The Bersih 2.0 9 July 2011 march drew thousands of Malaysians onto Kuala Lumpur’s streets to call for clean and fair elections. But according to Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, the government-controlled press and the authorities, that’s not what the march was really about. In the aftermath of the Bersih march, The Nut Graph summarises some of the more popular theories by Bersih’s detractors of why it actually organised the march.
Archives for July 2011
TNG wins environmental journalism award
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
PETALING JAYA, 25 July 2011: The Nut Graph columnist Gan Pei Ling has won a Special Prize in Penang’s inaugural Green Journalism Award for a column she wrote about the effectiveness of banning plastic. The piece, which won her one of two special prizes in the English language category, was entitled The plastic menace and […]
Wanted: Safe and eco-friendly cosmetics
As if Earth Matters By Gan Pei Ling
BODY wash, hair shampoo, soap, facial cleanser, toner — most of us use these personal care products on a daily basis regardless of gender. Women are likely to use cosmetics as well in addition to these products, but have you ever stopped and looked at the ingredients contained in the products? The ingredients should be […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Bersih 2.0 – what next?
By Ding Jo-Ann
PRIOR to 25 June 2011, all seemed to be going relatively well for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration. The Barisan Nasional (BN) government was hard at work improving public perception, with extensive media coverage on government programmes such as the Government Transformation Programme and Economic Transformation Programme. There were talks of a possible […]
Najib or Anwar?
Reductio ad Absurdum by Chan Kheng Hoe
IN light of the recent Bersih 2.0 demonstrations, and the unjustified crackdown by the authorities, one may be forgiven if one were to be carried away in denouncing the current administration. They handled the demonstrations in an appalling manner, both in the run-up to the actual day and on the day itself. The conduct of […]
J Anu: “Nowhere else to go”
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
ANURENDERA Jegadeva, or better known as J Anu, is not just an artist. Whether he admits it or not, he is also a political observer and commentator. His art, which plays with, among others, “ideas of empire”, identity and belonging, are often satirical commentaries about Malaysian life and the life of the Malaysian. “I learnt […]
BN vs Bersih: Comparing 2007 and 2011
By Gan Pei Ling
IS Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak a prime minister of reform as he’s been portrayed to be? Is he more respectful of human rights and dissenting views compared to his predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi? Is he less or more prone to strong-arm tactics? A comparison of how the government treated Bersih in 2007 and how it is treating Bersih 2.0 in 2011 gives Malaysians and the world an indication of whether things have gotten better under Najib or much worse.
Nasihat tentang Bersih
Secubit Garam oleh Shanon Shah
Bersih? Kotor? Haram? Untuk yang pening, marah, atau kompius, atau kesemuanya, ikutilah nasihat terbaru daripada kolumnis pujaan ramai, Kak Nora: Assalamualaikum wahai Kak Nora yang budiman, Diharapkan Kak Nora berada dalam keadaan sihat dan awesome. Kak, lets me just cuts to the chases and story you my problem, ok? Mesti akak tahu tentang kontroversi […]
Bersih: Whom does media serve?
By Ding Jo-Ann
IN 2001, after three years of investigations and interviewing hundreds of journalists, leading media practitioners Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel wrote The Elements of Journalism, now a reference point for what is good journalism. One of Kovach and Rosenstiel’s principles was that a journalist’s first loyalty is to citizens. Not its owners, advertisers or even […]
Bersih 2.0: “Illegal”, chaos-causing “communists”?
By Gan Pei Ling
Waging war against the king. In cahoots with foreign conspirators. Possible communists. Planning to overthrow the government. Illegal T-shirts. Bersih 2.0 seems to embody many evils to the authorities, who have arrested more than 100 in attempts to stop Bersih’s 9 July 2011 march. But have the authorities gone overboard in demonising the rally? What about Malaysians’ constitutional right to freedom of expression and right to peaceable assembly?
