More Than A Spring Clean

The Bersih movement has sparked many reactions from Malaysians of all ages from all over the world. While the 8 demands of Bersih is a noble cause to fight for, the importance of Bersih has gone beyond its electoral reform demands – the importance of Bersih lies in its significance. It has become the symbol of people power and an important platform to raise awareness of the issues that are and should concern Malaysians.

Bersih is a reflection of the change in Malaysia's political culture that we have seen over the past few years. People are becoming braver in demanding their rights. Yes, Malaysians throughout the world came together on 28^th April to show their support for clean and fair elections but more importantly, they were there to show their love for Malaysia. As a country with maturing political awareness, many different opinions from various perspectives like mine and yours will be voiced out; and inevitably, clashes in opinions will also arise. There is an urgent need to recognize the importance of respecting different opinions if we want Malaysia to be the country Malaysians deserve. It is unfair to accuse those supporting Bersih of being ungrateful, rowdy and puppets of the opposition; just like it is unfair to accuse those not in support of Bersih to be pro-government, close-minded and uneducated. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but with the freedom of expression also comes the responsibility to do so wisely. Bersih symbolizes one way in our effort to achieve the ideal, but it is NOT the only way to achieve that; and neither should it be.

The changing dynamics of the Malaysia’s political culture marks a growth of the civil society’s movement and the increasingly loud voices of the concerned rakyats within and outside of the country who are keen on breaking the ‘takpe lah’ attitude that was synonymous with the Malaysian identity. While Malaysians still enjoy hanging out at mamak stalls, with the help of social networking sites, these hangout sessions have been utilized to engage the people with the leaders of our countries. “Tweetups”, Q & A sessions are organized over twitter and other social networking sites. The conversations over meals have largely extended beyond football or food as we experience the ‘social media boom’. Never has news travelled so fast and wide across the globe. Now that information is rather easily obtained, it forces the government to hold more accountability of the flaws in governance that were previously shielded by the lack of access of information. While it is easy to blame the government, we also have to remind ourselves we are also accountable for the country we live in. The line is a cliché, but we really do need to look at the man in the mirror if we want to make that change. The huge interest shown by the average joes of Malaysia before during and after Bersih is a healthy indication that we are heading in the right direction. The presence of discussions on accountability of police as well as participants of the rally is an even more positive sign that we are a maturing society who is able to conduct ourselves rationally.

In spite of my positive outlook, it is a solemn fact that Bersih 3.0 was not without incidents. It is rather sad to see that the peaceful rally in KL was marred by the violent outburst from both sides of the parties, but we need to remember those incidents are not representative of those involved in the rally; touching stories of Malaysians taking care of each other can be found easily over the internet. There is no justification for the violence incited by both sides, and all involved should be held accountable. But that is another story.

The path to the ideal Malaysia is a long one and this is only the beginning. Along the way, mistakes should be expected; some might even take the form of violence in a protest. It is important that we learn from the mistakes and not get stuck in the circle of the blaming game. In our push for demands, patience is required and we need to be realistic. It is a delicate balance. We do not want to rush the process as this could possibly lead to the very problems we are trying to solve. The changing dynamics of Malaysia’s current political culture is a rather unchartered territory. It is worth reminding ourselves that we should work together and not against each other. After all, as our “Bapa Kemerdekaan” aptly said, "no matter what we are, we are ALL Malaysians."