It's a late entry for last Saturday BERSIH rally or more like a gathering near Dataran Merdeka. I arrived in front of KWSP at about 2:15 pm just as the Police opened up tear gas fire into the crowd. It was the first time for me to shoot events like this and in fact I wouldn't have been there if not for Red calling me every day and night bugging me to go.
The crowd appeared very peaceful to me and from the yellow T shirt some folks wore, the gathering was for the Government to improve the polling system in Malaysia. To make it more transparent and just. It carry 4 message : 1. Permanent dye to mark those who have casted their votes. 2. Recheck the voters data. 3. Open up the election for the media to monitor. 4. Abolishment of Undi Post.
The message sounds good enough for me. As a rakyat I would like to see that happen as well although I'm not wearing any yellow T shirt or support any political wing. Like Red, I'm also just too twisted no political party would want me to join them. I'm more like an opposition to anything and everything and I can even end up opposing my own argument. I guess the reason some people doesn't want to improve the election system is because they are complacent with the current practise which grants them some advantage. Well, why change for the better when the better doesn't suits your best interest. The better doesn't make you become better. When improvement doesn't help improves your vote count, then it's not improvement. The rakyat too doesn't want improvement because they vote 'Yes' to these people and thus 'NO' to improvement. Is that what the majority says? I believe the majority can't be bothered with such things. They are too busy counting money to pay their mortgages and will readily vote anyone who can delete their piling debt.
Red narrated the event and I'll just post some images he probably missed. Thumbs up to the peaceful yellow. Down for the Blues. Sorry Blues but you do look powerful but by acting like that you just made the Yellow look like heroes.
Some images are blurry because it was raining and I was also holding the umbrella with one hand to protect my camera. Hehehehe. Not professional at all and that's exactly why because I'm an amateur who got this camera and lens with my own bloody sweat. Not like those photojournalist who walk around with their camera dripping wet and can lay them down on the road some more. Any way, I lost some Kg walking from Wisma Sime Darby to Merdeka Square to Istana Negara and then back to Wisma Sime Darby. My left thigh was throbbing and i was dragging my legs when I reach home. Got nagged some more for the mud and dirt I brought home but it was all worth it. The best moment during the event was when we call Ikelah to tell him the progress of the event and hear him listen in excitement and snorting in frustration at the same time.
#1: The first tear gas attack. You can see nobody is carrying any banners. They only wear yellow T shirts and not even all of them.
#2 : The tear gas spreading.
#3 : Then the Blues closed in and made several arrests. Probably to scare off the rest.
#4 : The road in front of Dataran Merdeka was closed for a long time. even after everyone got home.
The lessson I learn that day? Wisdom is more powerful, believe only half what the news say, don't follow the news photograpers who mostly just wait at dataran merdeka and Istana Negara and get some waterproof jacket like Red.
