Saturday’s Peace Walk
A late report on the ISA walk on Saturday night.
It was really quite a sight, I haven’t seen that many people on the move in quite a long time – very stirring.
All the usual reservations about an ethnic based movement remain, and I confess I got pretty uncomfortable when we passed Masjid Jamek, as it was almost Solat Tarawikh time, and we were really quite noisy :(
I think it would have been better if we had taken some other route, I don’t like the idea of infringing.
The crowd was mixed, but clearly not as mixed as say the Kelana Jaya Malaysia Day gathering on 9/15. I maintain though, that when it comes to anti-ISA activism, better a crowd dominated by one ethnic group than no real crowd at all, which may have been the result without Hindraf.
I applaud the surprising restraint showed by the police. Since the walk appeared to have been somewhat spontaneous, someone joked that when Plan A doesn’t quite work out, sometimes the cops don’t seem to have a Plan B.
I don’t know the real reasons, but I will give grateful credit to the authorities one way or the other.
I think the walk demonstrated once again the truth we have tried time and again to prove – that when left to their own devices without interference, Malaysians are an eminently peaceful bunch :)
There were any number of tense moments (to my observation anyway), and it was a very excited, exuberant crowd, but still – to their grand credit, Malaysians exhibited supreme tolerance.
It was good to see so many old friends there and make a few new ones (*waves!*). Let’s hope there’ll continue to be a continued movement to Mansuhkan ISA!
THE POLITICIANS NEED TO MAKE MOVES TOO!!! In the post 308 climate, people walking is not enough… empty statements are not enough… yes, Barisan still has control of Parliament, but lets push the envelope and FORCE them to take a stand.
“He said he is also given the previous day’s NST newspaper to read. Then he asked us about what he was told by an officer on a report in the NST that there was a signature campaign asking for 150,000 signatures to free RPK and it was not getting any respond and it was a failure.”
- Excerpt from Anil’s Blog on Marina’s visit
Are We Going to Take This Lying Down?
It Definitely Won’t Be Me.. I have come too far to Stop Now.
Fellow Bloggers and ‘Friends of Change’,
Lets take this message as a challenge to start a Drive to collect more signatures to Free RPK and All the ISA Detainees, and call for the draconian ISA to be Abolished.
Pass the words around and promote this signature drive on your blog.
Petition link: http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?isa1234
Total Signatures currently stands at 34.845.
Time for Us to Show Them that We Mean Business and We are Here to Stay!!
Target: 150,000 or more..
i’m now counting the number. hope i’ll manage to purchase 50 pieces of the t-shrt!
May the milk of human kindness flow on
Till all wrong is gone and right is won
May all champions of right remain strong
Till all can rejoice gladly with a song
(C) Samuel Goh Kim Eng – 290908
http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
Mon. 29th Sept. 2008.
Nat, when I read “I applaud the surprising restraint showed by the police” in this post, it inspired me to write a whole posting, CAN WE MIND OUR LANGUAGE.. I thought it was a little too long to put it down on your comments section.
Are u waving at me?hahaha….well, as u know, im not a blog reader. So it actually takes me some effort to search for ur blog and have a look, impressing!!
nice2meet u anyway, i guess there is another vigil in Pj 2moro which v might meet again. Cheers!!
nat: yes :) glad you found it – i recommend google.com/reader, it makes becoming a blog reader easy :) i’m unfortunately out of town that day, but say hi if terjumpa at another event :)