Following is a Mirror piece by Honeymah,
read here from Mirror site
Honeymah Dylyani
Monday, 03 August 2009 19:22
PRIME Minister Najib Abdul Razak has voiced an issue that a lot of people have talked about, following the Aug 1 rallies on the Internal Security Act.
He said the Government is prepared to provide suitable venues, including stadiums, for people to gather and air their grievances or opinions without having to resort to demonstrating on the streets.
isa-protest-4.jpgA day after the rallies, an endless stream of people moved in and out of several police stations to enquire about family members and friends who were caught in the street protests.
Many of these visitors were also at the stations to pay their compounds for generally being a nuisance to the public and other road users, with their erratic parking and hindering public passageways, among other offences.
Nearly 600 people were nabbed for being in the illegal gatherings and many had to call their families and contacts to help them get out of the lock ups after so bravely snubbing earlier warnings by the police to stay away from the rallies.
Protesting in the name of 'freedom'
The protestors, in the name of ‘freedom of assembly’ and ‘freedom of expression’, had denied a lot of people from carrying out their business, from travelling on public transport, from seeking medical aid, from visiting ailing relatives and preventing those who simply want to have a peaceful weekend.
After a long day of covering the rallies for the Malaysian Mirror on Saturday, the writer wondered what the whole thing was about and concluded that it had all happened because the elected representatives of the country – from both sides of the political divide – had not been doing their job well.
When there is Parliament and the state legislative assemblies to deal with the problems of the people and laws governing their lives, why should people be compelled to take these matters to the streets?
What is all the bickering among politicians all about? They are not the ones who are getting the tear gas and the water cannons. They are the ones elected as wakil rakyat ro serve the people but it appears to be that it is the people serving these politicians.
Is this the justice that they talk about?
Street before parliament?
Must we come to a point where the people’s voice is first heard on the streets before their grouses are discussed in the august House, like what we have seen in the Philippines and Indonesia?mp-inside-parliament-2.png
Maybe it is a good idea, as suggested by the prime minister and other quarters, to have people gathering in stadiums rather than in the streets to make their voice heard loud and clear?
Let us sympathise and empathise with those who get stuck in traffic jams, those who get to the wrong place at the wrong time despite wanting to just have a peaceful weekend?
What if there had been looting, snatch thefts, robberies and other crimes while the police were dealing with the protestors. What if a woman was going to deliver a baby? What happened to someone who is waiting to be saved from death?
What if these people who are need of help are also family members and loved ones of those protesting in the streets?
Let the MPs and assemblymen work for us
There are MPs and state assemblymen, let us make them work for us.
The writer’s personal encounter with street protestors started with a bus ride from Puchong at 9.30am on that mad Saturday. I arrived at my intended destination, the Central Market, at about 1.30pm! I learned that the Central market and Masjid Jamek LRT stations had been closed at 11am.
There were just the two of us covering the assignments for the Malaysian Mirror; videographer Saiful Hisyam and I. We went separate ways to cover as many vantage points as we can between the two of us.
isa-protest-9.jpgIt was a frustrating and long bus ride for me, aggravated by the snail pace of the traffic along the way.
At many points, traffic just came to a standstill. People could come out from their cars and take out their snack buckets from the bonnets; taxi drivers could leave their seats and chit-chat outside their cabs; some parents could also let their young kids out to pee outside their cars.
In the bus, some little children were more concerned about reaching the Mid-Valley mall and were seen pestering their mother to tell them when they would arrive there.
Hand phones were making a din, as passengers received calls that provide some updates on the situation in the streets. Some tired passengers who had been standing in the bus, including the writer, resort sitting on the floor to relieve tired legs.
At about 11.30am, the bus had reached Mid-Valley and most of the passengers got off; either they have reached their destination or had become too tired to continue the rest of their journey.
Long weary ride
The driver decided not to pick up any more passengers and those remaining on the bus just resigned themselves to a long weary ride. Many switched off their phones or ignored incoming calls to just snooze in their seats.
Looking out the window, the writer could see families singing, eating and chatting in their cars. They looked like they were going on a family outing, not to a street demonstration. At least there is a positive side to the traffic congestions – it bonds families and friends.
