Allow me to refer to the report in The Star yesterday entitled 'Chandra: Wrong strategy to hold demos', which quoted Keadilan deputy president Dr Chandra Muzaffar as saying that people should not take to the streets to overthrow the government.

I agree that political changes should be peaceful and orderly. However, whether it would be 'peaceful' or 'orderly' or not is subject to many factors, including the means used by the corrupt regimes to resist changes.

Many a time in human history, it has never been the intention of the people to use non-peaceful and non-orderly means to change the governments. They usually wanted peaceful and orderly reforms, but the reactions of the corrupt regimes provoke the people into more radical and defensive actions.

There were also cases of agents provocateurs who try to instigate violence in order to blame it on the peaceful and orderly people.

Chandra is therefore wrong to make it appear that only the people themselves are to be held responsible for non-peaceful or non-orderly events in time of political changes. This is exactly what the corrupt regime wants the credulous and timid people to believe.

Chandra should not be deceived by the propaganda of the mainstream media. He should stop being an elitist in the great struggle of the people against tyranny. If he cannot lead the masses and articulate their legitimate grievances, he should resign and go back to his ivory tower.