On July 9, after the sun had set on a day of protest and arrests in Kuala Lumpur, more than a hundred people gathered at the Malaysian Consulate in New York’s midtown. They were there to take part in the Global Bersih rally, kickstarted in Melbourne 24 hours earlier.

bersih rally in new york 090711 empire state building The New York rally might have been smaller in scale than its counterpart in Melbourne, but the participants came with the same determination to make their voices heard.

Some had travelled almost 600km to join the rally and show their solidarity for “brave souls” back home who had faced arrest and borne the brunt of the water canons and tear gas on the streets of Kuala Lumpur earlier in the day.

The crowd gathered at the Consulate at 10am, distinctive in their yellow t-shirts, holding banners bearing peaceful words of protest and solidarity.

One carried a message for Kuala Lumpur, “We’re with you Kuala Lumpur and mighty proud of you”.

The rally’s organizer, Leng-Feng Lee, was proud to see such a good turnout.  

bersih rally in new york 090711 mighty proud banner “Bersih is not asking us to do it,” he said, as more supporters continued to arrive and the crowd broke into spontaneous chants.

“It’s all volunteers. People from around US cities, we feel that we need to do something. They’re not associated with any parties. They just came here as Malaysians, and they want a clean and fair election. That is our focus, and we don’t want to deviate from that focus.

“Clean and fair elections, that is our only goal here as Malaysians today.”

While some have argued that such a small gathering would not achieve anything, Dee Dee, from Kuantan, disagreed.

“This is what we can do, right here, right now, we want to give a part of us. We want to support our friends and family in Malaysia, but we are here, and this is what we can do.

bersih rally in new york 090711 group “I think it’s a good opportunity that different races from Malaysia—Malay, Chinese Indian, we’re all here. It’s very, very rare that everyone is united to do something like this,” she said.

For some of the participants, like Sanique, a student from Penang going to school at Upper Iowa University, the rally was an opportunity to show support through action, rather than just doing something on Facebook.  

Others talked of exercising their basic right.

“If you don’t speak up for yourself, no one else will,” said one participant.

At 11.30, the crowd made its way quietly towards the United Nations building and the Ralph Bunche Park, New York City’s first ‘peace park’ and a historic site of public assembly.

Holding banners at the roadside under a blazing noonday sun, rally participants drew honks of support from passing cars on 1st Avenue. Behind them, from the plinth of the Peace Form One sculpture, participants declared their hopes for Malaysia.

Some spoke in English, some in Bahasa. Some shouted “Hidup Rakyat!” others talked of their hope to return to a better Malaysia with their children.

The rally moved back to the Malaysian Consulate at 2pm, where participants sang the Malaysian national anthem before dispersing.

NATASJA SHERIFF is a citizen journalist, currently staying in New York in the US.