The visuals coming out of Nepal have been very disturbing: buildings burning, ministers being attacked and their houses being vandalised and looted, and clashes between citizens and the police.

Hardly two weeks ago, we saw violence on the streets of Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia: civilians clashing with police, buildings burning, and houses of ministers being looted.

As Malaysians celebrate Malaysia Day on Sept 16, we should pause and reflect on these tragic happenings; tragic because people have been killed, buildings and vehicles have been destroyed, and income has been lost.

In today’s column I want to focus on what Malaysian citizens can learn from this. To do that, we need to understand what happened, and I will take Nepal as the example.

What started off as a protest against a ban on social media platforms turned ugly in a matter of days; there was violence and arson and as of Sept 11, at least 34 people had died and more than 1,300 had been injured.

Over the past week, we’ve been accosted by images of politicians’ homes being vandalised, and government buildings and parliament being torched. We’ve also seen images of ministers being brutally beaten by angry citizens.

The government of Nepal has collapsed, its prime minister has fled, and the country is now in crisis mode with the army in charge.

What sparked the turmoil?

The government of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli blocked 26 social media platforms – including WhatsApp, X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Reddit, WeChat, VK and LINE – on Sept 4 for failing to register with Nepal’s ministry of communication and information technology.

This was simply too much for young Nepalis who depend on social media not just for information, entertainment and social life but also to keep in touch with the many family members and Nepali friends who work overseas.

While officials said this was to curb fake news and online fraud, Nepali netizens saw it as an attack on their freedom of expression, especially so because of an online anti-corruption campaign and the widespread sharing of images depicting the lavish lifestyles of the children of politicians. Many felt it was really to stop the spread of these images and the campaign.

On Sept 8, thousands of young people, many in school and university uniforms, gathered near the federal parliament building in central Kathmandu to peacefully protest the ban.

However, what started as a protest against the ban soon morphed into one against corruption, police brutality, and the privileged position of politicians and their lavish lifestyles in contrast with the sufferings of ordinary people.

Their pent-up desire for a new political climate where politicians were clean, the economy was growing well and everyone had equal opportunities at success flowed onto the streets.

But things turned violent after security barricades were breached and police used tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, and eventually live ammunition to disperse the growing crowds.

By the night of Sept 9, at least 22 were dead and more than 300 injured.

The protests spread to other cities in Nepal, with some setting fire to the parliament building and other government buildings, police stations and the houses of some top politicians, including that of Oli.

Some of the protest leaders later said the protests had been “hijacked” by “opportunists”, leading to the violence and looting. A military spokesman agreed that some people were taking advantage of the protests started by the Gen Z youngsters to “loot, set fires and cause various incidents”.

What did the rioting achieve?

Oli resigned as prime minister before fleeing the country, and the government collapsed. The military took over and was, on Sept 12, discussing the formation of an interim government with some of the young demonstrators – most of whom belong to Gen Z as they are below age 28.

Reports said there was a clash between two of these protest groups, with one wanting Sushila Karki, a widely respected former chief justice, to head an interim government and the other saying that at 73 she was too old. Karki was subsequently appointed interim prime minister on Sept 13.

Let me state here that I am not judging those who took to the streets in Nepal to seek better living conditions and a better nation. They know best the conditions they were living under.

My interest is in the lessons that ordinary Malaysians can learn from this.

The biggest lesson is that regime change is not easy and can lead to turmoil, death and destruction if it is not done through the democratic, legal process of voting.

We are fortunate that since independence our political leaders – no matter how badly we think of them – have held elections every five years. We are also fortunate that the losers have had the good sense to accept the results and not goad their followers to take to the streets to cause chaos.

Another lesson is that protests need to be well coordinated and managed. If they turn violent – whether due to some enraged individuals or agent provocateurs or opportunists or an overreaction by the police – chaos will result and no one will benefit.

So, protest organisers must constantly keep protesters in line and be alert for opportunists and agent provocateurs. They should not give a reason or excuse for the police to fire tear gas or bullets in their direction.

Malaysians breathed with relief when those who organised the  “Turun Anwar” demonstration on July 26, calling for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to resign, did so peacefully.

Several thousand protesters marched through the heart of Kuala Lumpur that day before converging at Dataran Merdeka where several opposition leaders, and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, gave speeches.

Coming back to Nepal, just consider how much money will be needed to rebuild parliament and other government buildings that have been torched and the public facilities that have been damaged. And Nepal can hardly afford it.

The lesson for us is that no matter how angry we are with the government or any group, we should refrain from damaging or destroying public facilities. It is tax-payer money, our hard-earned money, after all.

Also consider the lives lost in Nepal, Indonesia and elsewhere due to protests that turned violent.

So, as we celebrate Malaysia Day, let us remember that violence is not the way to change a government or get things done. It is best to follow democratic processes, as we have been doing all this while.

Let us also be grateful that Malaysians, by and large, are peaceful people who want to get along with their lives without any hindrance – whether from the government or others. Left alone, Malaysians just want to live in amity with their fellow citizens.

Next: Lessons from Nepal for politicians and the government

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.