The bus went through a roadblock near the Brickfields police station and a few more before it arrived at the Central market at about 1.30pm.
Soon after embarking from the bus, the writer saw six women and eight men grappling with policemen, who were hauling them into a truck. Two young women were shouting at the policemen for nabbing even elderly people.
At about 2pm, the pro-ISA protestors called off their march to Istana Negara, where they had earlier scheduled to submit a petition to the Yang di Pertuan Agong in defence of the Act.
Pro-ISA marchers say it is relevant
khairul-mohd-azam.jpgLawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz (pic), acting as legal adviser to the so-called Majlis Gabungan NGO Pembela Negara (Margaran), talked to the media for about 15 minutes before policemen escorted him to his car.
He said the 49-year-old ISA was still relevant to the country as it protects the harmony and peace of the people. The group will fix another time to hand over their petition to the palace, with some suggestions of amending the ISA to suit current times.
Some tourists at the Central Market were confused about the whole scenario. The writer told them to just enjoy being in Malaysia and not to worry about their safety. The writer also said this was just among a few ‘glitches’ that that they were witnessing and, if they worry about it, get some assistance from the officers at the market.
With the pro-ISA march dispersed, the writer strolled to the nearby Masjid Jamek, where a group of anti-ISA protestors had gathered at about 2.30pm to begin their march to the Istana Negara. They too wanted to submit a memorandum to the King to get him to support their cause.
Along Jalan Masjid India, just as the writer was starting a conversation with a self-proclaimed reformist who introduced herself as ‘Marlina’, some policemen were shouting orders for people to disperse.
On hearing the policemen, the crowd broke up but regrouped near the Kamdar shopping centre.
Continuing the conversation later, Marlina claimed the government was unfair to them as they always send the Federal Reserve Unit to block their demonstrations even though the protests were meant to be peaceful.
Just then, three FRU trucks arrived and it was the first time that the writer knew what it was like to be caught in a ‘tear gas and water gun’ raid. But rather than try to be a ‘hero’, the writer fled from the scene. From a fair distance, the writer could see some protestors throwing bottles and other things they could get their hands on, to the FRU men.
The writer, with the help of a friend, withdrew from the place and got to the Masjid Jamek LRT station, where the stinging effect of the tear gas could still be felt. It was about 3.30pm and the station was still closed.
Talking to one trader, the writer learned that his business had been badly hit by the demonstration. He suggested that rather than letting the demonstrators take their cause to the streets, the government should allow them to use stadiums or other confined places to make their mass protests.
Mood eases at around 4.30pm
Returning to the Central Market at about 4pm, the writer saw another group of anti-ISA demonstrators, with two speakers rallying and motivating the crowd to shouts of ‘Hidup rakyat! Tumbang kezaliman! (Long live the people! Down with tyranny!).’
The police moved in again and without being coaxed by water cannons and tear gas this time, the crowd dispersed. Perhaps, they too had begun to feel exhausted, albeit with a few ranting utterances to spare against the law enforcers.isa-protest-2.jpg
At about 4.15pm I called my colleague. Saiful Hisyam Sham, who was at the KL City Hall, talked of similar incidents at the Masjid Negara, the Sogo shopping mall and City Hall, where water cannons and tear gas were also hitting demonstrators and others in the vicinity.
By about 4.30pm, the mood had eased and the demonstrators were returning back home. Some of them, who were earlier sporting anti-ISA T-shirts, covered their body with jackets.
After a quick snack, the writer boarded a bus for Puchong and sat with an elderly man, who had joined the protests with his seven-year-old grandson.
Asked why he brought the boy along, the man said he wanted the child to learn to walk in his shoes. “He would be the foot soldier for Islamic justice,” he added.
The writer reached home at 8pm.
Courtesy call: Halim (left) meeting Shukarno at his resort-cum-home in Kampung Jawang near Kuala Kangsar Wednesday as the two religious teachers from the department look on. Kartika (inset) was believed to be in Ipoh when the officials came for a visit. 
