{"id":617,"date":"2009-07-23T19:15:29","date_gmt":"2009-07-23T11:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buletinonline.net\/v7\/index.php\/2009\/07\/transforming-sorrow-and-anger-into-peoples-power\/"},"modified":"2009-07-23T19:15:29","modified_gmt":"2009-07-23T11:15:29","slug":"transforming-sorrow-and-anger-into-peoples-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/transforming-sorrow-and-anger-into-peoples-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Transforming sorrow and anger into People\u2019s Power"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 \u2013 Teoh Beng Hock\u2019s fiancee Soh Cher Wei, two months pregnant, stepped on the stage at the KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night, looking pale but bright eyed.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">The crowd packed into the hall leapt to their feet and gave her a standing ovation.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">Surrounded by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders on both sides, the 28-year-old looked straight out at the crowd and spoke, in Mandarin, steadily and clearly: \u201cI can do nothing more for Teoh Beng Hock but I\u2019ll take care of his child. Thank you.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">Soh stepped off the stage, head held high, followed by the crowd\u2019s thunderous applause in support of the steadfast school teacher.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">By the stage, roses and chrysanthemums were beginning to droop in the heat. Their delicate petals \u2013 white and yellow \u2013 bruised easily, releasing a sweet, heavy, heady perfume that also smelled a little sickly with the thousands that thronged the hall here last night in memory of Teoh, the DAP political aide who was found dead last week outside the national anti-graft body\u2019s office.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">Many who came did not seem to know Teoh personally. When asked, they shook their heads, no.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">Why did they come? They came to show they were angry, said those who wore something black \u2013 shirts, tee-shirts, blouses, pants, a headscarf.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">Because they were sad, said those who dressed in other colours. They came because there were so many questions unanswered.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">How could a 30-year-old man who was going to get married die suddenly? Why was he held for so many hours for questioning? Why is the \u201cgo\u2019men\u201d always doing this?<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">Before Teoh\u2019s fiancee took the stage, the master of ceremonies also read out a personal letter she had first dedicated to her dead husband-to-be at his funeral, promising to marry him even if they were now living in separate worlds.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">The crowd had earlier listened to the impassioned speeches of the politicians blaming the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">Many stood up and pumped their fists in agreement, especially when veteran politician Lim Kit Siang called on them to stand up and let the media photographers snap their pictures protesting the Cabinet\u2019s move to hold separately investigations into Teoh\u2019s death and into the way the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) interrogated him.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">Lim had earlier mocked the Cabinet decision on Wednesday to let a magistrate\u2019s court carry out an inquest instead of getting the royal commission of inquiry, which they had also agreed to set up soon, to handle everything, from Teoh\u2019s death to possible procedural abuses by the MACC.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">He noted that if the people had no confidence in high court judges and federal judges, what more magistrates under pressure from the BN government?<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">\u201cThey are asking for the moon!\u201d he cried, referring to the Cabinet members.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">\u201cWe must dare to be sad and dare to be angry,\u201d the DAP parliamentary leader said.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">\u201cBut we must translate our sorrow and anger into People\u2019s Power,\u201d he added.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">\u201cThen at the next elections, these people who refuse to listen to the voice of the people to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the death of Teoh Beng Hock will descend into the dustbin of history!\u201d he concluded.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"arial,helvetica,sans-serif\">As one, the crowd roared their approval.- MalaysianInsider<br \/><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 \u2013 Teoh Beng Hock\u2019s fiancee Soh Cher Wei, two months pregnant, stepped on the stage at the KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night, looking pale but bright eyed. The crowd packed into the hall leapt to their feet and gave her a standing ovation. Surrounded by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"better_featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}