Tenaga, Malaysia Baru (Unite the power, New Malaysia).
On Nov 19, 2016, Kuala Lumpur turned yellow. From the cell, I cried in happiness. I told the investigating officer who was taking my statement that Malaysians had won again. And my eyes became teary again.
Since then, a lot has changed in Malaysia. (Former prime minister Datuk Seri) Najib Razak has been convicted and jailed (in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal).
Malaysia is now in a better place. I agree we are not perfect, but the right to assembly is much more respected and upheld.
Under the Madani government, protest is a new norm. Protesters are allowed to march up to near the Parliament gate. There are no more arrests before rallies. Protesters don’t need to submit a notice anymore.
Notes:
- I was remanded for two days under Section 147 and 511 of the Penal Code for rioting and attempt to riot.
- Maria was subsequently detained under Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) for 11 days.
- We continued to protest every day until Maria was released on 29th November 2016.
- After one year (2017), Maria and I were cleared by police of all the charges.
The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.
