Bersih Gathering: Masjid Jamek Police Violence
November 10, 2007
Ever felt the effects of tear gas and been shot by water cannons? Today, I have. And it hurts like hell.
I arrived at Masjid Jamek around 1.45pm. There were already massive numbers of people here to attend Bersih’s gathering to walk to the Istana Negara. Most of them were congregated in the Masjid Jamek mosque itself, and there were lots more lining the streets. Our goal of walking and gathering at Dataran Merdeka was prevented by the presence of police in full force, trucks with water cannons mounted, police numbering about a hundred.
At around 2.15pm, no one was rioting, and yet the police started putting on their riot gear and gas masks. This wasn’t gonna go well, I thought. I was right. It didn’t take long for police to move in on the people. First, they started shooting the water cannons at us. Well, if you haven’t been shot at by water cannons, you don’t need to actually be hit by the cannons to feel the effects. That’s because the water cannons don’t really shoot pure H2O. It’s laced with some chemical that when it lands, it becomes some sort of foam and emits fumes which burn your eyes, noses, and throats. Trust me, it really hurts.
The gatherers were then charged by police and we had to retreat into a side road that eventually merged into Jalan Raja Laut. That’s the road along DBKL and Sogo shopping center. From there, we tried to march again to Dataran Merdeka but was repelled again by the same police force. The police mounted a few charges, each time, with water cannons and tear gas. Oh, tear gas? It doesn’t just make people cry. I wish it did because crying doesn’t really hurt. It really stings your eyes and if not for the rain, it would probably have hurt a lot more people because the gas would have chance to travel further.
From there, we were chased down the street (FRU personnel charging us for no reason, again) all the way past Sogo to the Sime Darby/UniAsia building, where we marched on to Jalan Kuching/Kinabalu, heading past Kompleks Dayabumi, past Masjid Negara, and onto Jalan Syed Putra (to those caught in the jam there, I apologize. Blame the police). But the walk was over because we had already received news by then (a little past 4.30pm) that the memorandum had been submitted and we could disperse peacefully and go home. The police violence had forced us to take a big detour towards the Istana Negara, and felt a little disappointed that I couldn’t really arrive near the palace after such a long walk.
Looking back, what I really want to ask is, for what reason was the police using violence and riot dispersal techniques on a crowd that was entirely peaceful? Trust me, the only thing people were doing were chanting slogans, and none of it were directed against the police. There was entirely no justification for using these techniques against people who were trying to exercise their freedom of movement to walk from Masjid Jamek to the Dataran Merdeka.
When I got back, I found out from Malaysiakini that the only clashes were at Masjid Jamek. Lucky me, right? Look at this graphic and you can follow my journey from Masjid Jamek to Sogo to Masjid Negara.
If you’re lucky enough to have Al Jazeera at home and you were following the reports, you will have witnessed the police violence against the people. If not, take a look at this Youtube video:
Or read the Al Jazeera news report.So for tomorrow’s newspapers report, someone will probably lie (I’ll post more on the lies that were told to prevent this event from happening) about how the people got violent and started rioting and the police had to break it up. Trust me, there will be lies.To those that were there today, I salute your effort, even when the rain was pouring, and the police were getting violent. To those that shared your salt with me (a technique to prevent nausea or ‘kepeningan’ caused by the water cannons), thank you.
Today, over 40,000 people have showed up. We want a free and fair elections process, and we hope that our Agong will take action to level the playing field for all political parties. The country has been Merdeka for 50 years, but the people are still denied their right to walk (jalan pun tak merdeka). When will we get this freedom and be free from the shackles of a budding police state?
Other views on the Bersih gathering from the blogosphere (will be updated with links as and when I read them. Post your links in the comments as well if you got any):
Photos from 10th November Bersih Rally
Petitioners Defy Police
Lulu Is Back, Safe and Sound
Yellow Day!
You Might Find These Interesting
- Bersih Gathering Aftermath: Reports/Views From Other Blogs
- Bersih Gathering: Mainstream Media Silence And Lies
- Cops Forced To Use Water Cannons To Disperse Protestors. Really?
- HINDRAF Rally Thwarted By Police Violence
- Police Violence: If The French Can Do It, Why Can’t We?
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21 Responses to “Bersih Gathering: Masjid Jamek Police Violence”
Add your comment
great job dude. salute
November 10, 2007 at 7:24 pm
thanks kenny for the update
this is really useful
hope you are fine
but you have been very brave, keep it up
November 10, 2007 at 7:43 pm
are you alright? that’s scary. i would never expect it happened in malaysia, my home country. i know you are right. we need a change. we all understand the flaws in our goverment system. however, is it the only way we can do? the news report stuns me. you are brave. i couldn’t find any wrong from your reason for participating in the gathering. there might be a better way to tell our government we need a change. take care there. do remember to think of those who love you before doing anything. it is lucky that you are alright
November 10, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Hi ying,
Thank you for your concern
As for alternative ways to let the government know we need a change, we could:
1. Do it through the voting box. But unfortunately, much of the voting processes in the country is heavily stacked in the government’s favour.
