Coverage of Forum – Thanks Meesh!
Meesh did a little report, quoted below – thanks!! :) (Might try to tokok tambah a bit later)
And thanks to all of you who came, was really nice to see everyone :) Li Tsin busted ass to make it there on time, thanks sweetie! <3
I asked people to sign up at the end of the thing, just with name, e-mails and phone numbers – please feel free to do so here, or e-mail me at nat[at]jelas.info :)
Ok, busy afternoon – ttys!
*
He started with justice being under siege. Commented on how we observed a minute of silence for the arrested, and how we have remained silent for too long, with a government that stole money, ignored the marginalized, stopped freedom of assembly, so got us all to stand and clap for a minute. And we did. It was nice.
He mentioned how we are currently fighting a media war, and how him and his girlfriend, went out to malls over the weekend, and everyone is so oblivious to what is going on. (Michelle: This is true, I noticed it especially today, when I was feeling all weepy in Bangsar, and everyone just went about their day, not even knowing that it was probably the darkest hour in Parliament. Sigh.)
He asked us to tell our friends about what was going on, to inform people. He complimented Uthaya for speaking out and saying to Utusan, “HINDRAF hanya memusuhi UMNO.” Told us to not take an emotional response to this, asked HINDRAF to change their method and words, because they were alienating a wider cause, and many would not understand him. (Michelle: How true!) “No community can fight this alone. And this is not an Indian problem, it’s a Malaysian problem. If HINDRAF continues on this racial line, they will not acheive thier end goals. Stop talking about it as a Hindu/Indian issue.”
“Don’t equate Malays to UMNO either. Lots of Malays can’t stand UMNO! (laughter from the crowd) Be fair and open your eyes people. Don’t let the problems in your community make you blind to the problems in other communities. Look at Kampung Berembang, that was a Malay kampung. Take the moral high ground, like Gandhi, as a leader, you cannot say “I cannot rule out violence.” You can’t say that!! If you stand up, and you stand your ground with your Malaysian flag, and your picture of Gandhi, the government cannot do anything, they will fall like the British Empire.” (loud applause)
Nat went on to say, this was the first line getting thrown down, and soon they would come for the second and ultimately when all these people were taken, we would be left standing, and we would have to step up. “Because if you don’t it will destroy us and this country.”
He made some good points. About how the PM mentioned ‘no one is above the law.’ Well then PKFZ? Khairy at KLCC, Altantuya?
Public safety? Well, he mentioned how well Pas Unit Amal took care of us, and how everything was so safe at BERSIH, what with their human chains to protect us from them, and them from us, at the rally. “500 police personnel on Sunday, where were they with Nurin’s killer? The floods in Johor? Now PM is okay with ISA, it’s like he suddenly woke up. Go read Malik Hussein’s accounts of being in ISA and the torture you go through. If Abdullah signs that detention form, it’s him effectively taking a stick and beating the detainees, and it’s blood on his hands. They think it’s a joke, but let me tell you, once you cross the line with the ISA, there is no going back. And these people are not even afraid of God, they can say these sort of things.”
Nat ended with asking people to keep standing together and bring to light unjust people and the unjust government. To persuade and understand people, and not to scold those who don’t understand.
Hi Nat & Meesh,
It was a good forum to be in, though it was kinda sad that some of the speakers couldn’t turn up — for obvious reasons.
It was nice to see you in the flesh, and get to know some others who are passionate about their ideals as well.
Stay well, and happy belated birthday, Nat!
Damn it, I really regret for not coming :(
“Don’t equate Malays to UMNO either. Lots of Malays can’t stand UMNO!”
thank YOU for understanding!!! the majority in there are the most racist bigots ever. so so malu that these people actually represented the kaum.
Nat,,
Any way to know of future forums like this?
I m going to be there
Thanks
nat: a good place is either this blog or bangkit.net. Thanks!
Nat,
Your presentation the other day was excellent! I more or less agreed with all the points you put forward.
However, I found the answers you gave during the Q&A somewhat wanting. You were … hmm, let’s just say … overly defensive of PKR – which I am supportive of, possibly because it is the only other alternative to UMNO that we have – and your attempts to whitewash the party’s faults, its limitations, and racist leanings, didn’t sit well with the comments you so eloquently put forward during your earlier presentation.
