Himpunan Merah and Gerakan Merah are welcome to demonstrate, to champion their causes and to pressure the government to meet their demands. They are welcome to organise as a simple race-based organisation or on a multiracial platform. It is their right.

However, it is not right for them to time their demonstration to coincide with another demonstration just to intimidate or to teach others a lesson. The purported ‘show-of-force’ is wrong.

It is for the government to decide whether it wishes to meet the demand of any demonstration. It is the job of the police to ensure peace and safety during and after the demonstration.

‘Self-proclaimed righteous’ NGOs have no right to monitor or to provide surveillance on demonstrations staged by others. Since when have they assumed authority to pronounce who have committed crimes and deserved punishment?

One NGO has no right to tell another what it can or cannot do. Therefore, it is not for Himpunan Merah or Gerakan Merah to decide whether Bersih should hold its demonstration or not. Similarly, it is not right for Bersih to stop others from gathering. However, it is the job of the police to advise that ‘conflicting’ gatherings be held at different venues or at different dates.

A counter-demonstration is not right. It amounts to unreasonableness, intimidation, threat, and deliberately trying to cause unrest. There are 365 days a year and seven days a week. Each organisation should choose its own date, day and time to demonstrate but certainly not to coincide with another demonstration that has been decided earlier.

Ultimately the purpose of all socio-political movements and NGOs is to galvanise support from the masses for their cause. I think we could easily discern which organisation is sincere and which is not; which is civil and reasonable and which is not; and which is being crude and rude and which is not. Insincere, uncivil and rude behaviour would ultimately lose out; there is no prize for guessing this right. It is like a drowning man trying to clutch at straws really.