Bersih-fied
Monday, July 11, 2011 ( 1:46 pm )



Assalamualaikum everyone.
Hola amigos.
Salam Bersih.

As the world may already know, 9TH July, 2011 has marked itself our unforgetable calendar. Very important date it is: South Sudan's independence. And ofcourse, Malaysia's Bersih 2.0 Rally. Bersih 2.0 was also held in different parts of the world, in their very own, unique way. Singapore gave out daffodils, London sang songs about Najib and Rosmah(rakyat and their money issues), Sydney also sang songs and a bunch of other places did a bunch of other things. But ofcourse, as seen on TV, Malaysians walked the streets of KL. I understand that many were upset about the road closures and the roadblocks, and you probably hate Bersih, but don't forget who ordered all that shizzay? Think amigos, think. And yes ofcourse, the roadblocks were some sort of "safety measure". Never you mind, its just us being humans. Jumping to conclusions and being scared for the most unbelivable reasons. That happens all the time. But that is never an excuse to be irrational now, no? Anyhoo, enough with the jibber jabber and let's get on with my bersih story.

First of all I'd like to congratulate the police force and FRU for doing an excellent job yesterday. They were only doing their job people, don't be so hard on them shall we? Except for those that were "overdoing" their job. They definitely deserve a flying kick, atleast. FRU looked excellent in their gear. Can't deny that they looked pretty cool. Not so cool when firing tear gas and water cannons, though. Well, nak jaga periuk nasi, kena lah buat apa big boss suruh, kan?

Say what's up to FRU. Don't they just look good :D

Congrats to Bersih supporters as well. I believe that they were the heroes of the day. Yes, everyone got the warning to not participate in the "illegal" rally. But those that still joined in, you are braver than any superhero I've ever watched on the telly. To be out there, and to put yourself at risk, some would say stupid, but I'd say job well done! But ofcourse everything depends on the entire situation. In this case, NOT STUPID. ;) except for those who were behaving stupidly, never you mind. I guess you're brain had one less cell working. Ambiga, the bravest of 'em all, YOU ARE ONE HECK OF A MUM. Kudos to you, too. And to Pak Samad as well. And to other leaders, too. Huzah!

Now where was I? Ahh, yes, the bersih story. Woke up at 6am yesterday. Showered. Watched Pocoyo. And went off for breakfast. Later on, we started walking towards Sogo. KL streets: empty. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to just dance in the middle of the road and enjoy the view of closed shops and restaurants. Very tempting, I must say. It was as though the world was yours. Do whatever you want with it, no one's looking anyway. Except for God. But yes. It was that quiet. Quiet indeed. Like the Decepticons had chased you out of the city. And yellow Autobots were just waiting to march their way to Stadium Merdeka(despite Transformers 3 being very shitty, I think the decepticons and autobots are perfect to prove my point). The road to sogo was closed, and that was the end of the road. Approximately 30(or more) policemen surrounded the area. The chased me out too! Saying that "you have no business here!" in a very strict and scary tone. All of them were walking in the opposite way, so I thought, hey, perfect background for a perfect picture. :D

Although we had gone to the end of the road, my stepdad, mum, mamu and I decided to "take shelter" at a coffee shop nearby and just sat there with some unknown fella who happened to look like a five-o undercover. Well, he could have fooled me. Not my mum, though. As usual, old men would just talk and talk and talk about politics. Soon, two more unknown old men joined us. One was from Kelantan, the other from Terengganu. PAS supporters I assume. One of them even gave a mini tazkirah. They were probably there for Bersih as well. You would think it would be riddiculous to bring along your phone charger with you in a pink plastic bag to walk the streets of KL at a time like that. I say, God works in mysterious ways. Lucky for mum, she had her charger in handy, and needed to charge her phone anyway. So both of us went inside. We tell our kids not to speak to strangers. But. During desperate times, we NEED to talk to strangers. In fact, sit with them if you have to. We did. Because the only plug point that was available was the one near the table that already had a man sitting there. He didn't mind though. And seemed to be very busy doing his work. He couldn't care less. Therefore Mum and I sat there with this unknown man with a barret on his head, busy doing paper work. I was busy tweeting away and that was the first time I felt that I had tweeted non-stop. And mum kept asking me about updates on Bersih every 10 seconds so I had to do what I had to do. And I also felt like I should update people as much as I can. Not long afterwards, Mum looked very tired, me, looking my best at being miserable. We were stuck in the heart of KL, not knowing where to go, how to get to anywhere. How else would I describe it? To make things worse, a few policemen came in. Asking everyone to go away. Asking for identification. Trying to show who's boss, I suppose. All I could do is just sit and tweet. And this is my oWN country. Yet I feel safer as a minority in England than being a majority in Malaysia. To keep calm, mum ordered drinks. Once we couldn't feel our arses anymore, we decided to leave. The man I sat with, I don't even know him. All he did was sit there. And yet he payed for our drinks. Thankful indeed. I don't even know the man! But yet this is what Bersih has brought me. And you wanna know what else Bersih has brought me? There I was at the mosque, just finished with my Zuhur prayers. I was crying about something that had upset me earlier. And mum was crying too, as she was just so touched by the people who were so concerned about her, and they don't even know her. And they are many many years younger than her. And then came along a man. "Dah kena pemedih mata dah tu! Laaa. Amik garam ni. Buh dalam mulut,". Again, I don't even know you! Yet there you were assuming I had been tear-gased, and insisted I put some salt in my mouth. Alhamdulillah, there are still people of this kind. All of these wonders.. I am certain they came from God.

Bersih has brought us alot of things. It has brought many people together. No matter what race, religion, background. That, is the true 1Malaysia. And if there are people who still want to deny that, then go ahead. But why not try to take a moment, and look. Take a moment, to say, "hey, it's not so bad." Not everything that looks bad is bad, you know. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I did not join in the rally. I was safe. But to be with all of those people would have been fun. But my experience, was definitely a Bersih experience. Although probably only 5% of Bersih, it is priceless.

Now that I have told you this story, tell it to the people, if you wish. I am to be 19 years old. I don't really like politics. I have alot more to learn, but yet I am telling you this story. Don't judge me. Don't underestimate me. Have opinions. This is The Real Life. It's never too early or too late to learn anything new. Life's too short to think about it anyway. Say what you wish to say! Think out loud! For I want you to know that there are people you want to listen. People like me want to witness a change. I want to see the world in a new way. Open your eyes everyone. Stop assuming too much and start listening. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, lolos, lolas, kids, whoever you are, if you've managed to read until here, congratulations. You are a hero yourself. To those that aren't reading this, well.. You're one story short. To those that are against Bersih, I respect your opinion. Everyone has their own point of view, and that's fine by me. You may not have to like it, but YOU NEED TO BE EDUCATED. If still you do not agree with what I have to say, then.. Just keep your mouth shut here and pretend you like me. LOL. Thank you to everyone whom were concerened about my safety. I'm here to tell you that I am alright, and that I had survived Bersih 2.0. So you've heard mine. What's your Bersih story? :)



**photos courtesy of MSN News & Flickr


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