COMMENT On Friday, Aug 28, 2015, I checked into Hotel Lotus near the Masjid Jamek LRT station about 6pm. I had parked my car in Brickfields and took the LRT into KL city centre.

I was a little embarrassed, for I had not taken the LRT before. I am part of the spoiled generation that drives around KL. It was a good experience and travelling by LRT was extremely convenient.

After checking into the Lotus hotel, I then walked around the streets of KL. First to the Sogo area and then to Dataran Merdeka, to the Bar Council, to Pasar Seni and then back to Lebuh Ampang and finally back to the hotel. The last when I did such walking was while in my Form Six days, back in the 1970s

On the next day, Saturday, I was up early in the morning and was out on the streets by 8am, joined by two others from the Proham monitoring team. We started our duty and I was therefore on my rounds around the Masjid Jamek area and Pasar Seni.

I stayed on through whole of Saturday and Sunday and only checked out of the hotel on Merdeka day. This was a long period of observations and interactions. Oh yes, lots of walking and very good for my health.

My role was alongside 14 other Proham volunteers who were monitoring the Bersih 4 peaceful assembly. Proham volunteers were located at four locations on Day 1: Sogo, Pasar Seni, Masjid Negara and Dataran Merdeka. On Day 2, at Dataran Merdeka.

Some lessons and reflections over the two days

I had 10 key reflections as I reviewed the event and the future hope and prospects for Malaysia. A fuller Proham report will be out soon, but these are some quick reflections.

People power personified

First, people power. What impressed me was that people came out in spite of the warnings from both the minister of home affairs and the inspector-general of police that this was an illegal assembly and that they had banned the yellow T-shirt.

In the post-2008 political changes, such speeches and action by authorities are clearly inconsistent with democracy and citizens’ rights. Political leaders in public office must review their positions in the light of universal human rights and be consistent to global democratic practice.

Declaring peaceful assemblies as illegal needs some serious review and the Ministry of Home Affairs must abide by UDHR standards.

Second, it was a very peaceful gathering. The people were very festive in their mood. They were very cheerful. There was singing and blowing of the horns and at times very musical with the chants but often deafening.

I am impressed with the Bersih leadership led by Maria Chin Abdullah, who kept to their word of not moving into the restricted Dataran Merdeka, as well as dispersing at the end. This shows that peaceful assemblies are possible.

Cops' mindset must change

Third, the police role: The police had a hands-off approach, except for some limited traffic role. The two traffic police officers I spoke to at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman were very helpful directing and assisting those in vehicles.

It really looked funny that the people of Bersih were free to walk around but the police were confined in the barrier area around Dataran Merdeka. They were behind the barriers, which restricted their role over the two days.

I firmly belief that the police need to review their role in a peaceful assembly. Our police must also learn the lesson on how to manage this relationship with civil society and citizens. The police must continue to play their role of traffic control and security.

It is also their duty to protect peaceful demonstrators. They must be the police for all Malaysians, i.e. neutral to political influence and firm on crime and wrong-doing. In so doing, they will gain the respect of the people.

There are clear human rights protocols that can be observed and it is time that our police force, PDRM, is seen as defenders of human rights and seen to be impartial in the execution of their public duties.

Fourth, the ethnic dimension and issues: There were a sizable number of Chinese on the streets but one cannot say that this was a Chinese tsumani, for there were many Indians as well as a smaller number of Malays.

I also saw groups of Orang Asli community. Bersih 4 is very different from the Hindraf march of 2007. Also, on both nights, the dominant number of speakers were from the Malay community.

While noting this, we must ask the critical question as to why the Malays did not come out like how they did in previous Bersih marches. Some have said that this is due to the absence of PAS.

Others indicated that the Malays were really threatened by the Chinese presence and yet others indicated that Bersih 4 was highjacked by DAP and its agenda. It is really unfortunate that some have turned this into a Malay versus Chinese issue when it clearly is not.

