What started in the tiny North African nation of Tunisia in mid-December is not over yet. The contagious street protests spread to Algeria and Morocco (on Tunisia's west) and to Egypt and Libya (on Tunisia's east). Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak are gone. Gaddafi hasn't gone still, but looks weakened. The popular discontent, against water-tight social and political power structures, shows no sign of abating. It has spread to the Gulf, with violence in Bahrain. There are worries of trouble in Pakistan, because of resentment on the streets against the government's policies.
Social uprisings and resultant overthrow of governments aren't new. The first, and probably the most decisive revolution, in recent times was the unrest that started in the Polish port city of Gdansk in the seventies. That was led by the leader of the Solidarity trade union Lech Walesa. It set off similar movements in other Soviet-bloc nations -- East Germany, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Albania etc. It ended with a bang, bringing down the once-invincible Communist empire. The man who started it all, Walesa won the Nobel peace prize in 1983 and became the President of Poland in 1990.
What characterizes the current Arab ferment is the clear absence of an identifiable alternative, unlike in the case of Soviet dictatorships, which were also similar in nature to the Arab regimes as far as individual freedom was concerned. We are yet to see one leader address huge masses of people. All we have got to see is hundreds of thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square in Cairo or Pearl Roundabout in Manama, and rampaging mobs in Benghazi or Tripoli. Neither Ben Ali nor Mubarak nor Gaddafi has been able to identify whom to target to quell the trouble on the streets. And, even without a leader, mass movements seem to be making a decisive impact.
If one were to look back at the short recent history of anti-establishment movements, violent or peaceful, the most striking feature is the anonymity of the protagonist. This also defines the modern-day challenge faced by established centres of power. If the 'war on terror' -- launched by governments in many parts of the world following targeted mass killings starting from 9/11 -- haven't reached their logical conclusion, the reason is the same: the anonymity of the protagonist. Afghanistan and Iraq -- two recent examples of states battling violent contrarian ideologies – aren't providing us any signs of hope at all.
When East European regimes were overthrown, there was turmoil and bloodshed. Nations broke up: Yugoslavia was ravaged by ethnic clashes that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and ultimate breakup of the nation into six. But there were identifiable leaders: like for example, Franjo Tudjman who became the first president of Croatia or Milan Kucan who became the first president of Slovenia.
But now the fear is whether the tech-driven revolution of the Facebook generation currently on in the Arab world will lead to any clear alternative or not; if at all an alternatives emerges, how strong will that be. The oil-rich regions in turmoil have huge stake in global economy.
Coming years could see definitive changes in geopolitical and geostrategic equations in the area. Tunisia may ultimately turn out to be the Poland of the region. We are just at the beginning. It's difficult to hazard a guess on how it will all pan out. We don't know whether the winds of change will bring about a peaceful transition (like in Egypt) or it will be violent (like what is happening in Libya).
The stupid DPM and your equally stupid PM are the 1's holding the dishonourable badge of chief provocateurs in this nation you 2 are supposed to be leaders of: By allowing racist rants from school principals to sycophant fat toadies to rage like rabies for weeks and months, while you both stand by and smirk and pretend nothing is wrong. Similarly at this very moment, you just let your evil and equally and thoroughly stupid precedent-setter of all that is wrong with yourselves and mother of all that is racist and divisive in nation right now, carry on with his seditious comments about the rest of the rakyat, breeding hatred and resentment.
We right-thinking rakyat are very certain of exactly who are the monkeys who are causing us so much anger and dismay: we know how to think and we all definitely agree you do NOT. Under you and your band of thugs and bandits, the Malaysian education system has become one cheap piece of rag just as all the other corridors have been systemically destroyed - churning out massive wastages and leakages in human resources into other lands; and financial into your pockets; causing economic hardship in our daily lives as prices of essential items of food and fuel keep on increasing.
In courts and at inquiries, all we see are lies and injustice coming out, truth suppressed and wrongdoings covered up. The ill-gotten gains you have amassed from the rakyat's coffers are used to buy votes, and squander big time on ETP's at a time when the rest of the world speak about cutbacks in spending and austerity drives. You nurture clones of PKFZ this way, paid for by us, our children and grandchildren in the years ahead. You do not give a damn.
WE do. We are going to declare our stand at the GE peacefully and civilly. We are not going for your boss's invitation to break bones, so tell him first to stop inciting.
