A Malaysian Abroad

To those who participated in the BERSIH rally on 10 November, my salute and respect for your commitment for a better electoral process. However, I for one is never comfortable with street demonstrations as a way for a better government and nation.

Why? Because at the height of the Reformasi movement about 10 years ago, I got to watch the ugly sights of such protests from my office window 20 storeys above. Rubbish bins were burned or overturned, water cannons were fired and protesters ran in all directions as the police closed in. And the more recent Batu Buruk incident is as good an indication as any that even a peaceful protest can go seriously wrong.

The bottomline is it is hard to expect fair play and cool heads to prevail at a huge rally. And it is equally doubtful whether any positive outcome can eventuate with street demonstrations and thus, are they really worth it in relation to the risks involved.

Whatever it is, I’m thankful that the BERSIH rally was generally peaceful and a message has been put across. It is indeed rare for Malaysians to come out in numbers for a cause but my opinion is such marches should be kept to a bare minimum for the safety of our fellow citizens.