JUNE 23 — Bersih 2.0 is scheduled for July 9 in the KL city centre. Even now supporters are rallying people to take part. The news has gone viral; many are excited.
At the other end, Perkasa wants to retaliate by having a counter-rally with its own supporters. It is talking about a face-off to see who has the bigger group, perhaps who can shout the loudest. Both parties want to prove a point. Both parties have their right, although I see more sense if Perkasa were to organise its rally on another day, another time.
Meanwhile, a number of police reports have been made by business owners and NGOs opposing the demonstration.
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Hi Zubedy Anas.
ReplyDeleteSomeone responded in The Malaysian Insider to your Bersih 2.0 article. Go here to read in full:
"Zubedy Anas prophesied that a couple of hours of organised marches on a single day will result in disruptions of such a scale that “our foreign-born Indonesians and Bangladeshi brothers and sisters” will starve and that businesses will suddenly be unable to “make a profit to continue providing employment to the thousands”. Business areas must be avoided, and we should be prepared to compensate for any loss of income, said Zubedy.
Did the days and weeks of industrial strikes by the French over the years reduce France to a banana republic? Didn’t the French public willingly bear the brunt of the costs of their actions?
Temporary and moderate sacrifices in material gain and comfort out of the spirit of solidarity are sometimes necessary for achieving certain noble societal goals. Liberty and justice for society as a whole cannot be given some price tag and then rejected by wrongly comparing these with a speculated single day’s sum of income loss for certain sub-groups. A true economist would flatly state that this is no subject for cost-benefit analysis.
If the authorities co-operate out of goodwill with the Bersih organisers in managing the march, and are willing to disarm any troublemakers without fear or favour, there should be absolutely no disruption that could lead to any permanent loss of livelihood or limbs. If anything, clever and adaptable businesses would profit substantially by catering food or drinks to the Bersih crowd. The net result could very well be positive."
Hi Anas.
ReplyDeleteYour readers might get a good balance by reading this Malaysian Insider piece that responds to your article.
Check this out:
"Anas Zubedy's neutering “third alternative” of moving the march to the dead of Putrajaya is blinkered. Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of the rally, to civilly advocate Bersih’s views in the broadest public space and urge the government to correct administrative shortcomings that are seen as anti-democratic?
Anas Zubedy prophesied that a couple of hours of organised marches on a single day will result in disruptions of such a scale that “our foreign-born Indonesians and Bangladeshi brothers and sisters” will starve and that businesses will suddenly be unable to “make a profit to continue providing employment to the thousands”. Business areas must be avoided, and we should be prepared to compensate for any loss of income, said Zubedy.
Did the days and weeks of industrial strikes by the French over the years reduce France to a banana republic? Didn't the French public willingly bear the brunt of the costs of their actions?
Temporary and moderate sacrifices in material gain and comfort out of the spirit of solidarity are sometimes necessary for achieving certain noble societal goals. Liberty and justice for society as a whole cannot be given some price tag and then rejected by wrongly comparing these with a speculated single day's sum of income loss for certain sub-groups. A true economist would flatly state that this is no subject for cost–benefit analysis.
If the authorities cooperate out of good will with the Bersih organisers in managing the march, and are willing to disarm any troublemaker without fear or favour, there should be absolutely no disruption that could lead to any permanent loss of livelihood or limbs. If anything, clever and adaptable businesses would profit substantially by catering food or drinks to the Bersih crowd. The net result could very well be positive."