Winners and losers in Bersih 4

Depending on who is talking, the crowd that turned up for the Bersih 4 overnight rally in Kuala Lumpur were either just 25,000 or at least 250,000. And less than 5,000 each in the Kuching and Kota Kinabalu rallies which ended after 24 hours. And in the battle for public opinion, there must be some winners, and some losers. The Malaysian Insider looks at the few who won, and lost. WINNERS TUN DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD: No doubt he was the star of the Bersih 4 rally. The country's longest-serving prime minister turned up twice, and each time, the support he received was overwhelming. He was also very focused. He did not come with a slew of demands. Only one. "I want Najib removed". And this was clearly what the crowd wanted as they applauded and cheered the sitting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's mentor-turned-chief critic wildly. MALAYSIANS: They had their day. They were given the chance to protest and they took it willingly. Entire families turned up. They slept on the streets and cheered under the blazing sun, half-expecting tear gas and water cannon to rain down on them. They brought along placards with messages which could be deemed seditious, but they didn't care. They wanted to be heard, they wanted to show Putrajaya what they really felt, how the economy was hurting them, how they, people of all race and religions, can come together to voice their grievances, and they succeeded. DATUK SERI AHMAD ZAHID HAMIDI: For the weekend at least, the home minister kept his thuggish image under check. He did not clamp down on the rally goers despite banning yellow apparel with the word Bersih 4 and issuing many threats prior to the event. The rank and file policemen and their officers on duty also earned praise with many rally goers and social media users thanking them for showing plenty of restrain and not spoiling the party. BERSIH 2.0: The large turnout showed that Malaysians believed in them. The fact they could pull in almost 500,000 rally goers (Bersih 2.0's estimate), showed that people truly believed Bersih 2.0 could bring about change. They promised it will be a peaceful rally and ensured they kept to their end of the deal. They also got together leaders of different faiths to lead in the morning prayers. Pictures don't lie. Muslims and non-Muslims praying next to each other in front of Dataran Merdeka is a testimony that true unity and tolerance can be achieved. Thank Bersih 2.0 for opening the eyes of non-believers. TRADERS, RESTAURANT and HOTELS: Despite Putrajaya and the mainstream media's tired and cliched observation after each rally, that traders lost millions, this proved to be untrue. This time around the it was plain for everyone to see. Coliseum Cafe proudly told customers after the rally that their takings over the weekend was 10 times more than normal weekends. Hotels were filled up while several restaurants and fast food restaurants ran out of food during the weekend. Even the operators of many illegal stalls selling bottled water and snacks made a killing. LOSERS: GOVERNMENT SUPPORTERS AND CYBERTROOPERS: Especially those who tried to play the race card by claiming that the Malays did not turn up. The Malays did turn up, although many of them did not come in the banned yellow Bersih T-shirt. Some booked in hotels, others slept at the mosques during the rally, and many others had roaring business. The government supporters also complained that Bersih 4 was going to disrupt the National Day celebrations scheduled after the rally. The parade did go on the following morning, at the same site where barely eight hours earlier a sea of yellow had gathered. The parade went on without a hitch, attended by the king, the prime minister and his Cabinet. PAS: The Islamist party lost a lot of points. Their decision not to turn up only showed they were blind to the issues of corruption, the failing economy and dropping ringgit. It also showed they appeared to be backing the wrong horse: Prime Minister Najib – the very person the crowd were protesting against. BERSIH: After the first day, it was very obvious that Bersih was not focused in their demands or they were not sure how the rally would pan out. Many had turned up prepared with gas masks, salt and running shoes in case the police took action. But after a few hours, the tension relaxed and Bersih 4 became a street carnival with many at a loss to what they were supposed to do apart from march, stand, carry placards and shout. Also, the fact that there was scarcity of information about the goings-on and over-reliance on social media in a crowded zone made people wonder and wander about looking for "action". It was also no doubt that in the end Dr Mahathir stole their thunder. People turned up for Bersih 2.0 and its five demands but in the end, only one thing became clear, that the police and Mahathir were not the oppressor of the day but it was Najib – for whatever his misdemeanours or failings that included the unexplained RM2.6 billion donation found in his private accounts. The other demands by Bersih 2.0 remain but are largely forgotten. And they need to work on going beyond urban areas and into the heartland including in Sabah and Sarawak to get their message across. Because, just like the government, memes, Twitter and Facebook updates can only go so far there is Internet coverage. – September 1, 2015.