For two years, the Bar Council of Malaysia staged a "People's Freedom Walk" in conjunction with Human Rights Day which falls on 10 December.
This year, they have called off the walk. Bar Council President Ambiga Sreenevasan was quoted in The Sun as saying that the main reason for doing so was so that the walk would not be "vilified as affecting race relations or be regarded as an anti-government rally." To read more click here and here.
Honestly, I don't blame them. We have seen with our own eyes how ruthless the government can be to dissenters. Walk to Istana Negara to deliver a memorandum and you get sprayed with chemicals. Walk to the British High Comm and you get sprayed with chemicals. Then you get investigated and threatened with arrest. Or you get arrested on charges of attempted murder.
I dreaded to think of all the terrible things that could happen during that innocuous stroll from Sogo to Central Market. We were deeply moved by the courage and stoicism of those who were caught by the tear gas and chemical water cannons. But I think a third incidence could lead to a real tragedy.
At this very moment though, I'm feeling very, very sad. Freedom of expression in Malaysia has received its death blow.
Don't bother me now. I'm in mourning.
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