May 7th - 1BLACKMalaysia, Democracy First, Elections Now

May 5th, 2009 | Posted in Press Release | | Print This Post

The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (BERSIH) held a press conference this morning in relation to the ongoing Perak constitutional crisis and the much anticipated sitting of the Perak state legislative assembly on 7th May, 2009.

Below is the full text of the press release issued by BERSIH this morning.

5 May 2009

We the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (BERSIH) call upon all Malaysians to wear black to work, to school, in play or at home the coming May 7th (Thursday) to present “1BLACKMalaysia” to Prime Minister Najib Razak as our strongest protest to the on-going Perak coup he has orchestrated.

Despite the court’s scheduled hearing on the legality of Zambry Abdul Kadil’s legality as the Menteri Besar on May 5th and 6th, a sitting for the Perak State Legislature has been scheduled to begin on May 7th bypassing the speaker V. Sivakumar.

A motion has also been tabled to replace the speaker, who has vigorously defended the Legislature’s rights and power throughout the coup, with R. Ganesan, a non-lawmaker from the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).

To prevent the public from knowing what would happen in the assembly, a “media curfew” was imposed whereby only 13 selected media outlets are granted access, on top of a general lockdown of the city of Ipoh, where the Legislature is seated. While the Zambry regime had since retracted the “media curfew” under strong public outcry, the initial move reveals a regime that fears public scrutiny.

These latest developments show total disregard of Najib Razak on rule of law and constitutional democracy in Malaysia. He has also ignored the voters’ wrath on unconstitutional means of power grab, as showed in the Bukit Gantang by-election where the margin for the ousted MB Mohammad Nizar increased by over 2000 votes.

Najib’s slogan: “1Malaysia, people first, performance now” is now a cruel joke on Malaysians. Is this the old “1Authoritarian-and-CorruptMalaysia” getting worse? What “people first” when people are forced to be blind, deaf, mute and immobile with the media curfew and city lockdown? What “performance now” when the “performance” in law-breaking may never be known?

In response to all these, we urge all Malaysians to wear black on May 7th. It will be a peaceful but powerful message of civil disobedience that we the people are politicians’ bosses and no politicians defiant of public opinion can escape punishment at the next poll. Civil disobedience is a peaceful act that every citizen can participate and make a difference. In history, civil disobedience led by Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King and the Polish people had successfully ended tyranny and injustice without bloodshed or disruption.

Let’s paint every state and territory, every town and village black with our clothes, headbands, hats, turbans, veils, armbands, ribbons and stickers on that day. Let everyone see a sea of black walking into an office, a market, a mosque, a temple, a church, a college, a park, a bus, a commuter or LRT car, a ferry or an aeroplane .
Let us be united in one BLACK colour and let show the world that the 1Malaysia under Najib Razak is “1BLACKMalaysia” living in darkness.
Let’s show the world that Malaysians will stand up against any invasion of democracy, freedom and peace by unscrupulous politicians. We will not allow coup be the way to power in Perak, or anywhere in Malaysia. No one shall take away our democracy, freedom and peace. Najib may hijack our unelected institutions like the judiciary, civil service, police and Election Commission, but he will never win our heart and mind. And he is no reformist until he dares to face elections in Perak.

Let us show Najib in one colour - “1BlackMalaysia!”. Let us tell him in one voice for Malaysia: “Democracy First!” Let us pose him the one solution for Perak: “Elections now!”
Yes, Mr Prime Minister of Malaysia, and the World, listen to us: 1BlackMalaysia! Democracy First! Elections Now!

• This statement is also endorse by Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, Centre for Plicy Intiatives (CPI) and Anwar Ibrahim Club (AIC)

Today we celebrate 25 Years...

We are older now but better by far;
Who knows how good it can be;
Our love still grows like a plant in the sun;
Or a wave rising up from the sea.

We laughed before, but we laugh more now.
Life is more fun so it seems.
Days are sunnier, the moon shines brighter;
Our life is the stuff of dreams.

We shared in the past, but today we share more.
There’s a warmth that keeps growing inside.
We loved when we met; it was powerful then,
Yet now our love’s strong as the tide.

Grace is the best, dearest thing to come into my life,
Like an angel from out of the sky.
And I know one thing that is for sure,
Grace will be dearer still, as time goes by.

My 3 Favourite Greatest Marathon runners of 1968.

Abebe Bikila
In the 1968 in Rome. Abebe Bikila, an Ethiopian track and field athlete became the first black African to win an Olympic medal. Later in 1964, he became the first man ever to win two Olympic marathons. Known for his grace and stamina, he was considered the most perfect example of a naturally talented distance runner. He was also known as the Ethiopian who had conquered Rome.

The group of runners assembled for the Marathon in 1960 was impressive, and Bikila was not expected to win. He was not even be selected to run but had come in as a replacement for his fellow country man who had be injured in training. He would probably not have been noticed at all were it not for the fact that he chose to wear no running shoes. Used to running barefoot in Ethiopia, Bikila would run the entire 26.2 miles in bare feet. He had tried to run a few practice miles with shoes, but found that they pinched his feet because no proper gear had been arranged for him.

