by now, most of you will have read about the BERSIH people's gathering in kuala lumpur. my friend bob has written extensively on his blog, so that there is no need for me to repeat. go to his blog here:
http://www.bobjots.org/
and steven's blog:
jack said
the national newspapers, star and new straits times, reported only a turnout of '4,000' people. do you believe that? see nat's blog for the actual real pictures:
nat's blog
and also from this blog:
sagaladoola
http://www.bobjots.org/
and steven's blog:
jack said
the national newspapers, star and new straits times, reported only a turnout of '4,000' people. do you believe that? see nat's blog for the actual real pictures:
nat's blog
and also from this blog:
sagaladoola
Comments
It was reported in the newspaper today that our DPM said the demonstrations achieved nothing but tore down the spirit of unity .....
On Saturday, I never felt I love my Malay brothers and sisters more when I walked with them. It is the Govt's policies and actions that tore down the spirit of unity.
10 Eleven marked the day the rakyat stood/walked united as never before.
as usual on sunday i was preaching in wesley methodist church segamat and folks down there are too far to know what was going on in k.l. on saturday. i gave them a quick briefing on the BERSIH rally so that they will know what is happening and not just read the accounts in the national newspapers.
any more folks got news and experiences to share?
Unfortunately, not every Christian shares the same sentiment. I was having lunch with my Christian colleague today and she commented 'Why cause all these troubles?. We were just being made used of the opposition parties. Everything is fine with the country.' She is not alone. I personally know a few other Christians who think everything is fine with our country. Don't waste time in all these efforts
Well, I guess I need to respect their viewpoints however erroneously they may be.
At least, I'm much encouraged because my pastor also walked.
another reason is that middle class citizens in malaysia tend to think that they will lose out more if there is unrest in the country. hence, it is difficult to get this rung of citizens to be involved in socio-political activities. they do have the most to lose out e.g. the upper class do not fear that much - if things do go wrong, there is always an escape plan to get out of the country since it is not beyond their means. but the middle class are neither that rich and capable (nor too poor and disabled like the lower classes).
christians in malaysia are generally in the middle class strata and are therefore 'caught'. not everyone has the means or ability to emigrate for seemingly 'better' and greener pastures. so they have to make do with staying back in malaysia. better therefore to have a stable country than to be like in Pakistan or Myanmar at the moment.
of course, many chinese are practical in their mindset. as long as things work, don't bother to change it lest things become worse off. for the chinese mindset in malaysia, as long as there is some benefit for me, it is ok with the status quo. hence, this works out even in malaysian politics. we vote for the barisan at the local municipal and state levels (so that we can get the economic benefits from the government) but we will vote in the opposition at the national level in parliment (so that they can fight bigger issues like corruption, even share of the economic pie etc). this type of thinking is from the pragmatic mindset of most malaysian chinese. i speak as one.