Right-thinking rakyat will vote for justice, honesty, hard work, peace and harmony by ourselves. We don't need your unintelligent and empty words now; and that's the trouble with you as DPM - when you needed to speak up against what was so blatantly wrong and stand up for what is good for Malaysia and her people, you chose to remain dumb. Since then you have by your own purposeful ineptitude and evil-intent, forever forfeited your rights as a Malaysian to do or say anything that can help us as a united people of one nation, let alone as our deputy prime minister. You are dismissed, in our minds. And we do not need any1 to tell us to do so - YOU DID IT YOURSELF by your gross inaction and hollow speech now.
Right-wing non-governmental organisation Perkasa is opposed to the idea of having the word “bangsa” (race) dropped from forms.
Its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said claims that having the word was an obstacle to realising the 1 Malaysia concept was something ridiculous and unreasonable.
“The 1 Malaysia concept espoused by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has nothing to do with the use of the word in forms.
“If the government bows to this demand, after this more demands will be made until they attain their objective of doing away with racial identities,” Ibrahim (picture) said today.
He was commenting on the proposal by 1 Malaysia Foundation chairman Prof Dr Chandra Muzaffar that the time had come to do away with having to state one’s race in forms as it posed an obstacle to making a success of the 1 Malaysia concept.
Cheras Umno chief Datuk Syed Ali Alhabshee also expressed reservations about the suggestion,
Writing on the subject in his blog, he also took to task Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan for favouring the suggestion.
He said Shamsuddin got it wrong because Najib’s 1 Malaysia concept was not about silencing one’s racial identity but the various races working together to bring greater progress for Malaysia.
Malay Solidarity Action Front chief Osman Bakar also held the view that one’s racial identity in forms should be maintained and this should not be viewed narrowly. — Bernama
Essam Sharaf, the new Egyptian prime minister, has addressed a massive rally by pro-democracy campaigners in Cairo's Tahrir [Liberation] Square.
The square in the centre of the Egyptian capital was the focal point of anti-government protests that brought down Hosni Mubarak last month.
He appeared on the stage with Mohammed el-Beltagy, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.
He appeared on the stage with Mohammed el-Beltagy, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Making a brief speech, Sharaf said the security apparatus - much hated by the people during Mukarak's rule - must work for the good of the people.
 |
| Sharaf appeared on stage with a Muslim Brotherhood leader [Reuters] |
He told the cheering crowds that he had come "to draw legitimacy" from them, and said he will do whatever he can to respond to the revolution demands.
"I'm telling you, I came here because I've been assigned a big responsibility, a heavy burden, that requires patience and strong will. And there is no other place other than here than Tahrir, where we can extract this will and determination. We are with you," Sharaf told the crowds gathered in the square.
"You have achieved a big task and the bigger objective is to rebuild Egypt. Please listen to me, I’m praying to God that I would see Egypt a free country where opinion is not captured in prison cells and see that the security of the citizen is a top priority. And that the security apparatus works for the good of the citizens and at the end I would like to say, please if you allow me, there are lots of demands that we are working on, but I would like to end my speech.
"I pray to god that may Almighty God has honoured me with more than I've asked for. And I pray to God to help me to be able to deserve this position. Please, raise your head up, you are an Egyptian.
"I take my goals from you, and I promise you, if I cannot fulfil those objectives, I will come and join you as a protester."
"I'm telling you, I came here because I've been assigned a big responsibility, a heavy burden, that requires patience and strong will. And there is no other place other than here than Tahrir, where we can extract this will and determination. We are with you," Sharaf told the crowds gathered in the square.
"You have achieved a big task and the bigger objective is to rebuild Egypt. Please listen to me, I’m praying to God that I would see Egypt a free country where opinion is not captured in prison cells and see that the security of the citizen is a top priority. And that the security apparatus works for the good of the citizens and at the end I would like to say, please if you allow me, there are lots of demands that we are working on, but I would like to end my speech.
"I pray to god that may Almighty God has honoured me with more than I've asked for. And I pray to God to help me to be able to deserve this position. Please, raise your head up, you are an Egyptian.
"I take my goals from you, and I promise you, if I cannot fulfil those objectives, I will come and join you as a protester."
The rally held after Friday prayers was aimed at pressing the country's military rulers to deliver on their promises of reform.
"What is so iconic about this image and historic is that immediately adjacent to him is a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed el-Beltagy. Now that image would have been impossible to imagine just a few weeks ago," Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Tahrir, said.
"A senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood standing side-by-side with the current prime minister of Egypt addressing thousands of people ... Indeed it is a very historic moment."
Friday's demonstration came a day after the resignation of prime minister Ahmed Shafiq. Sharaf, a former transport minister, was subsequently named the the new prime minister by the military supreme council.
