In the aftermath of Bersih 4
COMMENT Maria Chin Abdullah promised another edition of Bersih if Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak refuses to step down.
Within hours after she had said it, Najib vowed that he would keep sailing on, while his men demonised the mammoth rally which Maria avowed had attracted over 500,000 supporters .
COMMENT Maria Chin Abdullah promised another edition of Bersih if Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak refuses to step down.
Within hours after she had said it, Najib vowed that he would keep sailing on, while his men demonised the mammoth rally which Maria avowed had attracted over 500,000 supporters .
Even former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was being snubbed. This is expected, as Najib has too much at stake for him to step down.
Effectively, Najib was saying to all Bersih supporters that he was not at all disturbed by their vuvuzelas, adverse media publicity and street protest. The Bersih supporters can have more protests on the streets, if they choose to, but he would not resign.
So, life goes on. Bersih 5 may be in the pipeline; but how long before the people run out of steam?
Move into the Malay heartland
While the Bersih 2.0 steering committee will now apply pressure on the wakil rakyat to vote out Najib in a vote of no-confidence, there is another strategy that I believe will be more effective.
Now, I call everyone who turned up at Bersih 4 an ‘activist’. It is simple: unless you have the conviction that the street rally will bring about change in the country, you would not have attended it. Activists do not wait for things to happen, they make things happen.
Therefore, with over 500,000 activists who turned up at last weekend’s rally, it is time for these activists to make their presence felt in the rural Malay heartland, including the interiors of Sabah and Sarawak.
It is time to speak to the ordinary bumiputra folks and enlighten them with what is happening to the nation. While the politicians are using the ‘divide-and-rule’ strategy, it is time that these Bersih activists form their multiracial groups to move into the Malay kampungs at least once a week, to have their teh tarik chats with the local folks.
It will be easy for a Malay Bersih supporter to take the lead and invite his or her few Chinese and Indian friends, and spend every Saturday morning for the next six months to talk about the current political development in the country. The expenses can be easily shared out.
With sincerity to see the country cleansed of corrupt leaders, the local folks will begin to realise that they have been misinformed through the years. They will also be able to see the true bond between the different races, dispelling the myth that the Chinese are trying to marginalise the Malays or that the Malays are necessarily inferior to the other races.
Eventually, the local folks have to realise that they themselves have been hoodwinked by the politicians. They have been bastardised by their own leaders as the proverbial saying goes, ‘Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi’ (The fence which is supposed to keep the thieves away end up destroying the padi).
Just six months
With the rural folks, the only way to engage with them is to speak the simple truths. Truth will ultimately liberate them.
Commit to do this for a period of six months and see if there will be any difference. Encourage others to also do the same. Make it as flexible and within your normal weekend routine as possible, but make sure it is something that you will also enjoy or benefit from.
For example, if you love the local kampung cuisines, this is a great opportunity to savour some of the most authentic Malay food. At the same time, if you have been complaining that your children need the ‘environment’ to learn Malay, this is also a great opportunity to bring them along.
For the Chinese or Indians, try homestay in some kampung for a change. This may be a great experience as well besides understanding their local lifestyle. Engage the rural folks in some real conversations, and when 500,000 activists start doing this, what a great impact it would make on the nation!
For sure, thugs will be used to threaten, or create chaos, or even the police will initiate investigations into this so-called activity, but rest assured that when this happens, we know that we have hit the nail on the head.
Umno division leaders will not allow Najib to continue for another month when they know that their support base is eroding. To coordinate such outreaches between yourselves is easy – just share the thoughts this article (which was inspired by a friend of mine and all credit to him) and start forming your own groups.
This is no rocket science, but simple common sense that it will work. While the Bersih steering committee keeps itself busy planning another mammoth rally, the 500,000 activists can surely do something like this on a consistent basis.
The biggest mistake that the three major communities in peninsular Malaysia have made in the past is to allow the politicians to segregate us. It takes time, and it takes commitment to rectify the situation, but it is never too late to promote muhibbah amongst the people while awakening the rural folks of their plight.
Unemployment rate amongst the graduates is highest, where 90 out of 100 bumiputra finding it hard to find a job. They are simply being absorbed into civil service, which already has over 1.4 million employees for a nation with a population of 27 million.
If there are English teachers who are willing to help them brush up with their command of the English language, they should do it. Without helping this group of unemployed graduates, the country will never be able to progress like the other First World Nations.
How you do it can vary, but speaking to the rural folks is what each activist should now be engaged in and to help awaken them to the reality in today’s political situation, you need to speak at their level.
We need more Mat Sabus and Mujahids
This is why we need more Mat Sabus and Dr Muhahids.
Umno is not afraid of well-educated urbanite Malays who are preaching to the converted, but people who can engage with the rural folks like Mohamad Sabu or Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa ( photo ).
The rural folks hardly have time for issues such as the 1MDB. As my friend pointed out, most of them will be blur when you speak of RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal accounts. They cannot even imagine what a million ringgit is like, so there is no point of talking like Tony Pua or Khalid Samad to them.
The duo can speak to the hearts of the rural Malay folks and understand that their reserve land is more important than the missing billions from the national coffers.
Frankly, we think that the only people who can take the lead in this instance are the Malay supporters of Bersih themselves. People of other races can join in, to build the camaraderie that was already established during last weekend.
I believe in no time there will be a lot of resistance met, but 500,000 activists have to be involved in order to make a difference. Let us revive the good old days when people of all races were cheering Mokhtar Dahari ( photo ), Soh Chin Aun and Santokh Singh.
The destiny of this country is in your hands!
STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.
Related reports
Mahathir's just an angry man, Umno minister says
Back no-confidence vote against Najib, Dr M implores Umno, BN MPs
Umno veteran: Najib pushed Dr M into going for Bersih 4
TalentCorp: We failed to attract most M'sians home
Wait for DBKL's cleaning bill, Rahman tells Bersih
Prove you're not afraid of colour yellow, Najib told
Judge to recuse herself from Anwar's pardon case
S'wak DAP: Why fear urging Najib to resign?
S'gor Umno told to move effectively as opposition
Can we move forward with Bersih 4?
Only Malays can bring change to Malaysia
When T-shirts and balloons are lethal weapons
Captain Najib may be forced to walk the plank
Report this comment
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.