Years from now people will ask, ‘Where were you during Bersih 2.0?’

If you have your own ideas on how you can make this country better in a peaceful way, we would love to lend in a helping hand, but if you still think that by sitting in front of your computers and posting negative or racial comments you’re making a difference, then you probably need to grows some balls or some brains or maybe both.

by "Muthu"

Before you guys read further I’d like to say a few things … I wrote this to archive the chain of events that actually took place on the Bersih 2.0 Rally, 9th of July 2011. I wouldn’t have to write this if had the media been free and independent (request number 5 by Bersih 2.0)

I don’t usually put up personal things here, but since this is considered like an historic event I couldn’t help myself from writing, and also I’m not by any way affiliated to any political party (but there was this time when I was younger when I had to put on an MIC T-Shirt, I would like to apologize to mankind for that) My intentions on going for the rally was purely on supporting to the rakyat (people) and being the voice of the voiceless

Lastly, if you are against the movement let us not have no beef. We both want to achieve world peace in our own terms, if you have an opinion that strongly differs I would like to apologize in advance so that if we were to ever meet up someday we can sit down and have tea, chat like how friends do.

I wrote this in bullet forms to simplify things and sorry there’s hardly any time stated as I did not go prepared (hp battery died and I don’t own a watch). I also included some personal things/thoughts along the way, hope you guys can bear with it.

