Selena Tay
Abraham Lincoln once said ‘the only thing you have to fear is fear itself.’ How true! But then fear is also the weapon used by tyrants and dictators to force their citizens into absolute obedience and submission.
Over the course of history, man has risen against despots and the cruel yoke of tyranny. An uprising occurs when citizens feel the yoke of oppression weighing heavily upon them and upon reaching the point of no-return decide to cast aside their fears to start an uprising.
Ancient Chinese history has a long record of many uprisings. But of course, China is a very old kingdom whereas Malaysia is a young nation. Even Malaysia’s independence was borne out of negotiations although there has never been a really serious uprising in Malaysian history.
Those who use fear
Tyrants use fear as a weapon to quell uprisings but there will come a time when this weapon is no longer effective against the human spirit that yearns for freedom and truth.
There will come a time when each nation is at the crossroads of history. Malaysia is facing that moment now, for better or for worse. There comes a time when the Old World Order must give way to the New. But it is when the Old wants to cling on to power regardless of the consequences, then there will be what can be termed as a ‘clash of civilizations’.
The BN Government will be in power for 54 years come this August 31. They are now in clear and present danger of being deposed by the New World Order, the Opposition coalition known as Pakatan Rakyat (which can be translated into English as the Peoples’ League or Citizens’ Coalition). This New World Order is more people-friendly and people-centric.
Knowing that they are in danger of losing their iron grip on power, the BN government has dug in their heels and will fight tooth and nail to remain in power at all costs till Kingdom Come. They will do everything in their power to quash this New World Order.
Clash of civilizations
Thus, begins the clash of civilizations. The old must give way to the new in a graceful manner in order for a smooth transition to take place but if the old is stubborn, then the nation can only regress into becoming a failed State.
Inevitably, the Old World Order which has amassed unlimited wealth and power during its lengthy reign will stifle all forms of dissent so that they can rule forever.
But change is unavoidable, one way or other. If change is resisted by the Old World Order, then the clash of civilizations can erupt into chaos and untold disaster.
In the name of peace, prosperity and progress, which is BN’s well-known mantra to woo voters, perhaps it is timely for BN to remember its dignity and not descend into the gutter of bar-room brawls with the Opposition and its own citizens.
If BN fails to do so and clings onto power relentlessly and ruthlessly, it will only lead to a greater catastrophe than the people could ever imagine. Once events spiral out of control, the wheel of time cannot be turned back to arrest the deterioration caused by those who were greedy and lusted for power.
Thus, the price of resisting change is a price that is too high to pay but the Old World Order will never give up their grasp on power. By hanging on, they will lead the nation to perdition, sinking her into the abyss of oblivion, forever consigned to being a 3rd world nation.
If the Old World Order refuses to budge, must the people take the future into their own hands by setting a path for the nation to follow and thus forever changing the course of history?
July 9 is calling, history is in the making. This will be only the beginning as momentous events will unfold.
Will the people abandon their fears and be brave enough to usher in a New World Order? If they are, it would herald the rebirth of a great Malaysian nation. - Malaysia Chronicle
MELBOURNE BERSIH DEMO 9TH JULY 2011 – A HISTORIC DAY
Dear friends in Melbourne,
Greetings to you. As many of you would have already know that the massive BERSIH 2.0 Rally on 9th July 2011 in Kuala Lumpur is set to take place. With just NINE days away before the massive rally takes place, not only in Kuala Lumpur but in major cities throughout the world, Melbourne is also one of them, the organizers of the Bersih 2.0 Melbourne cordially invites you to join us to be in this history-in-the-making event.
The details are as follow:
Bersih 2.0 Rally (Melbourne Leg)
Venue: FEDERATION SQUARE, Melbourne City
Date: 09th July 2011 (Saturday)
Time: 1330hrs – 1500hrs
8 Points
Bersih 2.0′s calls consist of 8 points. In summary, they are:
1. Clean the electoral roll
2. Reform postal ballot
3. Use of indelible ink
4. Minimum 21 days campaign period
5. Free and fair access to media
6. Strengthen public institutions
7. Stop corruption
8. Stop dirty politics
Please invite your friends to come together to join in this history-in-the-making event here in Melbourne in solidarity with our brothers and sisters back home in Malaysia. This event is organized by a group of young Malaysians who wished to see change coming our way.
After all, we the young people are the future of tomorrow. Spread the news around, wear YELLOW t-shirts, bandanas, jumper, or bring yourself in whatever yellow you can find. Don’t forget to bring along our Jalur Gemilang (the Malaysian flag) on that day.
SO START SPREADING THE NEWS TODAY TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, BE IT MALAYSIANS OR NON-MALAYSIANS ALIKE. AUSTRALIANS ARE WELCOME TOO !!!
Salam Muhibah!
Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia Australia (Melbourne)
Comment by Anon — June 30, 2011 @ 9:40 PM |
WHAT “MALAYSIA INDEPENDENCE”???
“Even Malaysia’s independence was borne out of negotiations although there has never been a really serious uprising in Malaysian history”.
Selena Tay for one who comments on “Malaysia” your knowledge is very thin. NO UPRISINGS?! We don’t want to sound harsh but you seem to miss out reading the many blogs on the 1962 Uprising against the imposition of Malaysia on the North Bornean people!
Your above statement shows you need to research your history more deeply to be worthy of a journalist!
What “Malaysia’s independence”???
It is embarrassing you did not know about the Baling Talks with the CPM and British colonials in 1955 before MALAYAN Independence (not Malaysia) AND the 1962 Brunei anti-Malaysia Uprising and the history of the Sarawak Independence struggle and guerrilla war till 1990.
This issue is seen differently in the articles below. To begin with please read “How Sarawak was conned into the formation of Malaysia”
http://dayakbaru.com/weblog08/2009/08/30/how-sarawak-was-conned-into-the-formation-of-malaysia/
For example not everyone in Sarawak or Sabah is enamored with the idea of being ruled by Malaya as seen in the DayakBaru Blog above. Suggest you also visit Sarawak Headhunter website on the call for Sarawak Independence.
The excerpts below are re-posted from another comment in HU will help to open up the knowledge box. You may not agree with the views or everything expressed but these views are still upheld by many who wish for real independence.
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“This UMNO repression was excessive even though seen in context that at the time there were 2 guerrilla wars being fought on mainland Malaya and in Sarawak by the 2 communist underground anti-government forces. It is necessary to explain to the younger generation the background so they get an new perspective of the forces that struggled for a democratic and independent society.
In Malaya is was called the “Malayan National Liberation war” – a name which was self-explanatory. The Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) had fought the Japanese and then British for Malayan independence since WW2. In 1957 the British sidelined the CPM and handed state power to UMNO which was formed after WW2 and none of its members had been involved in the anti-Japanese struggle (but may have collaborated with the Japanese and certainly the British) and they were from the ruling elite. The CPM continued its armed struggle to liberate Malaya. “Liberate” is an ideological term- which is basically to free all citizens from the repressive rule of UMNO and to change society. Readers may wish to go into the details but here it is mentioned in passing.
In Sarawak a struggle for national independence was in full progress since 1962 following the Brunei anti-Malaysia Uprising and the declaration of a “unitary North Kalimantan State” comprising Brunei Sabah and Sarawak. This area has a different history from Malaya and was never part of the Malayan sphere of influence until the British exercise direct colonial control after 1945. Brunei was an independent “protectorate” of Britain and Sarawak evolved from being part of the Brunei Kingdom into its an independent State under Brooke rule for 100 year before Malaya was a federal idea. Sarawakians are very proud of their history and country and therefore the opposition to the British idea to incorporate the territories under Malayan UMNO rule is still very strongly. They saw it as an imposition of Malayan colonial rule- an exchange of the old colonial master for a new one in1963. They still oppose the UMNO plan to directly rule Sarawak very strongly from PBB to the opposition parties.
It is a testament to the determination of the independence fighters that despite decreasing numbers they fought till 1990. The real version of the Sarawak independence struggle and of those who made the supreme sacrifice for their country Sarawak is yet unwritten.
This is in nut shell is the historical context to the current events.”
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NORTH BORNEO FEDERATION
Further this is from Wikipedia summary of the “North Borneo Federation” as an alternative desired by the North Borneo independence movement.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Borneo_Federation
North Borneo Federation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The territory of the proposed federation
The flag of the North Borneo Federation
The North Borneo Federation, also known as Kalimantan Utara or North Kalimantan was a proposed political entity which would have comprised the British Colonies of Sarawak, British North Borneo (now known as the Malaysian state of Sabah) and the protectorate of Brunei.
By 1956, the governments of Sarawak, North Borneo, and the State of Brunei announced that they would abandon the Malayan dollar and adopt a common currency of their own,[1] but that never came into being.
The idea of the North Kalimantan was originally proposed by A. M. Azahari, who had forged links with Sukarno’s nationalist movement, together with Ahmad Zaidi, in Java in the 1940s. The idea supported and propagated the unification of all Borneo territories under British rule to form an independent leftist North Kalimantan state.
Azahari personally favoured Brunei’s independence and merging with British North Borneo and Sarawak to form the federation with the Sultan of Brunei as the constitutional monarch.
However, the Brunei People’s Party was in favour of joining Malaysia on the condition it was as the unified three territories of northern Borneo with their own Sultan, and hence was strong enough to resist domination by Malaya, Singapore, Malay administrators or Chinese merchants.[2]
The North Kalimantan (or Kalimantan Utara) proposal was seen as a post-decolonization alternative by local opposition against the Malaysia plan. Local opposition throughout the Borneo territories was primarily based on economic, political, historical and cultural differences between the Borneo states and Malaya, as well as the refusal to be subjected under peninsular political domination. Joining to form Malaysia was seen as a new form of colonialism under Malaya.
