12/11: Huge opposition rally boosts Anwar's standing
Category: News
Posted by: raja petra
Ex-deputy premier displays ability to get PAS and DAP to work together
By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief
The Straits Times
IT WAS a surreal sight: Bersih protesters in their yellow T-shirts picking up litter in front of the palace after their mass protest for electoral reforms on Saturday.
Especially as Bersih means clean in Malay.
The clean-up was a sure indication that the protest was well-organised. Another sign was the fact that nearly all of the protesters were dressed in yellow - the colour of royalty.
It was clearly not an uprising, so to speak. In that sense, it was very different from the pro-Anwar Ibrahim Reformasi protests that erupted after he was sacked as deputy premier in 1998.
But there were similarities in terms of size. Saturday's protest was huge, whether it involved 10,000 people, according to the police, or 50,000, according to the organisers.
It was easily the largest protest in almost a decade, and it was organised by an opposition-led coalition of political parties and civil society groups called Bersih.
Bersih was formed last year, and its goal is to push for reform of the electoral process, which it says is unfair to the opposition.
On Saturday, protesters handed over a memorandum to the palace demanding reforms, including the abolition of postal votes, ahead of a general election that is widely expected to be called within months.
Observers note that the massive turnout has given a fillip to Datuk Seri Anwar's stature as a leader of the opposition.
Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng believes that Datuk Seri Anwar has, over the last few months, gained some credibility as an opposition force to be reckoned with.
'The rally showed how Anwar's leadership can bring the different opposition forces together,' he said.
The rally was evidently largely organised by the highly effective grassroots network of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). Supporters organised the crowd, directed traffic and cleaned up after the event.
But it was Datuk Seri Anwar who addressed the rally before handing over the memorandum to the palace.
The top PAS leaders, along with leaders from the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP), allowed him that highly symbolic role.
Datuk Seri Anwar is an acceptable face to all sides, while PAS is viewed with suspicion by the Chinese, and DAP is mistrusted by the Malays.
He has been striving to be a bridge between the two parties, which are poles apart in their ideologies.
Previous elections have shown that they do not need close collaboration to be effective; they only need to stay out of each other's way.
Right now, there is much euphoria in the opposition camps, although it is hard to say what the massive rally means for a general election.
'It would be wrong to think that it will bring big change in the next election but it would also be wrong to take this as just another political rally,' said Mr Wong Chin Huat, an academic specialising in electoral politics.
He noted that the rally has given a boost to the opposition's morale, but the impact on the governing coalition would depend on its response to the rally.
So far, the government has dismissed it as an opposition gimmick.
By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief
The Straits Times
IT WAS a surreal sight: Bersih protesters in their yellow T-shirts picking up litter in front of the palace after their mass protest for electoral reforms on Saturday.
Especially as Bersih means clean in Malay.
The clean-up was a sure indication that the protest was well-organised. Another sign was the fact that nearly all of the protesters were dressed in yellow - the colour of royalty.
It was clearly not an uprising, so to speak. In that sense, it was very different from the pro-Anwar Ibrahim Reformasi protests that erupted after he was sacked as deputy premier in 1998.
But there were similarities in terms of size. Saturday's protest was huge, whether it involved 10,000 people, according to the police, or 50,000, according to the organisers.
It was easily the largest protest in almost a decade, and it was organised by an opposition-led coalition of political parties and civil society groups called Bersih.
Bersih was formed last year, and its goal is to push for reform of the electoral process, which it says is unfair to the opposition.
On Saturday, protesters handed over a memorandum to the palace demanding reforms, including the abolition of postal votes, ahead of a general election that is widely expected to be called within months.
Observers note that the massive turnout has given a fillip to Datuk Seri Anwar's stature as a leader of the opposition.
Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng believes that Datuk Seri Anwar has, over the last few months, gained some credibility as an opposition force to be reckoned with.
'The rally showed how Anwar's leadership can bring the different opposition forces together,' he said.
The rally was evidently largely organised by the highly effective grassroots network of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). Supporters organised the crowd, directed traffic and cleaned up after the event.
But it was Datuk Seri Anwar who addressed the rally before handing over the memorandum to the palace.
The top PAS leaders, along with leaders from the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP), allowed him that highly symbolic role.
Datuk Seri Anwar is an acceptable face to all sides, while PAS is viewed with suspicion by the Chinese, and DAP is mistrusted by the Malays.
He has been striving to be a bridge between the two parties, which are poles apart in their ideologies.
Previous elections have shown that they do not need close collaboration to be effective; they only need to stay out of each other's way.
Right now, there is much euphoria in the opposition camps, although it is hard to say what the massive rally means for a general election.
'It would be wrong to think that it will bring big change in the next election but it would also be wrong to take this as just another political rally,' said Mr Wong Chin Huat, an academic specialising in electoral politics.
He noted that the rally has given a boost to the opposition's morale, but the impact on the governing coalition would depend on its response to the rally.
So far, the government has dismissed it as an opposition gimmick.
Lady wrote:
We have given the current govt a cause to worry. It is now the time to keep vi****nce and hope to Allah that they're going to buck up and stop being greedy.
Or maybe that's just wishful thinking...