Wayang Kulit and the Malaysian Way

In the aftermath of the BERSIH rally, in which over 60,000 Malaysians of all religions, races, and beliefs were unified in their call for electoral reform, the government spin machine has been working overtime to underplay the significance of this momentous event in our nation’s history.

First was Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin’s (Zam) embarrassing appearance on Al Jazeera where he accused the international network of partisanship and bias. The next morning, the New Straits Times, a government mouthpiece, claimed 4,000 protesters attended the rally, a clear distortion of facts. It is an unfortunate reality that because the media is not free, many Malaysians are still unaware that the movement BERSIH has ignited is rapidly gaining momentum throughout the country.