2. Challenge the legality of the voting processes in court. But with the top judiciary allegedly filled by government friendly people, do you think we will get the result we want?
November 10, 2007 at 9:32 pm
i watched 6:30 aljazeera news… in the beginning, the headlines did mentioned the protest.. but i waited until the sport section, nothing about it…. looks like Asstro had sensored it… maybe we should send asstro a protest letter on this…
November 10, 2007 at 9:37 pm
thanks for this post. or else people abroad like me will still be katak under the tempurung. The star reports only 4k ppl turns up… i hope u are alright
November 10, 2007 at 10:23 pm
anak_perilih: Just found out you could access the broadcast directly from their Al Jazeera English website. But the video is a wee bit small
Eve: I’m alright and in high spirits
I’m glad I was able to show you an alternative view that won’t be broadcast fairly in the normal mass media.
November 10, 2007 at 10:57 pm
Great job on reporting the whole event dude ! Glad you were okay.
November 10, 2007 at 11:18 pm
This is my first ever comment for political affairs. However, the event yesterday keep bugging me the whole night. My main concern is that why is that stupid En.B has problem with a fair election?? Something is really really wrong man..
Really respected those who went for the march. Hope we all will get something out from it. If not, we will do it again..
November 11, 2007 at 10:11 am
[...] but just one big united force who helped each other out during the chaos. I think the blogger is Kenny Law who was one of the first few who [...]
November 11, 2007 at 2:03 pm
well done my friend.
but i have to say one thing… i think it’s all futile if the king ends up not doing anything. let’s see what he will do.
November 11, 2007 at 5:36 pm
[...] As I looked at the time, it was about 2 something in the afternoon. As we headed for the highway, many people were walking heading towards the National Palace. This caused all the vehicles to hault. Some were wearing yellow t-shirt bearing the word “Bersih”. Kids too joined the rally. I wonder whether they know what was actually happening. By then, the rain reduced to a drizzle. That was my maiden experience of observing a rally. Well not actually observing but rather being in the situation. Click here! [...]
November 11, 2007 at 8:14 pm
you have done a great deed for all of the malaysian community and we salute you and your fellow comrades.. your courage and effort is what will help make malaysia a better country to live in. thank you!
im just worried, for all our efforts, will the agong do the right thing? what if he doesnt? Then what do we do?
November 11, 2007 at 11:30 pm
zewt and karend,
We’ll wait for action from the palace. I think these things take time and might happen without media fanfare, but keep a look out on the changes that the Election Comission will take. I’m really concerned with the postal votes and misuse of government funds.
nref81,
Thanks for giving me your first political comment. Hope you can share more of your thoughts with us in the future
November 12, 2007 at 12:23 am
Governments everywhere are really a “respectable” front for mafia-style power criminal cliques and the situation is no different here. Fifty years is plenty of time for a political party to monopolize all access to instant money and the temptations are massive when you’re handling national budgets amounting to trillions. In short, BN has been in power for so long and has so many skeletons in their closet (some exploded and others still intact) they can’t afford to quietly step aside and let a new gang of politicians take the wheel.
At this point in time, I feel the Umno yahoos have become so sombong that the only way is to put massive pressure on them till the entire pretense at good manners collapses and they expose themselves for what they truly are - a bunch of greedy mobsters with uniformed samsengs as enforcers. These are days of enormous changes across the spectrum. The Earth herself is making a quantum jump in magnetic alignments and will no longer tolerate falsehood and useless parasites. With these disease-bearing entities chased from their undeserved thrones of power, this country - indeed, the entire planet - will be a REAL paradise. Read the chapter called “The Scouring of The Shire”in Tolkien’s ‘Return of the King.’
Too much to lose - what if the new management decides to open serious investigations into past misdeeds? 90% of the BN top brass will have to flee the country or face long jail terms! Now you know why rocking the boat isn’t “the Malaysian way”
November 12, 2007 at 3:29 am
i am just curious whether i will be done on time before the next election… which is very near.
November 12, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Kenny.
Sabah and Sarawak seem very melor on the situation.
They recommended to conduct the rally nationwide.
It will be interest and serves the purpose and the other eastern states have also their fair share of problems similar to west.
November 13, 2007 at 1:02 pm
[...] http://www.darnmalaysia.com/2007/11/10/bersih-gathering-masjid-jamek-police-violence/ (Kenny Law personally recounts getting water/chemical cannoned and tear gassed despite no marchers causing trouble) [...]
November 15, 2007 at 1:09 pm
ahmad el sherif…
Thanks for the nice read, keep up the interesting posts…..
November 30, 2007 at 11:34 pm
[...] group PROTES is planning to rally 100,000 people at the Petronas Twin Towers (how iconic). I miss the taste of acid-laced water, so I’ll see you [...]
June 6, 2008 at 10:35 am
[...] of speech and freedom of movement are false. Additionally, I wish to reveal to the whole world that my episode of being tear-gassed and water cannoned by the police were totally made up, and it was in fact, “air bandung” with copious amounts of [...]
July 8, 2008 at 10:12 pm