FMT letter via email from Mt Elvira

Noble though its objectives are, Bersih probably needs to reconsider its plans for its fifth rally in the wake of violent disruptions of its preparatory convoys.

It’s clear now that civil society has to deal with unreasonable people who believe they have the sole right to power and to determine what is true. They obviously cannot tolerate alternative viewpoints.

According to a Malaysian who lived through Occupy Central in Hong Kong from start to finish, there is a real threat of the Red Shirts causing trouble at the Bersih 5 rally in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 19.

No, this is not a question of retreating or being afraid of Jamal Yunos and his Red Shirts but of whether or not caution would be the better part of valour.

Public opinion in Hong Kong shifted against the Occupy Central movement when agents provocateurs were planted among the demonstrators and violence erupted.

Besides, holding the rally in Kuala Lumpur would be nothing more than preaching to the converted. Those who will take part already know everything about what ails the country. It’s the folk in the rural areas who have to be preached to.

The incident in Lumut, in which policemen stood by as the Red Shirts intimidated the Bersih 5 convoy, ought to be seen as a precursor of what might happen on Nov 19.

Let’s be candid. The public at large has no stomach for violence, and some elements might already be plotting a strategy to turn the tables on Bersih 5 and, by extension, the Opposition. By laying the blame on the Opposition for the violence, these elements may hope to gain the support of neutral voters.

So what is the alternative? Despite what has happened so far, Bersih should perhaps continue trying to reach rural voters without, however, culminating the programme with the Nov 19 rally. It can achieve much by disseminating information to the rural folk.

But if there’s still a strong call for the Kuala Lumpur rally, perhaps it should be held inside a stadium, where security will not be a nightmare.

Hey, why not let Gerakan spend the RM20,000 that its Youth chief claimed he had secured to sponsor Bersih 5’s use of a stadium?

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