Tarikhnya 7 Mei 2009. Di Ipoh, dekat bangunan dewan undangan negeri (DUN).
Mungkin kesalahan saya ialah memakai baju hitam.
Tanggal tersebut juga menandakan jatuhnya kerajaan negeri Perak pilihan rakyat — iaitu Pakatan dengan diganti BN — sejurus selepas Adun-adun Bota, Behrang, Changkat Jering (ketiga-tiganya PKR) dan Jelapang (DAP) bertindak keluar parti.
Saya dimasukkan ke dalam trak polis yang sesak dan kurang ventilasi (aliran udara). Turut berada di dalam trak ialah Ahli-ahli Parlimen Salahuddin Ayub, Mujahid Yusof Rawa dan Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj.
Kami dibawa ke markas FRU di mana polis telah menahan antara lainnya Ahli-ahli Parlimen Mat Sabu, Zuraida Kamaruddin dan Adun-adun Jenice Lee, Teo Kok Seong, Ng Chin Tsai, Khoo Poay Tiong, dll.
“Also arrested was Malaysiakini columnist and activist Helen Ang.” — boleh baca sini.
PSM ada, DAP tak endahkan kami
Saya masih ingat bagaimana telah diberi makan nasi bungkus oleh polis waktu tengah hari. Saya dilepaskan pada lewat petang. (YB dan VIP diberi keutamaan dan dilepaskan lebih awal kecuali Tian Chua manakala kami orang tak berpangkat adalah lambat sedikit dilayan polis.)
Yang menunggu kami keluar selepas disoalsiat (waktu dekat senja) ialah ahli-ahli PSM. Tak nampak pun kelibat DAP sudi menyambut kami meskipun Perak merupakan kubu kuat parti tersebut.
Timbalan pengerusi PSM iaitu M. Sarasvathy yang menunggu di pintu luar markas FRU itu telah memberi saya pelukan walaupun saya tidak dikenalinya.
Orang berbudi kita merasa.
Saya tersentuh hati dengan kesanggupan PSM turun padang menanti kami dibebaskan walhal rakan-rakan blogger Barisan Rakyat (kecuali Del Capo) kebanyakannya sudah dalam perjalanan balik KL.
PSM adalah sebuah parti akar umbi yang prihatin terhadap nasib kaum pekerja dan rakyat marhean serta mengambil berat isu-isu gaji minima serta kepincangan hidup.
Di barisan depan Bersih 2.0
Saya telah menulis pada Julai 7 (dua hari sebelum berlangsungnya Bersih 2.0) tentang Saras dan PSM:
“Saras is a courageous woman who belongs to a legitimate and well-respected political organization committed to enfranchising the poor and marginalised.”
Saras adalah calon PSM kalah bertanding di Jelapang dalam piliharaya umum Mac 2008, kerusi yang dimenangi wakil DAP Hee Yit Foong.
DAP sebenarnya boleh dikira telah hilang kerusi tersebut kerana Hee sekarang seorang Adun ‘bebas’.
Baru-baru ini PSM menyuarakan minat mereka untuk lawan BN di Jelapang.
Pengerusi parti di Perak, Ngeh Koo Ham, dengan keras dan serta-merta menolak cadangan tersebut memandangkan hampir 90% pemilih Jelapang adalah kaum Cina yang didakwanya masih menyokong DAP sungguhpun Hee sering dicemuh sebagai “berpaling tadah”.
Maksudnya kalau pemilih majoriti Cina, calon mesti Cina.
Berdasarkan pola pemikiran sedemikian, orang India tak payahlah bertanding kerana tiada terdapat mana-mana kawasan jua yang majoriti India.
Namun MIC diberi jalan oleh Umno untuk bertanding di DUN Ijok dan kawasan Parlimen Hulu Selangor yang kedua-duanya majoriti Melayu.
Hakikatnya DAP cakap tak serupa bikin dalam mencanangkan ia sebuah parti yang menolak perkauman serta buta warna (kulit).
Pada pilihanraya lepas, Hindraf dan gerakan Makkal Sakti banyak membantu pihak pembangkang meraih undi simpati. Akan tetapi DAP dan sekutu-sekutunya tidak mengenang budi orang India terutamanya P. Uthayakumar.
Baru-baru ini, PSM pula memainkan peranan besar menjayakan Bersih 2.0 — perhimpunan yang kesannya menguntungkan Pakatan Rakyat. Ahli-ahli PSM seramai 30 orang termasuk enam orang yang ditahan dibawah Ordinan Kecemasan rata-rata kaum India kecuali seorang dua.
Apabila kerajaan mahu mengekang Bersih 2.0, orang India PSM dimasukkan lokap. Pada lewat tahun 2007, orang India Hindraf diberkas dan di-ISA.
Sekali lagi nampaknya Pakatan tidak mengenang budi orang India. DAP enggan berkompromi dengan PSM atas kerusi Jelapang di mana Saras siap membuat groundwork manakala Hee Yit Foong sudah lama menghilang entah ke mana.
Baca juga:
Helen Ang 
Helen,
Saya rasa saya sudah tersilap masukkan komen pasal banduan ke dalam artikel mengenai lagu-lagu gembira.