We have more questions than answers at this point. Does the small turn out of Malays mean that the majority community is not serious about fighting corruption? It is important to note that the call of Bersih 4 was not on ethnic issues, such as Chinese schools or discrimination, but on fundamental governance issues pertaining to anti-corruption.

Bersih, and the civil society movement, have to learn a lesson that the hearts and minds of the majority Malay community must be won to effect change. They can undertake this as the major task to reach out to both the rural Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. The middle class movement must convince the bottom 40 percent the implications of corruption on their lives.

A rally by true patriots

Fifth, the message: Anti corruption and call for public accountability. This is a call for good governance and transparency. There was a strong expression of unhappiness with the leadership of the prime minister, especially in the handling of IMDB and the funds in his personal bank accounts.

BN supporters will be unhappy with this call, but the popularity of the PM was really down and the call for his resignation was central to the Bersih 4 event. This is a real wake-up call for the PM and team as this is not an end but the beginning of a two-year campaign for change towards greater compliance to democracy, human rights and good governance.

Sixth, acts of patriotism. Being there for two days, I witnessed that while there were many Chinese, the event was presented as a national patriotic event, contrary to the views of some political leaders.

The reactions from the ruling elites have been about the numbers who gathered, and translated into a Malay-Chinese confrontation, between legal and illegal.

But they have missed the point that in the spirit of Merdeka, the Bersih rally was about enhancing the freedoms of all Malaysians.

The singing of the Negaraku, flying the national flag and conducting the public event in Malay is reflective that even within a majority Chinese crowd, these national symbols are their symbols as they themselves Malaysians.

Seventh, the Mahathir moment. The visit of Dr Mahathir Mohamad on two occasions is very significant. Tun has been viewed by many within the civil society movement very negatively, due to the Operasi Lalang and other elements in the suppression of human rights.

However, his presence and his recognition of people power is reflective of the changing mood for greater democratic space. Personally, I think this is one of the major achievements of Bersih 4 to have Tun M visiting the rally. Unfortunately I missed both occasions when he came but am impressed that he did come.

Tun braved the negative criticism of the ruling authorities. It is hoped that he will not just campaign for change of the prime minister but also for institutional reforms as well.

Wasn't bad for business

Eighth, the visible expressions of religious prayers. This is significant as there were prayers by the Muslim groups out in the open and in the company of many Chinese. There were special prayers at the Catholic Church.

These are very positive signs as the people recognised the diversity and respected it. The availability of places of worship as resting places is also significant. However I was told in some cases, the places were not open in the night for people to make speeches or rest. This is unfortunate.

Ninth, businesses prospered. Some informal sector folks selling drinks by the roadsides made some quick money. They were the entrepreneurs on the streets who capitalised on the occasion.

All of them were Malay petty traders and they saw the opportunity. Likewise, all the restaurants made good money during this period and in the case of some, they ran out of all the cooking materials.

Tenth, cleaning up. One unique dimension of Bersih 4 was the volunteers, a group of well minded Malaysian citizens, clearing up the rubbish. While they were committed for greater transparency in governance, their commitment to cleaning the roads clean was truly amazing. All the workers were volunteers and they gave dignity to the City Hall road sweepers.

In conclusion

In the post-Bersih 4 phase, the cabinet and Parliament must review the position of democracy, human rights and good governance in Malaysia. The Bersih 4 demands must be studied and the key relevant agencies must have dialogue sessions to address their concerns for the nation.

There must be institutional reforms and civil society must be invited to play a constructive role. The public sector must view all Malaysians as integral for national development.

The role of civil society must be recognised as a partner in development and voice of dissent must be given the democratic space. The relevant authorities must see Bersih 4 as a constructive movement. Failure to do this will result in further civil society action for the betterment of the nation.

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DENISON JAYASOORIA is secretary-general of the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights, Malaysia (Proham).