• Woke up, saw the time 2:50 pm, Panicked! Had a turbo shower [regretted on drinking the night before with my colleagues & bosses]
• After shower, realised that the time earlier was actually only 10:10 am [f**k$&%^]
• Took dad’s bike to Kelana Jaya LRT Station via the Glenmarie, Shah Alam road, didn’t drive or head to Federal Highway as I was afraid of the roadblock/jam.
• There was a roadblock in Glenmarie! but they let me through, I guess they have been posted there since the night before and they we too tired to check everyone 1 by 1.
• Noticed that fuel was nearing ‘E’, told myself “can make it lar …” 
• Reached KJ, met up my colleague and took the train to Pasar Seni as one of our friend was already there.
• There was at least 1 policeman/policewoman in each and every platform and train. Was glad I didn’t wear anything yellow.
• reached Pasar Seni station and the crowd was f**kin immense, could see them sitting along the road at Pos Malaysia, KTM & LRT Station.
• A big ass Police & FRU squad was posted in front of Central Market blocking the road.
• As we were checking out the crowd, some bunch a guys started riling up the people with chants such as ‘Hidup Rakyat!’ & ‘Takbir’. After a while that small crowd became approximately 1,000!
• At 1st we were merely bystanders, they asked us to join the march, but before I could ask my colleague “should we join now?” he already jumps over the barricade and joins them marching. I followed.
• There was a slight decline in the speed of our movement, I’m guessing that’s the front liners were facing the authorities in Central Market, and some yelled “Pergi Masjid” (go to the Mosque)
• We headed to Masjid Jamek, majority of us were Malays, Chinese but hardly any Indians though.
• We were in front of Masjid Jamek and was instructed to sit down on the road, we covered each and every spot on the street. Made friends with some bunch a guys who were dressed up like Rastafarians (not that Rastafarians have an official way of dressing but you know what I mean lar)
• We were sitting down and Chanting the ‘Hidup Rakyat’ & ‘Takbir,’ after a few minutes we stood up and sang Negaraku, it felt great!
• While singing Negaraku, without warning FRU fired tear gas onto our direction! And the scramble began, there were almost a stampede but there were some veteran activist were among us and they yelled ‘jangan lari, jalan cepat cepat jer’ [dont run, just walk fast]
• Those damn tear gas were nasty! It was my first time and I did not come prepared despite living a house filled with surgical masks and protective eye wear (mom works for a manufacturing company). Once the smoke goes trough your nose everything inside will feel like comin out, once it hits your eyes you start crying a river and the toughest part is it temporarily paralyses your lungs. Somehow I recovered quick, I’m guessing all these years of jogging finally paid off.
• I was separated from my friend and thought I’ll call him later a bit as I realised the battery was so freaking low [was too wasted to charge the phone the night before]
• In the midst of running an elderly man asked if it was my 1st time? Another veteran activist, he made it sound like askin a kid whose goin on a roller-coaster ride in the theme park.
• We did our 1st run and some of us ran our asses off to the HSBC Jalan Ampang area. I was across the road from the small clock tower. Thats when I took off my shirt to wipe my tears off and pulled out my Malaysian Football jersey which I carefully rolled and stuffed into my pocket! HARIMAU MALAYA MOTHF**KAZZ!!!
• We headed to Petaling Street (in front of Kota Raya) there were more protesters coming from all direction, the crowd was building up even more.
• I called my friend and got reunited with him in front of Guardian, he received a call and soon a cousin of his joined us.
• The group wanted to march to Stadium Merdeka via the road along Kemayan ATC but that road there too we were blocked by authority.
• Later we were asked to head out to the other side of the block, as the crowd was moving someone yelled that the ‘PATRIOT’ group was there and they were purposely misleading us. The reason why? I don’t know but I doubt that they wanted a confrontation as we outnumbered them like HELL!
• At this juncture I saw Malaysians from all walks of life participating in the demonstrations. Malays, Chinese, Indians, East Malaysians, old people, really really old people, young teens, disabled people, gay people (I swear this one dude was checking me out!)
• We Sang Negaraku! I never been so happy singing the National Anthem.
• We chanted the standard demonstration lines:
• HIDUP HIDUP! HIDUP RAKYAT!
• HANCUR HANCUR! HANCUR BN!
• TAKBIR! ALLAHU AKBAR!
• MUNDUR MUNDUR! MUNDUR BN
• HANCUR HANCUR! HANCUR NAJIB!
• HANCUR HANCUR! HANCUR ROSMAH! (this one is my fav ^_^ )
• We started moving to Menara Maybank, where there was a speech by one of the main protesters. I’m guessing he was from an opposition political party (PKR I think) as he had a microphone and some speakers to address the crowd.
• Couldn’t really hear him but mainly the just chanted the standard lines, he emphasized Rosmah, lol. and towards the end he also said “kita juga ingin manyampaikan terima kasih kita kepada pihak Maybank kerana sudi memberikan ruang untuk kita berkumpul [translate: We would like to convey our thanks to Maybank for lending a space here to gather] (but obviously it’s because they were closed lar)
• The crowd kept waving at the passing trains and the commuters were waving back : )
• There were 2 police helicopters that kept circling the skies at all times, the movement kept showing them the finger.
• A bunch a young Malay girls who wore head scarves made their way forward and was put in the front lines. This was to psych the FRU’s from firing tear gas I think. But FRU’s didn’t bother, they fired again!
• Now the entire crowd has been funnelled into the Puduraya Road. The entrance at Menara Maybank has been blocked by cops and same goes to the end of the road heading to Times Square.
• In other words we were sitting ducks! either we have to battle them and move forward or disperse quietly.
• We heard the bells again, (the bell work like a signal if their gonna do some shit) then we heard that familiar sound ‘tratt! tat!’ damn tear gas again! this time crowd is more composed, they didn’t run like a horses and they all took big steps in their walk.
• I ran up towards the hill, the road heading towards the Bursa building, but the smoke was catching up fast so some of us ran in an alley and ended up in a dead end.
• We slowly turned back and head back to the Pudu road. To my surprise there was a mamak shop which was actually opened, it was in front of the temple. And quite a number the people who ran away from the tear gasses were actually recovering and refuelling on fluids there. I got myself a can of 100 Plus while I was at it.
• I enquired on food, I saw some on display but the cashier said no! (f**K%$^&$& I only had 1 slice of bread in the morning) This was to reduce the amount of people from chilling in the shop I think, and he was probably worried about looting and stuff.
• We all regrouped again in the streets of Pudu and this time the crowd was bigger than ever! We sat down on the road once again *_*
• Then we were being forced back and they started to squeeze us in, had to stand up and do a little walking, the clouds started appearing and we were all praying for rain.
• I was quite exhausted and was in need of something to eat, I sat and rested on the divider, leaned on a lamp post over looking the Puduraya Bus Station and suddenly they fired tear gas AGAIN! but this time not only it came from the front, it also showered from the sides. From above the buildings. (I suspect the FRUs took higher ground on the road that goes along the hotels at the back)
