I managed to catch the end of the life broadcast of the Merdeka celebration, and on the stage was Najib and wife, Muhyiddin and 2 other women - and I was wondering where the MCA, MIC and the Sabah and Sarawak component party leaders were. In fact, even if there was a reduction of numbers of the leaders of BN to be given prominence surely it would have included the leaders of the 3 main component parties of BN - UMNO, MCA and MIC...
On 1 August 1955, Tunku Abdul Rahman formed the first Cabinet that was represented by 6 Malay, 3 Chinese and 2 Indian representatives.
1Malaysia was clearly not reflected here...and Najib must realize that unlike President Obama, he was not elected by the people - but was chosen by the BN MPs in Parliament. See who represented the Federal of Malaya when the agreement leading to the formation of Malaysia was signed...but of late, things are changing
I also dropped by the website 55 Tahun Sambutan Merdeka, which, I believe, is the official BN government site, and was disturbed by the fact that there seems to be a negation of the contribution of other communities, except Malays, in the struggle for independence in Malaysia. How could this error be made when this current BN government is talking about 1Malaysia. We should really acknowledge the struggle and sacrifice of all Malaysians in the the efforts of gaining independence. Najib and his cabinet must look at what is stated in this website, and correct matters stated therein to reflect the TRUTH...the whole truth and nothing but the truth.On 9 July 1963, an important agreement was signed at the Commonwealth Relation Office at Malborough House, London. The agreement for the formation of Federation of Malaya was signed by representatives of the British government, Federal of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. The British was represented by Prime Minister, Mr. Harold Macmillian, Mr. Ducan Sandys and Lord Landsdowne.
The Federal of Malaya government was represented by Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak, Encik Tan Siew Sin, Datuk V.T. Sambathan, Datuk Ong Yoke Lin and Dr. Lim Swee Aun. Sabah was represented by Datuk Mustapha bin Datuk Harun, Mr. Donald A. Stephen, Mr. W.K.H. Jones, Encik Khoo Siak Chiew, Mr. W.S. Holley and Encik G.D. Sundang. Representatives from Sarawak were Encik P.E.H. Pike, Temenggung Jugah, Datuk Bandar Abang Haji Mustapha, Encik Ling Beng Siew and Datuk Abang Haji Openg. Whereas Singapore was represented by Encik Lee Kuan Yew and Encik Goh Keng Swee.
The crowd at the Merdeka celebration seem to be less than normal - and interestingly there what was also most interesting is that for the countdown in Dataran Merdeka, it was reported that there were about 10,000 people in yellow, presumably part of the BERSIH ...or 'Janji Demokrasi' - an indication that there is serious discontent amongst Malaysians with this BN Government .... In fact, this discontent have been there for a long time now - and one is more likely to believe that the retention of power by the BN coalition was really because of a lack of an even playing field...
1Malaysia - was it even reflected in the crowd that gathered remembering that Malaysians make up of about 53% Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan, .... Were there Malaysians from all walks of life there? Or were they mainly the participants and those required to attend...
MERDEKA - we really need to re-think our own national history, so that it reflects all those people who struggled for the independence of Malaysia from the British colonial powers. The problem with history is that many a times it is written by those then in political power with a tendency to glorify their efforts towards independence ...belittling (or sometimes even erasing) the efforts of others. True, the strategies employed may have been different - but still these efforts needs acknowledgment and recognition. It is time for Malaysians to really take the effort to discover their history...
A new rule is around the corner and may become a reality in less than a year - and the hope of many, is that there will be real changes... that will bring back true democracy to Malaysia... Malaysians should be vested with the power to vote in democratically their own Local Government - Local Councils, Kampung/Taman and Community leaders, and also Senators.
There maybe need to be an exercise to ensure a delineation of parliamentary constituencies to enable greater equity. Today, if we look at the number of constituents in some constituencies - we find that some people really deserve a greater representation in Parliament and State Assemblies...Based on the GE 12 electoral roll, Kapar Parliamentary Constituency, for example, has 1i' times the number of voters compared to the smallest seat, Putrajaya Parliamentary Constituency. Should not the people of Kapar get at least 5 or 10 times more MPs. Presently, people of KL and many of the bigger towns are similarly prejudiced. We are not talking about equality - but equity. Now, when it comes to Sabah and Sarawak, it is different - maybe, we may go into this at a later date...
Sea of yellow: 10,000 defy ban for 'Janji Demokrasi'
Although Dataran Merdeka itself was cordoned off to facilitate preparations for this morning’s National Day parades, the 280-metre stretch from the cordon to a square outside the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) headquarters were packed with people, many of whom were wearing Bersih’s signature yellow.
Even the star of the show, national laureate A Samad Said, confessed that he could not estimate the size of the crowd and hailed the event as a success.
Malaysiakini estimates that some 10,000 yellow shirts were present, with an addition of some 5,000 of the regular Merdeka eve revellers, mostly on the opposite end of the police cordon.
Meanwhile, Bernama estimates the combined crowd at 6,000 and that there was no official Merdeka Eve countdown at the venue as in previous years.
The protest, organised by Gabungan Janji, a coalition of some 47 NGOs, was meant to ‘remind’ the government of its unfulfilled promises to Bersih’s calls for clean and fair elections.
Its name was a play on the official theme for the National Day celebrations ‘Janji Ditepati’ (Promises Delivered).
However, Gabungan Janji working committee member Maria Chin Abdullah received a letter from the police just eight hours before the 11pm rally informing her that it is against the law, but she did not back down.
By 9pm, people were already trickling into Dataran Merdeka, only to find the historic field and nearby roads cordoned off, with a sign that reads, “this area is closed to all activities, by order of the mayor of Kuala Lumpur”.
Enforcing the order that night were 205 police personnel, according to Dang Wangi OCPD Zainuddin Ahmad.
Regardless, the crowd at both ends of the police cordon continued to swell, with the protestors concentrating around the Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman-Jalan Tun Perak intersection.
The atmosphere was made more lively by the deafening sound of trumpets carried by protestors and revellers alike, protestors wearing flamboyant black and yellow Mohawk-style wigs or simply by people flying the national colours.
The protestors, already numbering at several thousand at the time, received a boost at about 10.30pm as protesters from an earlier rally at Jalan Sultan arrived to join the countdown.
An hour later, with the crowd numbers at its peak, Maria, Samad (right), and some Pakatan Rakyat leaders began to move towards a square outside DBKL headquarters where Samad recited his ‘Janji Demokrasi’ poem.
However, few could hear the poem, or much of anything else, over the noise of the trumpets.
Police: No untoward incidents
A human wall of police and city hall officers stood guard at the building itself, but did not interfere with the crowd gathering before them.
At midnight, the Gabungan Janji leaders almost immediately left the area towards the Bandaraya LRT station, while many remained expecting a fireworks display.
Instead of the night being lit up however, the crowd were disappointed to see only sporadic fireworks rocketing into the sky, presumably brought in by other revellers.
Meanwhile, when met outside the LRT station, Samad said he was glad to see large crowds of youths.
“This is important. It shows that they realise that this era is their era, and it is in their hands that a regime can be changed. I hope this will be done,” he said.
Back at Dataran Merdeka, Zainuddin said there were no untoward incidents that night, and that there were no arrests beside two who were caught burning fireworks.
When asked to comment about Samad’s poetry recital, he said, “we will investigate later (if any law was broken).
The crowd slowly dwindled throughout the night, some still blowing their trumpets even at 2am. - Malaysiakini, 31/8/2012, Sea of yellow: 10,000 defy ban for 'Janji Demokrasi'
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