Bersih 3.0 in Johor Bahru
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From Johor Bahru Directory
| Datuk Bandar Johor Bahru vs Bersih 3.0 (Uploaded by poonpoiming on 2 May 2012) |
The Bersih 3.0 rally in Johor Bahru was held on 28 April 2012 at the Dataran Bandaraya in conjunction with the 4/28 Bersih 3.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur, as well as in 70 cities around the world.[1] It was the first of its kind in Johor Bahru. Unlike in Kuala Lumpur which met with unprecedented police violence, the rally in Johor Bahru which attract between 2,000-3,000 participants proceeded and concluded in an exceedingly orderly and peaceful manner, save for some untoward incidents away from the Dataran, thanks to the Johor police force. Several cars parked at meeting points, some half to one kilometer away from the Dataran, were splashed with acid.
Bersih 3.0 vs Datuk Bandar Johor Bahru
The decision to organize the Johor Bahru event (instead of having those interested to go up to join the KL rally) was made a mere 2 to 3 weeks before the date of the event, in view of skepticism that it might not draw a sizeable number of participants, since Johor Bahru had never had a history of such events before. Needless to say, almost all the Johor Bahru organizers were greenhorns.
The Bersih 3.0 organizers immediately encountered obstacles regarding the venue, similar to those faced by the organizers in Kuala Lumpur. The police said that they had no objections to the rally being held at the Dataran. Yet despite the nod from the police, Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru (MBJB) which is responsible for the Dataran decided that the Bersih 3.0 could not be held there. No reason was initially given but as an afterthought, MBJB informed the organizers that there was going to be a football match on 28 April at the Dataran Bandaraya, in relation to a "Piala Datuk Bandar", another event with no precedence.
The Bersih 3.0 organizers then request for a small section of the Dataran, away from the football field but still, MBJB refused. Instead, it suggested some other venues, which, after the customary running around, came to naught. That energy-wasting process brought the organizers right up to the eve of the rally.
When the organizers informed MBJB that they were going ahead with the rally at the Dataran the following day because they could not find any alternative venue, MBJB unilaterally made a press release without informing the Bersih 3.0 organizers, stating that the venue of the 4/28 event in Johor Bahru would be held at the Larkin Stadium (far away from the Dataran Bandaraya). That press release was deceitful because in a meeting on 26 April between MBJB and the organizers, a Larkin Stadium representative who was present had already made it amply clear to all that the Larkin Stadium was out of bounds for the 4/28 event.
On 27 April 2012, the Bersih 3.0 organizers in Johor Bahru received information that a group of about 100 motorcyclists, clad in attires of the same color (not yellow), were heading towards the city along the North-South Highway, reportedly with police outrider escorts. These people did turn up at the Dataran the following day but in the end, good sense prevailed and no untoward incident happened at the venue.
Shortly after midday on 28 April 2012, rally participants gathered at different meeting points, each about half to one kilometer away from Dataran Bandaraya. Nearing 2.00 pm, they slowly moved towards the venue in an orderly fashion. Meanwhile, negotiations continued with the MBJB enforcement officers at the Dataran to allow the approaching participants to enter a section of the square. The requests were consistently rejected but as the crowd swelled, some police officers told the negotiators that the police had no objections to the crowd gathering at one section of the Dataran, so long as they did not interfere with the football game.
This was the turning point for the Bersih 3.0 rally in Johor Bahru. That decision enabled the rally to proceed and conclude peacefully at 4.00 pm, as scheduled. As for the football games occupying the two fields, there were hardly any spectators, as can be seen in the above video. Neither did the singing competition that was held at the square attract any audience, a fittingly symbolic triumph of good over evil.
