and times they are a changing.........................not

Yes it has been long dear reader. Too long indeed. Much has changed and much has not since i last graced the bloggosphere. I have been proven right and i have been proven wrong on my predictions of the past 2 years but sadly i have been proven mostly right. Mark my words on this new prediction for i fear i might be right. There are any flaws with this country and there are but a few suitable solutions to the correct such flaws. The bersih crisis on the contrary of what most people might think is not a problem but merely a symptom of a much larger disease that has struck our beloved nation. So instead of digressing to the big picture of all things wrong with Malaysia in lieu of the current situation I find it appropriate to discuss this bersih "problem".

I must admit the last time bersih happened(http://shady1214.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html ) in 2007 i was perhaps less wise and more naive than i am now which is arguably not the worse thing that could happen. If you read that article i posted in my youth then you could tell that i was once indeed the most vehement anti-BN and pro-democracy person you could know. What difference 4 years makes. If supported Bersih with such fervor 4 years ago then my objections to 2.0 is as equally as fervent.Do they have a just and noble cause? The answer is yes. Is this an effective and lasting way to achieve it or is this cause even worth fighting for? That my friends is extremely debatable. As i sit here very comfortably in my upper middle class suburb nursing mind you an extremely good dram of whisky, the mob that is Bersih are being unfortunately either arrested or shot at with water cannons and/or tear gas. And to what end? Do you think the EC or their paymasters BN will just throw their hands up and concede to change the electoral system that for so long has given them an advantage in the elections? Take the last Bersih rally for example was considered a watershed being the first time in a long time an occasion where the long polarized citizens stood up to the corrupt and weak government. It led a domino of street protest and the swinging of public popularity to the favor of the long beleaguered opposition parties culminating in the stunning 2008 political tsunami and ultimately the demise of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Many could consider it as a tipping point in terms of Malaysian political history but unfortunately I believe that many of you would concur with me that it was a mere candle in the wind. It burned bright, it burned strong but ultimately it burned short. If I were to go into detail how the civil activist and opposition parties failed to capitalize upon this momentum ,dear reader this blogpost could run into volumes upon volumes. It is needless to say that the current Malaysian political status quo has returned nearly to step one meaning we are back to the same situation we were pre-Bersih 2007. With this conclusion derived(its accuracy i am sure many will oppose) we must all face the reality that street protest such as BERSIH 2.0 which has detrimental social and economical effects upon not only KL but also Malaysia's reputation as a member of the international community to be futile in nature.

Bersih had made their demands known in 2007 and they were not met. A similar outcome is expected in 2011. So we have come to the end of BERSIH 2.0 and KL has returned to a sense of normalcy. The mob has had their fill of screaming anti-police and government vulgarities. Weather in reality or in cyberspace one can see the "shock" and "disgust" of police brutality when really only a naive fool would expect the police to play fair. Such is the apathy and the weakness of the Malaysian people . They marched, they screamed and they went home after the rally. Listen up Bersih if you want change you are going to have to mean it. And by meaning it I mean you have to be willing to sacrifice your lives for your cause like the Libyan fighters ,you have to be willing to lose a month of your livelihood like the protesters of Tahrir square and then and only then ,when you show such determination and mettle will you be able to force the hand of the EC and achieve your noble cause. Without that, change will never come through street protest. A Bersih protester Thomas chai tweeted "Below this yellow vest there is and idea Mr. Najib and ideas are bulletproof" although that that might be the truth mr chai however ideas that lack power and strength to make them a reality shall remain only as ideas thus making your effort largely futile.

I might be digressing here but i will begrudgingly admit that Bersih has had an effect upon our political situation. NOTE this is not due to to the strength of Bersih but rather the weakness of the leader of BN Najib. His performance while dealing with this crisis has been much like Joe cole's football this season ; appalling. He turned a potentially harmless street protest into his own kryptonite.Had he the wisdom of much greater statesmen he would have let Bersih pass without a mention and let the mob walk peacefully through the streets. Bersih my friends is no Arab spring movement. Najib made the grave mistake of over-estimating the threats to his rule and he tried to rule through fear. Although it is at times an effective tool the crackdown upon the Bersih rally did more harm to his administration than the rally itself ever would. When Najib opposes Bersih which stands for free and fair elections he automatically implies that he himself is opposed to such a concept thus driving a nail in his political coffin further than any dead model or missing 500 million ever will. Would it not be wise to merely allow Bersih to show that he is different from hardliners past as a progressive liberal minded prime minister that malaysians have been craving? Would that not infact help him gain political favour from the public which will eventually lead to more votes in the coming elections? By cracking down upon Bersih he has inadvertently caused the opposition to gain more symphathy votes as people are likely to do so to show their disgust at his weak attempt at tyranny. It is true then that BN is no longer the roman empire it once was under the leadership of Mahathir and Najib's failure to correctly asses the situation is a glaring example of his shortcomings. The crackdown shows that Najib is a coward ,a fool and unforgivably careless as he lets those that would oppose him gain power. Bersih is supposeed to be non- partisan but I am sure it is closely associated with the opposition parties. And when Najib cracked down on them he could in my theory just walked in to a trap.

However that being said the power gained by the opposition is likely minimal as many other factors contribute to ones success in the game of thrones which i will perhaps expand upon later. Mark my words no good will come of this rally. And whatever minimal sucess it had was due to Najibs impotence rather that people power.Najib you fool you could have just let it happen while keeping the peace and nothing would have come of it.

"children can afford to be careless. Women can afford to be careless.But men cannot"

Don vito corleone