Shafiq's resignation had been one of the protesters' key demands after 18 days of mass rallies forced former president Mubarak to step down on February 11.
'Vocal critic'
Sharaf's appointment has been received well by ordinary Egyptians.
"Certainly he has earned a lot of street credibility with these protesters and more importantly with the political factions who had actually recommended his name to the military council as a potential replacement for the outgoing prime minister," Mohyeldin said.
 |
| Click here for more on Al Jazeera's special coverage |
"He was a very vocal critic of the regime and because he himself was seen as a protester when he didn't have any position of power, when he wasn't even considered as a potential prime minister, that certainly earned him a lot of respect."
Opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei, who returned to Egypt to join the protests after heading the Vienna-based UN nuclear agency, welcomed Shafiq's resignation.
"We are on the right track, I express my sincere appreciation to the Supreme Council of Armed Forces who have accepted the demand of the people," he wrote on the microblogging site Twitter.
Meanwhile on Friday, Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass was quoted in Egyptian newspapers as saying he would not participate in the new government to be led by Sharaf.
Hawass has been a cabinet minister since January 31 when Mubarak named a new government led by Shafiq.
Hawass said he was no longer able to carry out his duties amid what he called a campaign against him by officials at his ministry.
Sharaf has been charged by the military council with forming a new cabinet.
The council had previously ordered the government to run the country's affairs for six months "or until the end of parliamentary and presidential elections".Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has warned the opposition not to play with fire by instigating the people to topple the government similar to the uprising taking place in some Middle Eastern countries.
The deputy prime minister said the attempt by opposition leaders to compare Malaysia with the situation in the turmoil-hit countries was smacked of irresponsibility.
"This act of provocation by the opposition, to me, is irresponsible, undemocratic and deliberately done to create chaos when everyone knows the actual situation is peaceful and the country is prosperous and progressing rapidly.
"The people are also enjoying a higher level of development compared to those countries," he told reporters after attending a get-together with the people in Kampung Badok, here.
Muhyiddin's comment came in the wake of a series of ceramah by opposition leaders during the campaign for the Merlimau and Kerdau state by-elections in Melaka and Pahang respectively, which appeared to be attempting to rally the people to demonstrate against the government like those in the Middle East.
Muhyiddin said the opposition should be sincere when comparing Malaysia with those crisis-stricken countries.
"They can compare, but theirs are not a correct comparison; it's more like engaging in act of provocation, like playing with fire, instigating the people to rise against the government," he said.
Muhyiddin said the BN government had always been practising policies which allowed the people to convey their views or draw the government's attention on matters which the government should address.
"Ours is a vibrant democracy where every five years we call for an election. They (the opposition) are also able to win seats, and then there are by-elections which we won and they lost, and there are also those that we lost.
"It has also been amply proven that this country of ours is a democratic country, a country which is not govern in any autocratic or dictatorial way; so if the president of another country is to be compared with Malaysia's leader, we really cannot make the comparison," he said.
Muhyiddin said the opposition should be sincere when comparing Malaysia with those crisis-stricken countries.
"They can compare, but theirs are not a correct comparison; it's more like engaging in act of provocation, like playing with fire, instigating the people to rise against the government," he said.
Muhyiddin said the BN government had always been practising policies which allowed the people to convey their views or draw the government's attention on matters which the government should address.
"Ours is a vibrant democracy where every five years we call for an election. They (the opposition) are also able to win seats, and then there are by-elections which we won and they lost, and there are also those that we lost.
"It has also been amply proven that this country of ours is a democratic country, a country which is not govern in any autocratic or dictatorial way; so if the president of another country is to be compared with Malaysia's leader, we really cannot make the comparison," he said.
Asked what the government would do to deal with the matter, Muhyiddin said the country had its security law to ensure the situation would not worsen.
"We are warning them, don't play with fire. We have a system as well as the authorities to maintain the country's peace and security ... these are established institutions.
"Notwithstanding this, we wish to remind the people not to destroy the country because of provocations by the opposition.
"The opposition's objective is to create disorder, nothing else. They fancy seeing the country breaking into pieces, seeing racial clashes; so they provoke, an utterly irresponsible attitude," he said.
Earlier Muhyiddin performed the Friday prayers at the Kampung Badok Mosque in Kerdau state constituency.
The Kerdau by-election on Sunday is a straight fight between BN's Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad and PAS' Hassanuddin Salim. -- BERNAMA
No comments:
Post a Comment