‘Help me understand why you need to rally’

For a free and fair Malaysia

My reasons for feeling as strongly as I do about Bersih 3.0 has nothing to do with jumping on the bandwagon nor has it anything to do with feeling the adrenalin rush of standing, marching, walking or sitting in solidarity with thousands of others in a yellow T-shirt.

My reasons for believing in Bersih 3.0, just like how I believed in Bersih 2.0, is because:

• I believe in the possibility of a free and equal Malaysia where everyone is privy to the same benefits and rights, no more, no less than another.
• I believe in a better Malaysia, because the Malaysia that existed when my father was a young man has gone the way of the dodo (bird).
• I am tired of the supposed powers-that-be thinking that we are just a bunch of stupid people who are okay with the wool being pulled over our eyes repeatedly.
• I am so done with reading in the international news (that) only rubbish happens in this country that I love.
• I am fed up with the corruption, the easy silencing of people who speak up and the thuggish attitudes of those in the seat of power.
• I am tired of reporting fairly and bringing to light issues which would otherwise go unreported, only to be questioned by the authorities and being forced to disclose my source.
• I am tired of having to justify my sexuality and to fear for the wellbeing and safety of my lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender friends who just want what is rightfully theirs – human rights in its essence.
• I also want to see genuine electoral reforms such as clean electoral rolls; reform postal ballot; use of indelible ink; minimum 21-day campaign period; free and fair access to media; strengthening public institutions; stopping corruption; and stopping dirty politics.
• And finally, to succinctly put it in the regal parlance of an ex-editor of mine, I am just so tired of the bullshit.

Solidarity sit-in

I’ll wager that there are thousands of Malaysians who want the same and more, who feel these emotions and then some.

So come tomorrow (April 28) officially from 2pm to 4pm, just like me, we will sit together in what is actually a common public area, which unifies us in our desire for the kind of Malaysia we know we can have.

We will all sit in solidarity in, ironically, Dataran Merderka or Freedom Square.

We will sit in solidarity for better governance, fair rule and the right to speak.

We will sit in solidarity for the right to live a fair existence and to love who we want to without fear or favour.

These are just some of the reasons I will be at Bersih 3.0 – and of course, that my job assigns me to it.

So there I will be, at where ever I’m stationed, pen and notebook in hand, press tag around my neck, positive thoughts in my head and my heart on my sleeve that I will see a new dawn in my lifetime, and maybe, just maybe, the possibility that my father will eventually see the point behind this.

To realise where his daughter and thousands of her fellow Malaysians are coming from.