MP SPEAKS This is a period of tragedy for civil and political liberties in Malaysia. Why do I say this? It is because Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has played a double game when it comes to the people’s basic rights.

NONE While Time , the world's biggest-selling news magazine, has named 'The Protester' as its Person of the Year, Najib's administration has bulldozed through the Peaceful Assembly Bill through the Dewan Rakyat to keep protesters off the streets.

How Najib manoeuvred this dangerous turn of events is interesting. He spent weeks playing the reformist role - making an unannounced entrance at a pop concert, cycling with Penangites and announcing a so-called people-friendly budget.

These dramatic gestures were peppered with self-styled proclamations vowing to widen the democratic space in the country. Even I wished this was for real.

But just before the excitement settled, Najib introduced the Bill which prohibits street protests. He did it with a touch of arrogance and an enormous amount of audacity. Then his stooges went to town backing the Bill, fashioning it out to be a piece of legislation that would ensure peace and stability.

                

Time described the protesters as the “prime makers of history”. In Malaysia, the unarmed protesters were met with baton-wielding anti-riot police personnel, water cannon laced with mace, and tear gas.

The article summed up the protesters as the group of people who, in the 1960s in America, had marched for civil rights and against the Vietnam War; risen up against Iran and Portugal in the 1970s and in the 1980s; and who had spoken out against nuclear weapons in the US and Europe, against Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, against communist tyranny in Tiananmen Square and eastern Europe.

These people, like fellow Malaysians, braved arrests and torture at the hands of the enforcement authorities. They condemned brutality by nation-states and fought for their basic rights. They have gone down in history as people who struggled to make a change, to make the world a better place.

Here, the protesters have taken to the streets to call for an end to repressive laws, to protest water privatisation, to defend workers’ rights, to mourn the death of democracy, to denounce abuse of power by the police and other enforcement authorities, and to demand a clean-up of an electoral system which is blatantly open to abuses and which favours the ruling coalition.

Protests will continue

Since the Peaceful Assembly Bill was passed in the lower House, we have seen Malaysians from all walks of life gathering at Kuala Lumpur City Centre to demand that the draft law be thrown out by the Senate. It's a long shot but their protest has been registered.

It does not take a genius to figure out why this Bill was hastily introduced and is being pushed through Parliament. We all know the embarrassment Najib and his administration faced during the Bersih 2.0 rally which saw tens of thousands of people protesting on the streets to call for clean and fair elections.

NONE The image of the police force took a further whack for the violence unleashed on the protesters and the large-scale arrests, which made headlines worldwide. And more importantly, Najib  and Umno were frightened of the large swell of crowd and its potential to overthrow the government.

With ‘fear’ being the operational word, we saw Najib playing the race card to win the hearts of Malays at the recent Umno general assembly. His racially inflammatory speech was echoed by other party leaders who are equally frightened of losing their grip on power.

The overthrow of any repressive regime comes from the strong will of the people who protest to bring about reforms and change.

A series of popular uprisings and protests since the 1950s forced president Frederik Willem de Klerk to begin negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa.

The unrelenting protest for a democratic nation has paved the way for the Burmese junta to begin engaging with the icon of democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi.

In Malaysia, decades of fighting to abolish the draconian Internal Security Act have compelled the government to announce a repeal.

Protesters in Malaysia will continue to make their demands heard. It's odd that Najib and his administration just do not get it.

 

CHARLES SANTIAGO is the DAP member of parliament for Klang.

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