Tuesday 5 May 2009

BERSIH Calls for Malaysians to Wear BLACK on 7th May 2009, to commemorate "1BLACKMALAYSIA"

UPDATE (6th May 2009) : From Harakah Daily
"...Satu himpunan yang diberi nama 'One Black Malaysia' serentak dengan satu program solat hajat, doa munajat dan solat subuh akan diadakan di Ipoh, Perak pada 7 Mei, sebelum berlangsungnya sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri.

Orang ramai khususnya penduduk di Perak dan juga para penyokong diseru untuk turut serta di dalam program anjuran PAS Pusat sebagai tanda sokongan terhadap kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat yang dipimpin oleh Dato' Seri Nizar Jamaluddin sekaligus menyatakan bantahan terhadap kerakusan Barisan Nasional (BN) yang merampas kuasa tempoh hari.

Program yang telah mendapat persetujuan Presiden PAS, Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang akan diadakan bermula jam 5.00 pagi di Masjid Al-Ittihadiyah, Kampung Tengku Husin Baru, Manjoi, Ipoh, Perak. READ HERE FOR MORE
--- END OF UPDATE--------

LATEST!!!


Poll reform group Bersih spokesperson Wong Chin Huat has been arrested under the Sedition Act tonight by a team of police at his home in Taman Sri Sentosa in Kuala Lumpur.

According to his lawyer Edmund Bon, the activist was arrested at 8pm after a police report was lodged today. He said he received a call from Wong.Bon has since unable to contact Wong. It is learnt that Wong has been brought to Commercial Crimes Department headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.According to his lawyer Edmund Bon, the activist was arrested at 8pm after a police report was lodged today. He said he received a call from Wong.

Bersih spokesperson Wong Chin Huat urged the public to wear BLACK on May 7, to protest the Perak state government takeover by Barisan Nasional which has been seen as undemocratic and unconstitutional. Bersih is a coalition of opposition parties and NGOs who have been pressuring the authorities to improve election laws and administration.(READ BELOW BERSIH'S PRESS STATEMENT) READ HERE for more in malaysiakini




BERSIH'S PRESS STATEMENT

" We the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (BERSIH) call upon all Malaysians to wear BLACK to work, to school, in play or at home the coming May 7th (Thursday) to present 1BLACKMalaysia to Prime Minister Najib Razak as our strongest protest to the on-going Perak coup he has orchestrated.

Despite the court’s scheduled hearing on the legality of Zambry Abdul Kadir’s legality as the Menteri Besar on May 5th and 6th, a sitting for the Perak State Legislature has been scheduled to begin on May 7th bypassing the speaker V. Sivakumar.

A motion has also been tabled to replace the speaker, who has vigorously defended the Legislature’s rights and power throughout the coup, with R. Ganesan, a non-lawmaker from the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).

To prevent the public from knowing what would happen in the assembly, a “media curfew” was imposed whereby only 13 selected media outlets are granted access, on top of a general lockdown of the city of Ipoh, where the Legislature is seated. While the Zambry regime had since retracted the "media curfew" under strong public outcry, the initial move reveals a regime that fears public scrutiny.

These latest developments show total disregard of Najib Razak on rule of law and constitutional democracy in Malaysia. He has also ignored the voters’ wrath on unconstitutional means of power grab, as showed in the Bukit Gantang by-election where the margin for the ousted MB Mohammad Nizar increased by over 2000 votes.

Najib’s slogan: “1Malaysia, people first, performance now” is now a cruel joke on Malaysians. Is this the old “1Authoritarian-and-CorruptMalaysia” getting worse? What “people first” when people are forced to be blind, deaf, mute and immobile with the media curfew and city lockdown? What “performance now” when the “performance” in law-breaking may never be known?

In response to all these, we urge all Malaysians to wear black on May 7th. It will be a peaceful but powerful message of civil disobedience that we the people are politicians' bosses and no politicians defiant of public opinion can escape punishment at the next poll. Civil disobedience is a peaceful act that every citizen can participate and make a difference. In history, civil disobedience led by Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King and the Polish people had successfully ended tyranny and injustice without bloodshed or disruption.

Let’s paint every state and territory, every town and village black with our clothes, headbands, hats, turbans, veils, armbands, ribbons and stickers on that day. Let everyone see a sea of black walking into an office, a market, a mosque, a temple, a church, a college, a park, a bus, a commuter or LRT car, a ferry or an aeroplane .

Let us be united in one BLACK colour and let show the world that the 1Malaysia under Najib Razak is “1BLACKMalaysia” living in darkness.