PKR claims to be above the race equation peddled by UMNO/BN; yet, their actions too often mirrors that of UMNO. Perhaps in the earlier days they could say, well, after all we were once part of UMNO … so give us time, etc. But even after eight long years, that also saw a merger exercise with PRM, I still don’t see much change. Take your representatives (there are two of them, I think) in Parliament: how many times in the last three odd years have they stood up to defend minority rights, or any progressive agenda for that matter? They don’t even come in defence when the DAP takes up matters affecting the minorities. I wish PKR had done some serious soul searching after its defeat in Ijok. Of course that never happened. As usual, they blamed (it appeared to me from the outside) everyone else except themselves, their machinery (or its non-existence), and their strategic decisions.
Well, keep in touch. Meanwhile, salam perjuangan!
Thanks so much for your note, i do appreciate it! :)
it’s a busy day for us, but will try my best to answer at least a little bit.
i do accept your criticism, as it seems more sincere than most :)
i was just discussing with my colleague this morning that the fact that malays accuse us of not being malay enough, while non-malays accuse us of not being non-malay enough probably means we’re at least close to doing the right thing.
obviously, we can’t please everyone. but we try our very best to stick as close to the middle ground as principles and integrity allow.
the party has come under serious, serious fire for even suggesting that the NEP needs to be reconsidered. the kind of fire that loses us elections. but we’re sticking to our position on this through and through.
of course, we cannot go as far as dap. quite simply because we are more mulitracial than dap. dap can only say what they say because they never worry about the malay vote. but for that exact same reason, they alone will never be able to implement any of the changes they are championing.
what i was trying to say at the forum was that this is what it comes down to – how much we are willing to compromise for change.
i don’t think it’s true that keadilan never stands up for minority rights, i think that’s quite false actually (and half our elected representatives are non-malay :P :)
we will never be able to satisfy people who talk only about non-malay rights day and night, in the same way that we will never be able to satisfy people who talk about malay rights day and night. this is because our commitment is to moderation, and choosing the path that will finally and realistically lead to meaningful change.
i tried to say many times that night, i know as well as (or more than) anyone that the party is not perfect and needs a lot of fixing, but it has its heart in the right place, and it has what it takes to bring about a new dawn for malaysia.
phew, ok, i better get back to work :P
now that i’ve written all this, i thought i’d request: is it ok to paste your e-mail as a comment on my blog? then i can paste this as a reply? i’m more than happy to use an anonymous name for you if you like :)
ok for now, back to work! thanks so much for all your support and concern, we really appreciate it :)
warmest,
nat :)
Dear Nat,
Thanks for your quick reply. I have no issues with you posting my comment; but I’d like to remain anon. (
Now, why does your response sound so very similar to your party’s ‘official’ response? Highly defensive.
Instead of being or sounding Malay or Non-Malay enough, I think you should become or sound what PKR claims to stand for, as stated here: http://www.keadilanrakyat.org/index.php/content/view/38/21/ (which in my opinion is a good document, minus the word “bumiputera” [Point 10], which is UMNO-speak and anti-Malaysian).
I think what we want to hear – again, and again – is that Malaysia is for all Malaysians. We all have to work shoulder to shoulder with each other, where the fruits of our labour are distributed equitably to all without punishing initiative, so that we and our children and their children can live in a prosperous and just Malaysia. And, similarly, we also want to hear reassuring and promising words on heathcare, education, crime prevention, and general governance matters.
Too much negativity is not going get us anywhere. We want positive messages. Attack, by all means attack UMNO/BN’s ways and record, but please also suggest alternative policies/proposals for the public to consider.
Engage the NGOs – of all stripes (not just those left-leaning, rabble rousing ones) and explain your stand on issues and your programmes for change; of course, use that occasion to learn their concerns – what’s participatory democracy if not this? Democracy isn’t about winning elections, right?
My two cents-lah!
thanks :)
we do try our best to get our msg of positivity out there. access to media is a major problem for us, so even if our leaders repeat the msg everywhere they go as they have been, we don’t always reach enough ppl :(
you’re right that we can do more, we can always do more, even with limited resources and lots of sekatan. as soon as i can catch my breath, will attempt to put better mechanisms in place :)
hopefully next year, we’ll have better mechanisms in place to engage kind souls like yourself who might be able to help spread the msg of positivity!
Hi, everybody!
I think, that this is a great forum. Very intresting and useful.
But I can’t find the search function, cause I want faster find the topics that could be intresting for me to express my opinion…
Please help me with search function on this forum!