So
many people have written articles on their first hand account of Bersih 3.0. I
was struggling inside me for days contemplating whether or not I should pen
down my personal experience. I have tweeted how I was absent during Bersih 1.0
– I was still a very ignorant Malaysian back then. When Bersih 2.0 happened, I
had just given birth to my first child and was on maternity leave. I was at
home praying for a peaceful rally and that my husband, my dad and my brother
would come home safely from the rally. Bersih 3.0 - I was there for the very
first time together with my husband, my assistants, sister, cousin, brother-in-law, former schoolmates from SM Subang
Utama, former employer, my father-in-law, friends and some residents. Many were there
for the very first time. Many are NOT members of any political parties - and
that’s a very good sign that truly the civil society has awakened!
When
we got to the KTM station in Subang Jaya, there were many others who were
waiting for the train in their yellow t-shirts.
When
the train arrived from Klang and Batu Tiga, it was already packed with many
Bersih supporters. Some clapped as the train stopped to pick up more Bersih
supporters. I was like a little sardine fish inside the train.
When
we arrived at the Kuala Lumpur station, I saw train after train brought in
hundreds of other Bersih supporters.
When
we got to Jalan Petaling, I was shocked to see so many young people have
already gathered. The theme was “Duduk Bantah”. One of my assistants has often
been teased to have obsessive compulsive disorder. As a housewife and chief-of-staff,
she would never stop cleaning. On 428, she had no problem sitting on the
street. Other friends were proud of her. Some schoolmates of mine hate to be
under the hot sun. On 428, they stood for hours in the hot sun. And that was
the message I received from so many others, they were willing to put aside
their personal preferences and habits to send a strong message to the Barisan
Nasional-led government – they want clean and fair elections.
When
we got to Jalan Tun Perak, it was so crowded I was literally rubbing sweaty
shoulders and arms with others. Some recognised me and I conceded taking
photographs despite looking fatigued. By then, we had been standing on our feet
for almost 5 hours.
When
I got closer to the Masjid Jamek station, I saw Datuk Ambiga addressing the
people but I was on the opposite side of the road and I could not hear the
speech. The crowd then starting moving forward towards Dataran Merdeka. The
next thing I saw were hands going up in front of me signalling to the rest of
us to turn back and run. I didn’t know what to do. I was afraid of a stampede.
Considering it was my first Bersih rally and after listening to horror stories
of police brutality during Bersih 2.0, I decided to hold on to a lamp post. Yes you
heard correctly. I was glued to a lamp post! My husband pulled me away and we
started running into a back lane. I then realised that the police had shot tear
gas at us and there were hundreds of people escaping into the back lane with
teary eyes. I saw Malaysians of all races sharing salt, water and towels. At
the end of the back lane, there were others running towards us, tear gas were
being shot from the other direction too. We were cornered. It was chaotic. By
then, I was coughing terribly and had difficulty breathing. Again, I did the
unimaginable - I was sprawled over a parked car. I simply could not breathe! My
friend Peter saw me and dragged me away from the car. A group of us managed to
seek shelter inside a budget hotel nearby.
On
the sixth floor of the hotel, an elderly Malay couple offered their room for us
to wash our face. There were young people there who shared their packed food
with us. It felt like post-war. Malaysians came together. Sadly we were not
running away from war enemies, we were running away from our own police force even
though we had gathered in peace to demand for clean and fair elections.
I
condemn any form of violence that has taken place be it against the civilians,
the journalists or the police. To me, the tear gas felt very deadly. To be cornered into a tiny alley with tear gas coming from both directions
had left me in a very undignified position to the extent my husband could not
recognise it was me that was sprawled over a car.
If
the tear gas had such an effect on me, I cannot imagine how dangerous it was
for senior citizens and for those with asthma. Bersih 3.0 wasn’t about
Anwar-Azmin, even though the BN regime wants to pin all the blame on the both
of them for the unruly behaviour of some. I have been to huge political and
church rallies but I have never seen a crowd like that on 428. The testimonies
of some 250,000 Malaysians at home, in the office, in mosques, in churches, in
temples or in colleges cannot be discounted no matter how hard the BN-led government
tries. If you had been on the streets of KL that day, you would know that no
amount of censorship on Astro or spinning in the mainstream media can stop the
testimonies of those who were present. And their Bersih stories will continue
to pour in.
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