Also in general contention, and outspoken on the topic of fairness in the election processes, is Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) deputy president Mohamad Sabu. Sabu has expressed concerns about “cheating tactics,” abuses (including media abuses), and has accused the Barisan Nasional of "gerrymandering" and "malapportioning" electoral constituencies.
We at Blogcritics have seen some coverage of the demonstrations in Malaysia. From the photos at social outlets it appears the demonstrators were peaceful and the police only reacted with teargas for some control of the crowds and of the streets at the end of the long day.
From my vantage point in America, I have written about many such demonstrations in recent months. In many cases, the early days of protest are peaceful, the demonstrators, good citizens. Then, in just days or weeks, the gas is replaced with bullets, the banners replaced with blood-soaked t-shirts; formerly peaceful demonstrators now carry automatic rifles. Soon, witness the implementation of artillery, and tanks, and trucks that may run down slow moving protestors. The Malaysians seem peaceful. We hope these things won’t develop.
Beyond those mentioned herein there are other groups seeking power; martial arts groups who are said to “subvert the legal apparatus.” Reference is made to a “shadowy group,” Pekida, and to a Toh Peh Kong group, “emerging from the bowels of Jinjang.” Lastly we have noticed reference to a Red Thali group.
Again from my vantage I can only hope there won’t be bloodshed in Malaysia. One can only wonder, if it comes to that, if China will take a hand. We see comparisons of Malaysia with Taiwan, where responsible demonstrators can do little more than to make their presence felt.
Article comments
1 - Betty Wong
Thank you so much for your well-written article, John. I am Malaysian but am currently living in Canada. My friends and family are in Malaysia and I worry about them every day. I'm curious though on why you would expect for China to take a hand in Malaysia's political situation? Why not any other country?
2 - John Lake
Although Malaysia had earlier ties with Britain, as the article states, we need be aware of the gas and oil reserves in the South China Sea. China has been making an effort to dominate the region.
In addition, China may continue the present policy of intimidation toward the United States, including forcing us to spend monies we can't afford.
Coming American administrations will have to be wary, or we (America) could find ourselves in bad situations.
3 - Evangeline Han
With the government's suppression of free speech, Malaysia is actually evolving into a mini-China. No kidding... a few years back, the police detained a journalist under the Internal Security Act (this act is supposed to be only used for communists and terrorists), all because this journalist had written an article that did not favor the government.
4 - Betty Wong
Hmmm, that's an interesting take, John. Thanks for clarifying.
Evangeline, I heard of that incident too, and there are many other similar incidents like that as well. That's why I'm proud that the Rakyat are doing something about it instead of sitting back passively. I really liked that you quoted Martin Niemoller's statement on your article: http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/yellow-for-justice/
5 - Justin
John, thank you for writing this. I'm a Msian living in Msia. I think you might have made a mistake in line 4, leading the opposition to Najib Razak is not Ibrahim Ali, it is Anwar Ibrahim. Ibrahim Ali is the head of Perkasa, a Malay extremist group. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad is the patron of Perkasa. So even though Ibrahim Ali can claim that his Perkasa is an independent entity, it has link to UMNO by virtue of its association with Mahathir.
6 - John Lake
Thank you, Justin,
as time goes by I get to know these things, but at the onset of each global situation, it is all I can do to supply some pertinent information.