The basic concept behind the formation of a union of British Borneo was partly based upon the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in Southern Africa. After the defeat of the pro-democracy revolutionaries in the Brunei Revolt, the idea was put to rest. Had the federation been formed, the capital city would probably have been chosen from Kuching, Jesselton (present-day Kota Kinabalu) or Bandar Seri Begawan, the historical capital of the region.
The Sultanate of Brunei has traditionally opposed such a federation. When it was first proposed during the 1960s the Sultan of Brunei favoured joining Malaysia, though, in the end, disagreements concerning the nature of such a federation, and also disputes over oil royalties stopped this from happening.
Currently, there still remain groups of people who favor the creation of such an independent state and desire separation from the rest of Malaysia. These groups see union with Malaysia as being unfair to the people of Borneo, particularly Sabah, as the majority of the region’s wealth goes to the Malaysian federal government. Only about 5% of the region’s oil revenue goes to the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak.
Malaysian politics have usually been centred in Peninsular Malaysia, and critics see the federation neglecting the needs of East Malaysians. Some opposition parties in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly have tried to promote a North Borneo federation. The matter was refused to be debated in the Assembly due to its sensitivity, by the coalition of governing parties in Sarawak, namely the Barisan Nasional led by Abdul Taib Mahmud.
In the Malaysian general election, 2008 the populations of both the East Malaysian states voted to keep the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in power, which saw it lost support in its traditional Peninsular Malaysian strongholds. This has seen an increase in development in the two states.
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NORTH KALIMANTAN COMMUNIST PARTY (role in the armed struggle against Malayan UMNO rule for independence)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Kalimantan_Communist_Party
North Kalimantan Communist Party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)Malaysia
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North Kalimantan Communist Party was a communist political party based in the Malaysian province of Sarawak in northern Borneo. It was founded on September 19, 1971. Before that, the group had been operating under the name Sarawak Communist Organization. The chairman of the NKCP was Wen Min Chyuan. He had been a leading member of the Sarawak United People’s Party 1960-1964.
The membership of NKCP was predominantly ethnically Chinese. The armed wing of NKCP was Pasukan Rakyat Kalimantan Utara (PARAKU).
[edit] History
Left-wing and communist cell groups had grown rapidly among Sarawak’s urban Iban and Chinese communities since the 1950s and later became the nucleus of the anti-Malaysia North Kalimantan People’s Army (PARAKU), which was the armed wing of the party.
The party supported and propagated the unification of all Borneo territories under British control to form an independent leftist North Kalimantan state. This idea was idea originally proposed by A. M. Azahari, leader of the Parti Rakyat Brunei (Brunei People’s Party), who had forged links with Sukarno’s nationalist movement, together with Ahmad Zaidi, in Java in the 1940s.[1]
The North Kalimantan (or Kalimantan Utara) proposal was seen as a post-decolonization alternative by local opposition against the Malaysia plan. Local opposition throughout the Borneo territories was primarily based on economic, political, historical and cultural differences between the Borneo states and Malaya, as well as the refusal to be subjected under peninsular political domination.
In the aftermath of the Brunei Revolt, possibly fearing British reprisals (which never eventuated), many Chinese communists, possibly several thousand, fled Sarawak. Their compatriots remaining in Sarawak were known as Pasukan Gelilya Rakyat Sarawak (Sarawak People’s Guerilla Force). Soebandrio met with a group of their potential leaders in Bogor, and Nasution sent three trainers from Resimen Para Komando Angkatan Darat (RPKAD) Battalion 2 to Nangabadan near the Sarawak border, where there were about 300 trainees. Some 3 months later two lieutenants were sent there.[2]
The PGRS numbered about 800, based in West Kalimantan at Batu Hitam, with a contingent of 120 from the Indonesian intelligence agency and a small cadre trained in China. The PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) was strongly in evidence and led by an ethnic Arab revolutionary, Sofyan. The PGRS ran some raids into Sarawak but spent more time developing their supporters in Sarawak. The Indonesian military did not approve of the leftist nature of the PGRS and generally avoided them.[3]
[edit] Current status
In 1974 a break-away group led by Bong Kee Chok signed a peace treaty with the state government. The Bong Kee Chok faction was larger than the remaining Wen Min Chyuan faction.
The NKCP gradually declined. In 1989 CIA estimated that the group had around 100 fighters. On October 17, 1990, the NKCP signed a peace-treaty with the state government and dissolved. Several guerrilla fighters were reintegrated into civilian life.
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Trust that will enlarge your knowledge…best regards.
Comment by Sarawak Patriots — June 30, 2011 @ 5:26 PM |