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Will the leaders consider an alternative strategy?

Bersih has made a bold announcement urging the people to rally to urge the PM Najib Abdul Razak to resign.

Christine Hu has said that the rally will not be effective without a proper strategy to bring about a change like a prolonged ‘occupy’ movement.

Thomas Fann has said that the rally would send a loud and clear message that Najib has failed and has to resign and then the FRU will disrupt the event and tents will be unplugged and we all will return to normal life. Christine and Thomas appear to be devils advocates to Bersih’s effort but in effect they are only urging something more effective that will produce the intended results.

Some analysts say that Najib can only be brought down from within Umno. Muhyiddin Yassin would be the natural successor. Would a Malay supremacist be any different? Most right-thinking people would want a change of government.

Christine has given examples from Ukarine, Egypt, Hong Kong and Bangkok. They have been effective but short-lived. The countries are no better now than then.

I would like to suggest an alternative strategy taking an example from India. The closing down of shops and warehouses as a mark of public protest was called a hartal. Mahatma Gandhi popularised the hartal through a series of anti-British strikes during the struggle for India’s Independence.

A hartal was carried out in Malaya in 1947 with resounding success. It was spearheaded by Putera-AMCJA. Putera was the Pusat Tenaga Rakyat (Centre for People’s Power), a coalition of the Malay Women’s group (Awas) and the Malay Youth Group (API). AMCJA was the All Malaya Joint Council for Action. They were fighting for a People’s Constitution. The leaders were Tan Cheng Lock and de Cruz and Ahmad Boestaman.

The Pan Malayan Federation of Trade Unions, the Clerical Unions of Penang, Malacca, Selangor and Perak, the Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce, The Selangor Women’s Federation, the Malayan New Democratic Youth League, the Singapore Chinese Association, the Peasant’s Union and others and even the MIC with backing from the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Ex-Comrades Association all joined forces.

This was a united effort of a multi-racial coalition, presenting a ‘People’s Constitution’ to pressure the British colonial administration to give Malaya Independence with political rights to pave the way for a popularly elected government as against the Anglo-Malay proposal between Umno and the British.

Umno also held counter demonstrations in the rural areas. They launched a concerted action with the hartal, a one-day total strike. Starting at six in the morning everything throughout Malaya and Singapore was shut down in estates and mines, tin mines and coal mines, factories and shops, schools and places of business, shipyards and railways. Even housewives stayed at home.

 

This is the kind of strategy I am proposing - a one day hartal every week until we see results. This will hurt.

Of course, the business community will object. They will then have to pit their losses against the ringgit so rapidly sliding down the slippery slope today.

 

I will not rule out the strategy proposed by Christine. Will the leaders mentioned by Christine also consider this alternative strategy?

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