Saya selalu sedemikian. Kadang-kadang saya secara tidak sengaja, termasuk dalam tandas perempuan. Hanya apabila ada orang menjerit atau apabila saya dapati tidak ada urinal berdiri saja baru saya sadar saya sudah tersilap masuk.
Nama saya Leman Pulut.
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Lagi LOL. Komen Leman dah saya balas di posting Happiest Songs.
I was there too on “press” pass.
Witness you, Zuraidah, Salahuddin and Zorro being apprehended. Said hi to Zorro while he was inside the FRU truck.
Concerned for my friends.
Called some friends with contact that evening. Was told released. Glad.
However, still think you guys were wrong and just doing political sandiwara to get sympathy. Off course, you will deny.
My view is legally proven. Off course, you will dispute.
There’s politics and there’s friendship. Strange interplay …
Me on road to recovering stamina. Maybe running for half marathon next year. Thanks for visiting moi. Cherish the flowers you gave at hospital.
You’re welcome. That’s where I think the pro-Umno bloggers are better able to separate between our social interactions and our differing (i.e. not being in the same camp) political stance and viewpoints.
The pro-Pakatan bloggers behave like if whenever we disagree with their political views, we must be their enemies. The Pakatan followers are worse, making personal attacks and slandering any writers daring to be critical of their beloved leaders.
Sandiwara? Perhaps. I’d agree that Bersih 2.0 was politicized (Anwar’s “I can give Ambiga a call” and Kit Siang’s talking about “Tahrir Square” coming here.) But at the end of the day, I believe some kind of pressure has to be brought to bear on the govt and on Umno for reform. You too want to see reform in Umno and this is necessary for the country.
Take care and wanna see you run the 1/2 marathon!
Thank you for being the first blogger on the other side of the fence to put me on your blogroll. I really appreciate it.
Good reply.
Yes, I too want a reform in UMNO, MCA, MIC, PBB, SUPP, SAPP, PBS, PKR, DAP, PAS etc…
We have been wasting our time on this ideological rivalry for too long. It is time we find a near common ideology and let the political campaign be about what each party can realistically offer on the table and whose better at governing like two party system of other developed democrasy.
BN is not perfect and has its shortfall here and there. But when the wayang, sandiwara and play acting is over, BN has the advantage for its years of experiance in governing. Pakatan Rakyat has not delivered at state level.
However it is not as simple as that.
We’ve just tasted this openness and voters is used to this overload of information. They are not politically mature enough to differentiate between rhetorics and deliverables. That needs an educated population.
The strange things is it is the urban and so-called educated voters that is unable to differentiate. Their voting basis is still emotional rather than rational.
We must mature fast or foreign incursion into our politics will split this country apart. It is already beginning to be more blatant.
dap = ultrakiasu = selfish = dont care about other ppl except chinese
Hi Helen,
HINDRAF dan gerakan makkal shakti? dua entiti berbeza? hope you can explain about it. Anyway nice article. I admire your boldness in telling the truth about DAP Racists.
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A number of non-Indian oppositionists rode on the ‘makkal sakti’ wave. Anwar Ibrahim and Haris Ibrahim, for example, used the cry during their election ceramahs.
‘Makkal sakti’ got to become something wider than its Indian context (i.e. accepted by many as meaning ‘people power’). Credit to Hindraf for introducing the term into our public consciousness. — Helen
Change will come , but it must come thru the ballot box. Any other way,then is less then kosher. .And it will put you morally lower then the other side.
To win at all cost, will cause us to sell our moral soul to the devil.
Dear Helen,
Admire your guts to fight for justice or whatever reason you are fighting for. But, its only a sincere fight if you did it all the way in your own. A true fighter does not need or blame others if he/she failed. A true fighter will never backs down if he/she really sincere what he/she is fighting for….
Talk cheap Emma…at least she got balls….what about you!!!
Emma,
And you are?……a true fighter or just a cheap anonymous blog commenter with no credentials?
“The strange things is it is the urban and so-called educated voters that is unable to differentiate. Their voting basis is still emotional rather than rational.”
The basis to assess the urban and so-called educated voters voting basis is who they give their vote to?
Or in other word, the rural and so-called uneducated voters is rational rather than emotional because they support BN?
I think we are now in a stage to claim those who disagree with us as strange, but hopefully, thing change.
Why is it then that Pakatan Rakyat politicians are claiming that BN only get votes from rural folks who are dumb, uneducated and easily dupe?
So …. who is claiming “those who disagree with us as strange”?
We can go on and on on this.
Perhaps you have been only a recent observer of Malaysian politics. Thus for your claim that “I think we are now in a stage.”
Actually, it has been so for quite a while.
It is time to talk of commonality in order to find a solution and reach a solution rather talking of the differences.
Than only can we be as one.
Asyik cerita pasal negera lain atau negara asal usul tak menghabiskan perbalahan.
You meant your rant is just a reflection of PR and their supporter mindset?
Agree with your latter half though.
I think rural and urban are imprecise classification as Kelantan and Johor voting pattern exhibit such vague categorization. DAP on average organize two to three talks and dinners in every corner at Johor every month, there are still more than 50% Johor voters that “Asyik cerita pasal negera lain atau negara asal usul” that vote BN in 2008, DAP want to sapu all.