BERSIH 3.0 Duduk Bantah (3)

I had not seen anything in the 54 years of my life like what I saw in the 2 hours of duduk bantah. The mixed crowd shamed the so called 1Malaysia ... we were more than IMalaysia ... we were like one big family with one goal - clean and free elections ... shame on you Najib.

We sat together, ate together, laughed together, cried together, sang together, shouted slogans together and of course, we helped each other. We did not see colours ... no whites, no blacks nor browns ... there were no Chinese, no Indians, no Malays, no Eurasians ... we only saw Malaysians ... Yes, Malaysians ... peace loving Malaysians ... we did something that UMNO failed to do in 54 years of rule ... we brought Malaysians from all walks of life together ...

Between 12 till 12.30, my wife and I marched from Pertama Complex till the barricade nearby Dataran and the crowd was peaceful.

Between 12.30 till about 2, my wife and I sat on the tarred road and the crowd was peaceful. My wife and I went for lunch at about 2 and the crowd was still peaceful. As my wife and I walked towards LRT Station at about 2.30 tear gas was fired and everything went berserk ... what went wrong?

Agent provocateurs? Let me tell you this ... there were about 5 gentlemen sitting right behind me instigating us to break the barricade ... "apa lagi tunggu ... hari semakin panas ... kasi pecah la tu halangan. Dataran hak kita". Who were these guys? Protesters or agent provocateurs? I really don't know ... you tell me ...

Police trucks passed through the crowd behind the old Court house ... at least 3 trucks passed within 15 minutes ... why? Was the road not closed to traffic? Could they have not found alternative routes? To me this was clear instigation ... the Police were instigating ... they were trying to frustrate and make the protesters angry? But they failed, failed miserably when the protesters cheered them instead ...

Who threw objects at the trucks ... shoes, stones, bottles and ice ... protesters or agent provocateurs? Did the protesters come equipped with all these objects? I doubt it very much ... at one stage, I could see a police officer at the back of a truck pointing towards someone ... I guess he identified the guy as the person who threw objects ... why was that guy not arrested on the spot ... did the officer in the truck recognize the offender as a police officer as well? Your guess is as good as mine ...

Every trick in the book was employed by the Police and yet nothing worked in their favour. If the protesters were calm and non violent, one question comes to mind ...

Who let the dogs out? ...

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BERSIH 3.0 Duduk Bantah (2)

From 12.30 till 2.00 my wife and I sat with folded legs amongst our "friends" right behind the old Court house along Jalan Tun Perak. We just "duduk and bantah" there.

The heat was unbearable and I could feel sweat running down my cheeks. To overcome this, I tied a BERSIH 3.0 headband over my forehead and felt much more comfortable. The tarred road was of no help - my arse stunk like nobody's business. I felt that for the next few days, I sure will constipate ... my skin was like on fire ... but to tell you the truth, I enjoyed every second of the "duduk bantah".

At about 1.30 I walked about 100 meters to the back where 2 hawkers were selling keropok lekor, nugget and all kinds of balls - fish, sotong, you name it ... I could see their business roaring ... I bought some balls and my wife and I ate some to comfort our hungry stomachs ...

At about 2.00, hunger got the better of us and we walked towards Jalan Masjid India. All restaurants were packed ... I could see some youngsters eating while standing ... no empty seats in the restaurants and we have idiots appearing on TV complaining that their business took a hit ... RM40,000 loss in a day ... our petty hawkers must be bloody damned rich .... LHDN should check on them ...

I bumped into YB Syed Hamid (ADUN Semantan) at the restaurant as I was paying for my food ... pleasant surprise ...

After paying, we decided to go home ... walked to Jamek LRT only to see the same closed for the day. As my wife and I were slowing walking and deciding on what to do next, we bumped into one of my FB friend and also Suresh (PSM Cameron Highlands) ...

While we were catching up on latest issues, I heard the first tear gas fired towards Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman ... I could see protesters running for cover ... suddenly the whole Jalan Tun Perak was full ... people running like the world had come to an end ... people being pushed, people taking falls and people screaming ... it was like a stampede ...

Although the first tear gas was fired towards Jalan Tuanku Abdul, we could smell the stench of gas at the foot of the Court Hill ... tears started to roll out of our eyes and nose started to run ... My wife and I carried on walking and the crowd kept pushing us forward ... behind us, we could hear more and more tear gas being fired ... it was like hell had broken loose ...

We could not turn back as the panicky crowd was enormous ... we walked until we reached the Telekoms Museum ... From there we tried to catch a taxi to Bukit Bintang but, my oh my, the taxi drivers were asking for nothing less than RM15 for that distance ... and we have taxi drivers who complain that they suffered a loss ... about 15 minutes latter, we boarded a bus till Taman Dagang Ampang and from there a taxi to my sister's home in Taman Putra ...

BERSIH 3.0 thought me to board a bus after almost 20 years ..... hahahah

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BERSIH 3.0 Duduk Bantah (1)

I was forced into going to Kuala Lumpur on 28/4/2012. On 26/4/2012, I received a call saying that I have a meeting to attend at 10 a.m. in the heart of Kuala Lumpur city centre. The first question I asked was "boleh masuk kah?" and the reply "insyaAllah boleh".

To be on the safe side, I left Raub on 27/4/2012 immediately after my Friday prayers. I reached Ampang at about 5 p.m. I had no problems with my journey - smooth with no road blocks or police checks.

On 28/4/2012, I took a train from Chempaka Station to Jalan Sultan Ismail. My meeting was at the PAS Head Quarters Jalan Raja Laut. I reached the meeting point at bout 10 a.m. and gosh, the whole building was as if painted yellow. While in the train, I took a peep to see the situation along Masjid Jamek - God forbid - beautiful yellow all over ...

I immediately told myself - I must be part of this - as for costume - I was already wearing green (as in Lynas) - I had on my feet a pair of Reebok and for pants, I had a chinos - appropriately dressed for a demonstration? Yes ...

Oh yes, before I forget - my wife was with me ...

My meeting finished at 12 noon. As I came down the main entrance of the PAS Building, my wife told me that all those who had earlier gathered in the vicinity left with YB Mahfoz ...

My wife and I started walking down Jalan Raja Laut. People in yellow could be seen in small clusters here and there. Nothing to shout about ... as we approached Pertama Complex, we saw a barricade and some police officers just behind Pertama Complex. The road was closed. Hence, we took a left onto the road between Pertama Complex and Medan Mara. The road was clear ...

The situation was completely different as we reached Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. Ya Allah, I could not believe my eyes - sea of yellow all over the place and the chants sounded like music to my ears. Tens of thousand Malaysians marching the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

I missed BERSIH 2.0 and this was my chance to be a part of BERSIH 3.0. We joined the group and started walking down Jalan Tuan Abdul Rahman. Chanting and singing to glory.

As we walked we saw photographers snapping away, videographers catching us on video. We saw yellow Teed guys and girls on top of building and roofs. The feeling was great, just great ... the atmosphere was wonderful ...

Our group reached the Jalan Tun Perak/Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman junction and stopped. My wife and I walked to the front and realized, that that was the furthest we could go ... before us was a barricade with barbed wire ... and yes, the number of police who stood there gave the impression that Malaysia was at war ... war with her own subjects ...

We took a left towards Jalan Tun Perak and just "duduk bantah" there like all other "friends" were already doing. The time on my wrist watch read 12.30 ...

Situation ... very, very peaceful ...

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