One Million Is A Huge Number

 Malaysia Chronicle Pic

The Bersih2 rally to be held on 9th July is a march for free and fair elections. It is an initiative of 62 NGOs to draw attention to the need for reforms to the electoral processes. However, it has drawn the ire of certain quarters including the establishment who is threatening preventive arrests instead of allowing the peaceful rally to proceed.

And it has led Ibrahim Ali, the president of Perkasa, a Malay right wing NGO, to issue a veiled threat of bloodshed ala the infamous May 13 incident in 1969 when an unknown number of Chinese were killed,  when he claimed that he will lead a rival rally on the same day as their general and warned the Chinese to stock up on food.

No action however, has been taken against him for the irresponsible utterance and this has angered many right thinking Malaysians who see his rants as threatening racial harmony.

But the last straw came when someone issued a death threat against Ambiga Sreenevasan, the chief co-ordinator of the Bersih2 rally. This, together with the lack of action being taken against Ibrahim Ali, has truly angered not only the opposition political parties, PAS, PKR and DAP who also support the rally, but also many ordinary Malaysians.

Now PAS president Haji Hadi Awang has ordered one million of its members to take part in the march on 9th July.

Nobody is doubting Hadi Awang and with members from both DAP and PKR and increasing numbers of ordinary Malaysians who want to show their disgust at the way the government is treating the people's desire for fair and clean elections, one million marchers looks very achievable.

If one million marchers turn out for the Bersih2 rally despite the threats against them, this is history in the making and recalls the Tahrir Square numbers in Egypt.