Bersih?

29th April 2012

Is spilling of blood necessary for a country to change? Throughout history, there have been many wars fought: for power, for money, for freedom, for peace. Whatever it is, usually there's a spill of blood before substantial change happens. But is that really necessary?

Just yesterday there was a big rally in Malaysia, and in KL, things didn't turn out well. Government are pointing fingers at protesters for not keeping their promise of a peaceful rally. Organizers of the rally are blaming the government and police of excessive force. In the process, things got ugly and people were hurt, blood were spilled.

I wonder what will happen if the protesters were allowed to sit in in Dataran Merdeka. I wonder what will happen if protesters took the opportunity to have the protest in stadium instead. More importantly, I wonder why either one of those two didn't work out. Of course each gave their own reasons for not wanting to back down. Gov said Dataran Merdeka not suitable. Ambiga said a last minute change of venue was not possible as they do not have enough time to contact the NGO's. REALLY?

I don't find the arguments on either side plausible. I think it all boils down to image. Gov don't want to be seemed as if they were losing grip of their power. Maybe the same goes for the organizers. They might want to show the Gov that they have the right to protest and speak up (which they do) and by changing the venue, their image might be gone.

I am proud that so many Malaysians came out in support for clean and fair elections. I really am. But I wasn't proud when I see people beating their own people up, regardless of which side was beaten. Some might say police was brutal and yes, some were brutal but not all. Some might say that the protesters were brutal, and yes, some were brutal but not all. The danger in categorizing it as an all or nothing is very dangerous as more often than not, humans are not that simple. What I dislike most is how in these cases of 'war', blood are spilled. And the question comes... WHOSE BLOOD?

Is it the organizers' blood? No I don't think so. They are still pretty much alive and kicking. Is it the top people in the government who gives orders' blood? No, I don't think so.. They are even more alive and kicking. It is the blood of the common people that are spilled, regardless of whether they are in the police force, or the ordinary citizens who were teared gassed.

If either one party thought for a moment about people's safety and put aside the issue of their image, maybe this won't happen. At the end of the day, it is the people, the ordinary citizens who suffers. So is blood spill necessary? In the world that I live in right now, I think it is. But I hope it will change in the near future. This will happen if people can think for other people's welfare and not hang on so tightly onto one's idea that it's become so rigid.

God Bless~