Former British minister of state for trade Richard Needham was a guest speaker at the Kita Lawan rally, near the Houses of Parliament at Westminster, in London, on March 7.

For many in the protest, it was welcome relief to finally hear a member of the British establishment criticising the Malaysian government for mismanaging the country and for ignoring democratic principles. One young oil and gas engineer said, “At last! Here is a brave man, to criticise his own government’s lack of reproach against their former colony.”

Needham was one of two ‘heavyweights’ who dropped in on the rally to show solidarity with the Malaysians. The other prominent guest speaker was PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu. Both he and PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali are on a ‘flood awareness’ tour of England and Ireland, to highlight the challenges faced by the flood victims of Kelantan and to solicit donations for building replacement homes for them.

At the London Kita Lawan demonstration, one member of the audience remarked, “An Englishman made the effort to attend our rally and lend his support for our fight against injustice and wrongdoings back home.

“Where are the thousands of Malaysians living in London? They dutifully turn up for the free makans at the High Commission and Malaysia Hall. They disappear when it comes to human rights and injustice.  

“They live the good life, and forget the millions, suffering at home. The inequality. The injustice. The police brutality. The racism. The lack of religious freedom.”

His friend, who is a nurse from Negri Sembilan said, “I can understand the students’ reluctance to attend these rallies; but I hope they realise that the government’s threats to withdraw their scholarships is intimidation.

“They should seek legal redress and challenge this bullying tactic. It only takes one student who is prepared to do this. If he has lost his scholarship, what has he got to lose?”

The rally which was organised by ‘The Malaysian Progressives in the United Kingdom’ (MPUK) attracted around 65 people, mostly Malaysians. The protest started off with a live drum performance and the speeches were led by an energetic and inspirational young law student from the south of England. His rallying call was, ‘Justice for one. Justice for all!’

Focussing his gaze on the crowd he asked, “What do we want?” They responded, “Freedom”. “When do we want it?” he added. “Now!” they shouted.

“Re-for-ma-si”, said the student, as he punched the air, and the crowd responded with “Re-for-ma-si, Re-for-ma-si,” before breaking into applause.

Needham spoke after Mohamad (better known as Mat Sabu), and said that he had been a friend of jailed opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim and his family for over 20 years. He said that Anwar was a brave and decent individual who had always tried to uphold freedom of justice.

Failure to support rule of law

“It’s a disgrace”, said Needham, as he explained that he had been appalled at Anwar’s treatment by the Malaysian government. He expressed dismay, at the failure of both the American and British governments, to support the rule of law in Malaysia.

He urged both these nations to do more, to weigh in their opposition, and told the Malaysian students, “The future of Malaysia is with you - the young! The young try to look up to their elders, to get leadership and to follow them in their careers, but they can’t.”

Then, sweeping his gaze at the lines of students in the group, he said, “You can’t, because there is no freedom for you. No freedom of the press. No even handedness in the police. No balance in the judiciary. Anyone dealing with corruption? No!

 “Malaysia is a beautiful country, with wonderful riches in oil, minerals and agriculture, but most important of all, is its people. It is the people who matter.”

Needham reminded the demonstrators of their reason for attending the rally. “We stand here in solidarity with Anwar. He stood up to the present government. He is the master of his fate. He is the captain of his ship.”

Quoting Edmund Burke, the Irish poet, he said, “The arrogance of age must submit to be taught by youth,” and to the students he said. “It is up to you, the young people of Malaysia, to show the government, that you are not prepared to put up with this.”

His fondness for Malaysia and its people was apparent when he said, “Kita Cinta Malaysia.”


MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO).