My foray into rallies and protest marches started during the hey days of the 'Reformasi' Movement in the late nineties. However my first big march was the Bersih 1.0 rally, in November 2007, which drew around 40,000 people. The rally was marred by the police and I was caught in a crossfire of tear gas canisters near Masjid Jamek. I managed to retreat and joined the crowd in our march to Istana Negara to hand a memorandum to the King. Hindraf organised a march later that month and subsequently, in the 2008 general election, the BN lost its largest share of votes since 1957.
Like many others who had written so many heartwarming stories of their experiences of Bersih 2.0, I too had many misgivings on the eve of the march. The unbelievable campaign of terror, fear and intimidation by the government and extremist groups like PERKASA was enough to scare anyone from even thinking of participating.
However the Organising Committee of Bersih 2.0 and organisations like Lawyers for Liberty, SUHAKAM and other NGOs convinced me that the right to peaceful protest is enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and numerous other international human rights instruments. I told myself that no PM, IGP or Home Minister can decree otherwise and deny our right to peaceful assembly.
A miracle happened on July 9, 2011
