Bersih 3.0 Melbourne

Last weekend was considered to be a historical one for my fellow Malaysians as it was where almost everyone wishes for a clean and fair election system in the country. A humongous rally was held in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur while Malaysians around the world  participated as well. Obviously I can't just fly back to my country to just to attend it so I went for Melbourne's division held at Federation Square. The Coalition for Clean and Fair Election, also know as Bersih(means clean in Malay) made all this happened with the official colour of yellow. Its a huge topic going on at the moment so if you are interested in all the happenings or detailed information, just simply google Bersih 3.0 =)

Guy Fawkes Mask has become a symbol of Revolution

It is true that the current system ain't "clean and fair". The ruling government has been in power for more than five decades. In order to hold on to that power, they resort to "dirty" tactics during elections. I wouldn't go into details because all the information I have aren't 100% accurate plus I don't witness them with my own eyes. So probably you'll need to do a bit more googling if you wish to know more.

Some more photos :

Just look at the crowd

 "Stop Dirty Politics"

Lynas Project is also one of the current issue

Internet meme much? 

Free & Fair Media Access 

Though I've been in the media field as a photojournalist only for awhile, at least I can say a few things on the above photo. Whenever we are assigned to cover any news, we do so from a neutral stand point without any discrimination and timely report back. However what happened in the editor's room is a mystery. Sometimes our work get printed, sometimes they don't. There are even times when article may be altered to give a certain impression. Back then there were times where I had doubts whether my photos will get published or not. However I don't blame my editors, they are innocent human beings with families to feed. The people pulling the strings behind the curtains are mysterious yet I do have an idea who they are. There was a saying "Do your job, get your pay and play safe" so I did. Principally this ain't right, but the country is corrupt in many ways. A youngster like me couldn't do much to save it. My capacity ain't that big. Heck, I got my own problems to deal with. 

Sing-along~

Reports of Bersih 3.0 at Kuala Lumpur states that it was completely peaceful, some people even described it as festive. Unfortunately it didn't last long. Things happened, police fired tear gas and sprayed water cannon, people ran in panic, fair amount of people got injured, policemen's brutality towards protesters, some of the press got beat up as well. Afterwards the news got altered while some videos released by officials got cut. The only reliable source are international independent news agency and protester's personal photos and video recorded through their handphones. I'm not completely saying the government is at fault. Apparently there were some people who tagged along the rally with the intention of causing some trouble. Again, I wouldn't go into details simply because I wasn't there to witness the whole incident. However one thing for sure is that Malaysians have a very different perspective towards the government now. There will be a huge dramatical change in the coming general election.

No matter what happened to my country, be it either moving forward to a higher grounds or stepping down, I would still proudly call myself a Malaysian.