A Different Kind of Music Video...

Just viewed this homemade music video called A Tribute to BERSIH People's Gathering on YouTube. Lots of other video clips from the Yellow Wave that swept across KL in the wake of a heavy downpour on the momentous afternoon of November 10th, when an estimated 40,000 Malaysians refused to stay home and watch TV. Instead they flooded the heart of KL with their passion for electoral and judicial reform.

The "Royal" Malaysian Police - what irony, since they were hardly showing loyalty to the rulers by attempting to forcibly thwart the people's collective will! - who have spent hundreds of millions of taxpayers' hard-earned cash on crowd-control equipment, were only able to prevent protesters from assembling peacefully at Merdeka Square and the National Mosque.

Photo courtesy of Nat Tan's blog.

However, they were powerless to stop 30,000 or more others from marching to the Palace, where the Agong's private secretary graciously received the petition signed by citizen groups and opposition parties beseeching the Yang di Pertuan Agong to intervene and rescue the ship of state, now in danger of sinking owing to abysmal piloting by Barisan Nazional, the incumbent political party which has been in power since 1957.

Though I generally avoid taking politics too seriously, there are crossroads in a nation's destiny when the opportunity for positive change presents itself. Failure to seize the day and reclaim our democratic aspirations will put us in the same situation as the poor residents of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck. Why did so many die and why is New Orleans real estate being bought up by giant corporations now that the low-income black population has been literally flushed out? Why? Because some folks are way too greedy, that's why. And they don't seem to know when to stop pigging out at the natural resources trough. Here's another homemade ad for the 10 November BERSIH event found on YouTube:



Don't you just love digital tech and broadband... and young people with ideas and ideals? I salute all those who resist tyranny with courage, intelligence, and compassion.

OKAY... TIME TO GO, BN!

BERSIH event makes top news on Al Jazeera! Not a good ad for BN's attitude towards dissent...

BRAVO, BAR COUNCIL!

Pictures from Malaysia Today

Courtesy of Jeff Ooi

26 September 2007 will be remembered as the day the lawyers marched for justice, demanding a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the scandalous V.K. Lingam video clip made public on 19 September by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's Justice Party).

Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan also handed a second memo to the Prime Minister's private secretary, demanding that a Judicial Appointment Commission be instituted.

The Royal Malaysian Police, in typical fashion, attempted to intimidate the 2,000 strong crowd of protestors with riot squads, a hovering helicopter, and a roadblock preventing the buses ferrying Bar Council members from entering Putrajaya.

And so the lawyers walked 5km along the highway to the Palace of Justice where other colleagues, opposition polticians, and civil society representatives had assembled for the march to the PM's office. Soon after the memoranda were handed over, the sky opened up and "baptized" the marchers in a torrential downpour which we trust will soon come to symbolize for all of us the Cleansing of the Malaysian Judiciary.

Before any real political reforms can occur, we have to purge the Malaysian Judiciary of unscrupulous cronies, lackeys, and scoundrels - and restore the credibility and independence of our courts. I urge all Malaysians - do whatever you can and, above all, focus your collective will on cleaning up the hideous mess and perverted justice Mahathir's 22-year rule has bequeathed us.

For more photos and videos, visit Jeff Ooi's blog, Screenshots - or check out Malaysia Today.