As the race began, four runners moved to the front of the pack.At six miles, two more runners caught up but a Soviet Union runner who held the world record and was expected to win was still behind. By 16 miles, Bikila and another runner were in front. Previously, Bikila had decided that he would not take the lead until after the 12-mile mark, and now he was there. At 18 miles, he was still battling for the lead. Unlike everyone else, Bikila and his coach had assumed that he would be in the lead at the end of the race. In the last few miles, Bikila looked for a place where he could decisively overtake the lead.

A little more than a mile from the finish, Bikila saw a statue known as the Obelisk of Axum, which had originally come from Ethiopia, and which had been stolen by invading Italian troops during World War II. For Bikila, it was symbolic. As he passed the obelisk, he surged forward so strongly that the leader could no longer keep up. Dodging a motor scooter whose driver had mistakenly driven onto the course, he won by 25 seconds, with a finishing time of 2:15:16.2. With this time, he won the gold medal, beat the previous world record by eight tenths of a second, and beat the Olympic record for the marathon by almost 8 seconds. Newspapers the next day commented that it had taken an entire Italian army to conquer Ethiopia, but only one Ethiopian soldier to conquer Rome.

Six weeks before the Tokyo Olympics, in 1964, Bikila underwent surgery for appendicitis. Although he planned to go to Tokyo with the team, he was not expected to compete. Between the operation and the day of the marathon, he had not run at all. Nevertheless, he took his place at the start, this time wearing shoes. Bikila had decided that he would use the same strategy he used in the 1960 marathon: stay with the lead runners until the 12-mile mark, and then move to the front.

Although Bikila was very popular with fans, he was not expected to win because of his surgery. At the halfway point, however, he was in the lead by five seconds. As Charlie Lovett wrote in Olympic Marathon: A Centennial History of the Games' Most Storied Race, "For Bikila, no more strategy was necessary. He slowly increased his lead, running with total concentration and precision - the ultimate image of the perfect marathoner. There was no indication that either his surgery or the extreme humidity was having the slightest effect on his race. His body seemed to float down the streets. By the time he had run 22 miles, he was two and a half miles ahead of the nearest competitor. He entered the stadium alone, while 70,000 spectators cheered. He had set a new record of 2:12:11. Even at the end of the race, he seemed fresh and rested. Bikila performed a set of stretching exercises to prevent his muscles and joints from becoming stiff after the race. The crowd marveled at his ease and flexibility. He later said that he could have kept running for six more miles.

Richard Benyo wrote in The Masters of the Marathon, "His running is seemingly effortless; he is frail but incredibly strong. He is like a personification of everything the marathon runner should be. He is the most natural world-class runner anyone has ever seen." With this victory, Bikila became the first man ever to win an Olympic marathon twice.

Demisse (Mamo) Wolde
In the 1968 games in Mexico City, Bikila started out in the lead pack as usual, but had to drop out in the tenth mile. Despite his incredible ability, even Bikila could not run with a broken bone in his foot. It was Demisse (Mamo) Wolde, his fellow countryman who had picked up the mantle and won the gold, Later, Mamo Wolde said that if Bikila had not been injured, he would have won. Bikila would never compete again.

John Stephen Akhwari
Olympic history will never forget about this marathon runner who represented Tanzania in Mexico. During the race, he fell badly, cutting his knee and dislocating the joint. Rather than give up, he continued running, in fact walking most of the time. As John Akhwari entered at the far end of the stadium, pain hobbling his every step, his leg bloody and bandaged. Even though, he was the last to finish the race, an hour after the winners. Limping as he entered the stadium, with his leg bandaged, he found the last of his endurance to step up his pace and finish the race. As he crossed the finish line, the small crowd roared out its appreciation.

Mamo Walde of Ethiopia, finished in 2:20:26. Akhwari finished in 3:25:27, more than an hour after the winner. 17 of the 74 competitors in the marathon that day did not finish the race. John Stephen Akhwari, bloodied and injured, was not one of them. Afterward, a reporter asked the runner why he had not retired from the race, since he had no chance of winning. He seemed confused by the question. Finally, he answered:."My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me to finish."


Looking from a biblical spiritual perspective.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.When we run our race, no matter whether we finish with a flourish or merely limp across the line, it means gold, because we are following in the steps of Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. I know it gets scary sometimes, but don’t lose heart. Paul says in Romans, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” May the belief that Christ completed the race first and the promise that we have been called to run ours be the adrenaline for our souls that keeps us running and running and running. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

When we run our race, no matter whether we finish with a prize or merely limp across the line, it means gold, because we focus in following the steps of Jesus, the author and perfect or of our faith. I know it gets scary sometimes, but don’t lose heart. Paul says in Romans, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Let us all complete our race that is set before us.