The announcement of Bersih 4 to be held on August 29-30 has drawn mixed reactions, with some throwing their weight behind the call to protest, while others refusing to participate.
On August 1, a group called "Demi Malaysia” went ahead with its rally to urge Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to resign, despite police warnings and the arrests of some of its members.
A day earlier, activists Adam Adli and Syukri Rezab were detained, and later Mandeep Singh from Bersih 2.0 and veteran activist Hishamuddin Rais were arrested.
On the protest day itself, over 20 were nabbed.
On August 8, the Coalition of Press Freedom (CPF) will take to the streets in solidarity with The Edge Media Group over the suspension of its two publications.
Amid ongoing domestic political scandals, protests are in again.
Why do people protest? What do they want? What is protest, really? What can we expect out of protests?
People are split in their views on protests. They can be organised into three groups.
First, those who believe protests are completely unacceptable because they create chaos. If the protests are allowed, then it will damage political and economic system.
Second, those who support the idea of protesting and believe it is essential to highlight an issue.
Finally, there are those who support protesters but they do not want to be involved due to various reasons, such as security.
People are skeptical that could bring about change.
If we examine Asian protests such as the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong and the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan, these protests are considered as unsuccessful because the protesters’ demands have not been met.
However, the reality is most protests would not achieve their goals, but they plant the spark of people power in the new generation.
What matters is how protests could force the issue into the consciousness of the people.
That said, a protest is more than just walking on the street and chanting whatever slogans or demands. It shows strength in belief, that a group of people feel compelled to unite for a common cause and express in public, suggesting a certain strength in ideology.
Indeed, we can’t just evaluate the success of protests by judging whether the demands are met. If we look at the August 1 protest initiated by “Demi Malaysia”, the protesters were young.
Dana Fisher, a professor of sociology from Columbia University is right when she pointed out that, “There needs to be a representation of the population that’s willing to sacrifice their time, at least.”
“You need people coming out on more than one day. You need sustained action. You need people to go home and continue to show their dissatisfaction. They need to make it clear they’re not going to take it any more. They need to show politicians that change is required.”
Ultimately, if we examine history, it is obvious that protests have conflicting results. Some achieve their aims, some do not.
To say the least, protests could keep the government on its toes and at the same time ensure our elected politicians are always accountable for their actions. – August 2, 2015.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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