090711

july 9 marks a significant time in our malaysian history. this is what inspiration, hopes and dreams are made of.

let me tell you honestly, weeks before this date when the online world was buzzing with bersih 2.0, i was clueless. i didn't know what it was about, what it was fighting for and what the implications would be on the country. until a car ride a few weeks ago got me wondering. i was in the back seat, like a child eavesdropping on her parents discussing 'adult' things. except this wasn't my parents but my friends. they were talking about attending bersih while i sat in the backseat silent not because i wasn't included in the conversation but because i didn't know what bersih was about.

not wanting to be left out, i started reading on bersih. from following them on twitter to getting the lowdown on their official website. and that's when i got educated. slowly i started reading up on news and updates leading up to the rally day. i didn't know what to expect on that fateful saturday. i was even worried that people might not show up because of the many obstacles the law enforcement imposed on the week of the rally. roadblocks being the main hindrance, truly testing the patience of the rakyat. but that was not an obstacle at all for the tens of thousands of malaysians, taking the walk of peace.

i wasn't there. i never planned to go. giving excuses of not knowing how to go downtown to convincing myself that the parental units wouldn't let me (i didn't ask so i could be wrong on this) to fearing of getting caught. but i supported the cause. that i did. the only physical way i could show my support was by wearing my yellow t-shirt. i read the live tweets and could only imagine what it was like. by nighttime, videos and news on the rally slowly sprouted all over the web. personal bersih stories were being told on twitter and on youtube. and the PMs responds to the whole incident wound its way to the local news channels, tv and newspapers.

at 12 midnight i caught the midnight news, telling my dad "i want to see what lies are being reported" and what hidden truths indeed. twisting facts and creating reports on things that really didn't matter at all when it came to looking at the bigger picture i.e. businesses being badly affected (apparently business was booming if stories told are to be believed) and how the people who were detained by the police are well taken care of (served good food and given proper resting place). uh-huh, like that really truly matters when we're fighting for a cause that is gonna make a difference.

i didn't think it possible but some of the stories and videos i've read and seen have brought tears to my eyes. i'm tearing up for my country. i'm not the most patriotic person on the street but this, this just made me feel the love. the solidarity, the unity, the peaceful malaysians walking together and helping one another. wow. i wasn't reading a fictional novel, this was the real damn thing! read #bersihstories on twitter, they are truly heartwarming stories of how malaysians reacted to the chaos and havoc provided by the police might i add. being tear gassed, beaten up and manhandled roughly, these are people we trust to protect us. very unfortunate that they chose instead to behave like gangsters. videos and personal accounts are proof of that despite ministers proclaiming otherwise on mainstream media.

what takes the cake is the PM himself. saw a video of him belittling the effects of a tear gas. i'm not gonna say anymore on that. i think there are plenty of videos going around the web that can speak for itself. what's even sadder is the lies being spread by the masses by the mainstream media. lies everywhere on the front page of newspapers to the headlines on local news channels. thankfully, this is the era of social media where both sides of the story can be seen and heard. any form of judgement can be made with basis unlike that of the ones highlighted to the masses, one sided and highly biased. my blood boils every time i read the lies published. like a bad car crash, it's hard for me not to see the lies they spin to keep themselves afloat.

this time, we cannot ignore it. a change is a coming!