Let’s show the world that Malaysians will stand up against any invasion of democracy, freedom and peace by unscrupulous politicians. We will not allow coup be the way to power in Perak, or anywhere in Malaysia. No one shall take away our democracy, freedom and peace. Najib may hijack our unelected institutions like the judiciary, civil service, police and Election Commission, but he will never win our heart and mind. And he is no reformist until he dares to face elections in Perak.

Let us show Najib in one colour - "1BlackMalaysia!". Let us tell him in one voice for Malaysia: "Democracy First!" Let us pose him the one solution for Perak: "Elections now!".

Yes, Mr Prime Minister of Malaysia, and the World, listen to us: 1BlackMalaysia! Democracy First! Elections Now!
"
-BERSIH


Related Article in Bahasa

7 Mei: Hari 1MalaysiaGelita

From SIASAH: Read here for more

Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih) mengajak seluruh rakyat Malaysia untuk berkabung pada 7 Mei 2009 ( Khamis) dengan berpakaian hitam sepanjang hari yang dinamakan 1MalaysiaGelita.

Ini bertujuan untuk menunjukkan protes kepada Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak terhadap apa yang berlaku di Perak.

Selain daripada itu, warna hitam itu juga melambangkan protes terhadap pengambilan kuasa oleh pihak Barisan Nasional di negeri Perak.

Pada sidang media di Dewan Perhimpunan Cina sebentar tadi, penyelaras program, Wong Chin Huat berkata bahawa slogan Najib sebagai "1Mmalaysia: Rakyat didahulukan, pencapaian diutamakan" sebagai bahan lawak bagi rakyat Malaysia kini.

Ini kerana Najib sendiri tidak mempraktikkan slogan tersebut.

Bagi Bersih, kata Wong, Najib langsung tidak memperjuangkan rakyat dan tidak mementingkan hak rakyat terutama hak para pengundi di negeri Perak.

Beliau juga menyeru rakyat Malaysia supaya turut sama di dalam protes itu dengan memakai pakaian hitam dan menunjukkkan bahawa rakyat Malaysia menentang sebarang pencerobohan demokrasi dan sekatan ke atas media.

Selain daripada itu, wakil gabungan Bersih juga mencadangkan pembubaran DUN Perak dan adakan semula pilihan raya.

Turut menyokong 1MalaysiaGelita ialah Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI) dan juga Anwar Ibrahim Club (AIC).

Sidang media itu juga disertai oleh Ahli Parlimen Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Phua, Ahli Parlimen Serdang, Teo Nie Ching, Ahli Parlimen Kuala Selangor, Dr. Dzulkifly Ahmad, Ahli Parlimen Subang, S.Sivarasa, Li Yoon dari Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor dan Dr Lim Teck Ghee, pengarah CPI.

Dalam sidang media itu juga kesemua wakil Bersih mengecam tindakan sekatan media terhadap liputan Dun Perak serta mendesak Najib supaya menyelesaikan segera kemelut yang melanda negeri Perak.




(Images courtesy of Zorro-Unmasked Blog)

1 comment:

Yap Chong Yee said...

I would like to Tell all members of BERSIH that this campaign is very imaginative and very effective. I too call on all Malaysians to participate in this very important campaign.

The fight by Pakatan Rakyat to regain control of the State Government of Perak is really the fight of all Malaysians to entrench the rule of law, personal freedom and democracy. Perak is the front line battleground for the freedom of all Malaysians, because if we loose people power in this fight, it means the Rakyat are weak and do not have the power to claim what is rightfully ours to choose. In a democracy only the people have the power to elect the government, the so called Zambry government of the BN was achieved by actions that are constitutes abuse of power by the EXECUTIVE BRANCH. It is more correctly called a COUP, but only that everyone are too intimidated to call a spade a spade.

If you are true Malaysian, I mean all Malaysians, you are bound by the true spirit of patriotism to support this called to wear BLACK SHIRT OR ARM BAND ETC. to show that the government has crossed the line in the sand. We must not be intimidated or all is lost. We are all very fortunate that for the first time in our history Malaysians have learned the power of pulling together and in the same direction and this has been possible only because Malaysia has a strong blogging community.

In the days of Mahatir it was possible for the government to abuse their power and no one is the wiser because then there was no way to mobilise community support, but in this modern age of the internet, we are able to mobilise by internet, SMS and other means. We are able to show common cause because we are able to marshall popular support and this development has given the Rakyat people power. Let us show our disgust at the illegal and unlawful power grab in Perak and to demonstrate our protest peacefully and to show that the Rakyat dispise the actions of PM Najib.

PEOPLE POWER ! WEAR BLACK !