Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot…

If you have watched the movie, ‘V for Vendetta‘, you will recall this rhyme.

These words refer to Guy Fawkes in 17th century English history. On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was subsequently tried as a traitor with his co-conspirators for plotting against the government. Fawkes was sentenced to death and the form of the execution was one of the most horrendous ever practiced (hung ,drawn and quartered) which reflected the serious nature of the crime of treason.

Today, although we are not in UK and don’t remember this date with any significance, we should remember what this movie ‘V for Vendetta’ reminds us.

The movie reminds us that the “people should not be afraid of the government but the government should be afraid of the people“.

This statement is only true if the government is freely elected by the majority of its people and that the constitution (highest law of the land) is that of a democracy.

Josh, isn’t it a forgone conclusion that from the way our Constituencies are divided by our so-called “Efficient & Transparent” Election Commission, that the BN government would surely win the majority of constituencies even before the polls? So voting for any change of government has always been a case of entering into battle with no ammunition.

I hear this resignation very often. In fact too often. And for good reasons too. Because I have read published statistics that only the current BN government only won 60%of the popular vote and yet won 90% of the seats in the last general election. It showed that the constituencies had been drawn in a way that does not reflect the wishes of the majority of the people.

Then again, there are phantom voters in that 60% lot - so I really wonder if this current BN government is really voted by the majority.

For Democracy to exist, the Elections must first be free and fair.

Unless the Election Commission is really transparent and that we revert to the simple geographic delineation of our districts, I really think we will see the same kind of results again.

For me, unless there is something done to the Election Commission, our next polls would be rather meaningless.

Which is why the call for a free and fair election by Bersih is relevant. And this coalition is organising a gathering on the 10 November for this call. Go to their website for details.

The recent event of the demolition of a 100 year old Hindu temple in Selangor just a few days before Deepavali should wake us up to the reality that there is something seriously wrong with this country. The fact that this sort of things have been happening to churches and temples should not surprise us now but it should wake us up to the reality that we don’t have equal rights in this regime.

Stoning of temple devotees.

When defenceless devotees who stood to protect their beloved temple are stoned, stabbed and bullied by local authorities as pictures in Malaysiakini reveal, the question you and I need to ask next is: When (not if) will the local authorities come after churches, buddhist temples and even NGOs?

Here’s my J for Justice version:

Remember, remember the 10th of November;
the corruption, racism, and rot.
I see no reason why this fascist government
can never be dislodged.

see promo video of this coming event here.

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