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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2015
After the events of July 9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak may be making a mistake if he calls snap elections any time soon.
A day after the police suppression of the Bersih 2.0 demonstration, he continues using a confrontational tone in public and seems to play more the role of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party leader than of Malaysia's national leader. This strongly suggests that he is psyching himself and his party into election mode.
However, no event since the last general election has generated as much outrage as the suppression of the Bersih 2.0 demonstration on Saturday did. After all, the list of demands that the group of non-government organisations (NGOs) wished to hand over to the Malaysian King was but a call for electoral reforms. These issues are racially and religiously neutral and most thinking people would find them at least worth discussing.
By letting the police shoot chemical-laced water cannons and aim tear gas canisters into the crowds and apparently at the heads of opposition leaders such as Anwar Ibrahim and Khalid Samad, the government angered many and left even more stunned.
It was outrage over how Anwar Ibrahim was treated in 1998 that ignited the Reformasi Movement and led to UMNO losing control over Terengganu state to Parti Islam SeMalaysia the following year.
Outrage over police brutality on July 9 and the arrest of 1,677 demonstrators, provides opposition parties with a common experience on which to build a unifying narrative. The manner in which the government handled Bersih 2.0 will help consolidate Pakatan Rakyat in a way little else could have done. Some would say this was its Long March.
Bersih 2.0 was given its name partly to secure its connection to the first Bersih rally but it was reformed several months ago pointedly without official participation from opposition parties. This was to allow it to develop as a purely civil society initiative.
However, opposition activists are bound to support it because the electoral reforms demanded aim to create a more level playing field for democracy; and that is why the government saw red when faced with the prospect of a march by tens of thousands through the streets of Kuala Lumpur.
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