Desperate Measures by the Authorities...

The arrest of 23 marchers on their way to Parliament as reported in malaysiakini is a sad day for democracy in Malaysia.

These people merely wanted to hand in a memorandum to their MPs protesting the passage of a bill to extend the term of the Elections Commission Chairman.

Instead of allowing a democratic process of petitioning and discussion to take place, the authorities are using a really heavy approach to handle small problems. Were they afraid the BN MPs would have kicked the bill out?

This episode show that the authorities are really desperate and only able to use brute force to crush dissent. It does not make for a healthy democracy.

As for those MPs who passed the bill, I hope some of you will not be returned to Parliament after the next elections.