• Despite the brilliant strategy on scattering us, the FRUs misfired and half the canisters landed in to the construction site of the bus station, some even resorted on throwing back the canisters (God bless their burning fingers)
• Among the stray tear gasses some even made their way into Tung Shin Hospital! but into what appears to be the parking compound of the Hospital. I’m guessing that it was not intentional as their handling of the device was not good from start.
• There were some really hot chicz who then started screaming “KEJAM NYA, INGAT LAR TUHAN” [translate: THAT'S SO CRUELL, THINK OF GOD!]
• I ran towards a road leading to a church, at that very moment I realised these houses of God have truly played a unique role in this, as we first said our prayers in front of a Mosque and now our Muslim brothers and sisters actually have taken shelter in Hindu temple and Church.
• We were on the verge of getting back into the Puduraya streets and suddenly the FRUs started spraying the chemical laced water from their canons. A Malay chap told me “yang ni yang hijau punya, kuat punya ni” [translate: this is green one, it's the strongest] Lots of veterans in the house today!
• They were closing in on us, and I saw the numbers drop, quite a number of people have given up and left the scene. Me and the rest of the bunch who took temporary refuge in front of the church now ran towards to Tung Shin for shelter. I was thinking if they will barge in the Hospital with the troops ?
• I was in the car park and I saw some of our Muslim brothers protesters praying there. I moved away to respect to the ritual and went to the ledge overlooking the road to see what’s goin on.
• We started singing Negaraku! Once again it felt awesome!
• We got back on the streets, and the Bersih protesters were reunited once again, and we also reunited with the tear gas ones more.
• I saw several arrest made far in front of me. This was the hard line supporters of Bersih, PAS and Keadilan I think. These guys probably came prepared, judging from their actions and levels of defiance, I can bravely say they wanted to get arrested!
• I saw an elderly Malay man in a T-Shirt that says ‘Penang’ talkin to a foreigner dude about the tyranny of the BN government. He later gave him the Bersih 2.0 bandana and there you have it! a tourist-cum-activist! Malaysia Boleh!
• Several hours on this stand off, it wasn’t high noon any more, my pants, shoes, socks and jersey was wet. I was not in the mood to “Hidup this! HIDUP that” any longer. Then once again we received a combo of tear gas and water canons. This part truly annoyed the shit outta me as we were continuously spearing forward and running backwards like 3 to 4 times.
• This whole episode on moving forward and running back was because we were tricked by the police that they have agreed with the march and will let us go our way, they tricked us twice in fact!
• I was on the verge of leaving the hot zone and was dying for a decent meal and told myself “let’s have one last stand off and call it a day”
• We ran into Tung Shin Hospital. The cops moved in forward and stood at the gates! I told myself “SURES YOU ARE A DEAD MAN !”
• Me and several others ran towards the 1st enterance of Tung Shin but a set of cops ran up the stairs marching towards us! I gave a Theo Walcott sprint and ran toward the ledge of the carpark, most of the others regrouped on the other end and made a formation with a human chain around them.
• A good 20 to 30 people climbed up the hill on the side to make their escape but some of them stood and watched on what’s goin to happen to these superbly defiant ones.
• I was just a good 6 meters away from this circle, I heard a man say to a girl nearby “duduk jer sini, diorang tak kacau” [translate: just sit here and they will not disturb you]
• I sat my ass down along the walls with the 15-20 others as I watched the circle of the last stand hand to hand with their locked arms of a human chain, courageously stood together and said prayers, among the group were Muslim youths and some Chinese members of Bersih 2.0
• From my angle of view I could see 2 units prepared to pounce on these guys. It took them a while to collect their nerve, I don’t really blame them, both parties were to a certain extent afraid of each other.
• It was at that moment which I truly thought “dude you are screwed, you coulda been watching this on Youtube the next day but NO you had to be Che Guevera!”
• The cops moved in and arrested those guys. They didn’t really put up a fight and let the enforcers do their job, I’m glad they didn’t fist it out
• As they were walking those guys out, me and few were sitting by the side and some bunch a cops told us “korang kalau nak dok sini dok lah, sampai malam balik balik nanti” [you guys wanna sit it out? heck do it! you guys are gonna be here till night then!]
• So I figured the trick is to head back but quietly without attracting much attention but its pretty hard to do when you’re a black Indian dude who’s 6ft 2 wearing a yellow in colour jersey.
• So I walked out like “not a single fuck was given that day” with the straightest face. As I approached the exit there were some cops near the entrance! and there was a few behind me with a detained guy! *_* I found myself praying once again
• I saw my friend at the entrance, he was there taking pics (explains the pics above) I have never been so happy to see his face.
• So we left the scene and head the way back to the LRT Station
• On the way to the LRT Station we saw 1 of the guy who got arrested lying on the raod with cops surrounding him. Word has it that the cop who apprehended him tied that plastic handcuff on him to tight and it blocked his circulation.
• So we were doing what Malaysians do best, just sit and stare and suddenly some moron next to me SCREAMS: HIDUP HIDUP! HIDUP RAKYAT!
• I turned to search for my colleague and he once again vanishes from the scene and climbs the overheard bridge nearby to get a bird’s eye view (which explains the pic above btw)
• I had to slide from the scene as the heat was increasing with the amount of cops nosing their ass in. I didn’t look like a journalist especially with the colours on. I took a slow walk to Pasar Seni and thought I’d wait for my colleague there.
• As I was walking I saw a familiar face, It was MP of Bukit Lanjan, Elizabeth Wong. She had a nice pair of aviators on, I smiled and she smiled back : )
• While walking along the entrance of Petaling Street and I saw crowd of people surrounding a guy who was lying down on the road face first (not again) I heard some people say “kesian dia dah mati!” [pity him, he's dead] I kinda felt something fishy about it since his cap was on road and his face was resting on it. After a few seconds he got up! He was actually ‘planking‘ (-_-’)
• I thought I’ll wait for my friend in the LRT station and then head back home but then turns out that I had no choice as they closed the shutters and the station inaccessible.
• After a few minutes he arrived with roll of pics of the guy who laid unconscious.
• We decided to have a meal since we barely at shit since the day started.
• With all the people leaving the hot zones we guessed that we’ll be able to meet our buddy who was on the other side of the rally. We met up, chilled in front of Central Market and had a super late lunch in Restoran Yusof.
• The restaurant was filled with demonstrators and cops! Ultimate WTF moment of the day, these bunch a guys were just at it each others necks an hour earlier.
• We took cool picture of us 3 to conclude the day.

Pada suatu hari Ali, Muthu & Ah Chong pergi ke Kuala Lumpur.

• We took the train back KJ and had a chat with some random stranger about the rally.
• Reached KJ, said goodbye to my comrade and rode my bike back home feeling like Che Guevara!
• Bike runs outta fuel halfway! F**k$% FML HMS #$%#^# RATM Fail!
• Pushed the bike for 20 minutes to the nearest petrol station (that’s when I thought of writing this whole thing here) refuelled and rolled out.

Pics courtesy of : Troy 2.0 and Lukman the ‘Rock-Man’ Hussein. Title was inspired by Tranformers: Dark of The Moon and also my friend Nurul Afiah.

-THE END-

A message to haters/hate inciters

You can’t ‘pecah belahkan’ people simply by asking for clean election. It simply doesn’t make sense.

This Rally and this write up is not a diversion from any former Deputy Prime Minister’s sex probe.

Bersih 2.0 agreed to have it in the stadium after meeting the Agung as per the initial request, however the authorities went back on their words (remember the pied piper story?). The entire police and FRU battalion did not have to be dispatched that day, most of them could’ve been with their family and friends that day.

Ultimately if a permit was given, half the crowd wouldn’t have turned up, it would have been a placid event in a miserable stadium and it would not have made to international media on such a scale.

If you have your own ideas on how you can make this country better in a peaceful way, we would love to lend in a helping hand, but if you still think that by sitting in front of your computers and posting negative or racial comments you’re making a difference, then you probably need to grows some balls or some brains or maybe both.

You standin in line, believe in the lies, you bowin down to that flag, you gotta bullet in your head! – RATM

(from Exvasure)