Butt dance, it is sexist... the bully mentality...

Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan has decried what she agrees are elements of sexual harassment in the ‘butt dance’ by a group of armed forces veterans  in front of her house.

“There is, yes. I think because I am a woman, that has a lot to play with what they were doing outside my house. 

It is sexist... the bully mentality,” Ambiga ( left) told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview yesterday.

She was referring to an incident on Tuesday, when a group claiming to be from the Malaysian Armed Forces Veterans Association (PVTM) bent over and waved their buttocks in the direction of her house, and then held a short demonstration after their rear-end calisthenics.

The participants claimed that their posterior articulations were to protest against Ambiga for being an “enemy of the nation who had smeared the country’s name”.

“It’s a total infringement of my privacy. It is intimidating if you look at some parts of the video. Ten men standing in front of someone’s house, what do you think? I think it is shocking behaviour,” Ambiga lambasted.
 
Puzzled at where the protesters got the idea for their bizarre exercise, she admitted to being shocked by the “sheer insensitivity” of their actions, labeling it as “pretty repulsive”.

Asked why she went out to greet the protesters and offered them a drink, Ambiga joked that she was trying to follow Gandhi’s footsteps.

“I was trying to do the Gandhian thing. You respond with (kindness to those against you). I don’t have a quarrel with people generally, you offer a hand in friendship.

“It was my way of responding to it, I shall respond similarly if they come again outside of my gates again.”
       
‘Down the slippery slope’

She also referred to the statement by deputy police chief Khalid Abu Bakar who said that legally there is nothing wrong with the military veterans’ butt exertions.

Khalid condoning the actions, she warned, will lead down the slippery slope that will encourage “a dangerous trend” for people to demonstrate in front of other people’s houses.

When told that a group of traders are opening a thosai stall in front of the deputy IGP’s house, she pointed out that this was the pandora’s box that she warned about.

“Well they can't stop it now. They said it is all right.”

Ambiga however praised the police who deployed a six-member team to her house during the military veterans’ posterior postulations and police patrol cars making rounds at her house to check in from time to time.

“I appreciate that, but I do think that the deputy IGP is wrong.”

But in the end, Ambiga said that she will leave it to the court of public opinion to be the final judge, as the authorities seem to condone such behaviour.
 
The outpouring of public support via SMS, social media and bouquets of yellow flowers sent to her house, she said, speaks volumes.

The lawyer however argued that such events, silly as they are, serve as “voter education”.

“Is this the Malaysia you want? Would you vote for people who support this? Is this the Malaysian way?”
                   
‘I am not moving out’

However, on a personal level, Ambiga hit out at what she believed is an attack that has crossed the line against her “personal space and safety” as well as putting her home and family at risk.
 
She described incidents such as people driving to her house shouting her name and driving off, and some jokingly stopping to ask if there were burgers for sale after the series of protests at her house, starting with the burger protest last week, led to people knowing her home address.       

“My concern always is the family, my children, my husband. We have to take extra security precautions. There is a cost (of doing what I do). You have to deal with it. I try the best that I can.”

Ambiga related that some has suggested that she move out, but she remains adamant that relocating is not an option.

"Are you kidding, this is my house, I am not going to move out. I would take measures but I am not moving out.”

But despite the turn of events, she remained positive that she is on the right path and does not regret her actions in fighting for clean and fair elections.

She said that while she is flattered that she is being targeted by those who want to intimidate her and stop Bersih, she maintained that the movement is bigger than her and will proceed nonetheless.

“I wouldn't do anything different. I don’t how to do anything different,” concluded Ambiga,- malaysiakini

Ambiga,the darling of the Indian community

 

Tsu Koon slams butt dance as 'crude and insensitive'...

Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon has slammed the “burger protest” and the “butt dance” incidents outside Bersih chief S Ambiga’s house as “crude and insensitive”.

“Besides observing the rule of law, moderation, decency and sensitivity must be practised in exercising the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” Koh said in a statement today.

Some religious leaders, he said, have expressed their concern and disgust at the actions of the respective parties, who had held demonstrations in front of the Bersih leader’s private residence.

“Just as I do not agree with street demonstrations as a means of expression, I also do not agree with such protests, in whatever way, outside the homes of leaders and individuals,” said Koh, who is also minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
 
He noted that the peddling of beef burgers outside Ambiga’s home was “crude and insensitive” as the latter is Hindu as well as a vegetarian.

“There are other more constructive and positive ways to express our dissatisfaction. In doing o, we must practise moderation, or wasatiyah in Islam, and keep in mind religious and cultural sensitivities,” he said.

Koh added that the burger protest has likely contravened Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) regulations as the lawyer’s home is “not in a designated hawking area”.

The Gerakan chief is the first BN leader to publicly condemn the acts after a conspicuous silence from the ruling party.

On Tuesday, army veterans staged a protest against the rally for clean and fair elections by doing ‘butt exercises’ in front of Ambiga’s house.

This follows a highly criticised ' burger protest' last week by a KL hawkers’ group Ikhlas, which claimed that the mammoth Bersih 3.0 for electoral reform had affected their business.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has slammed the hawkers’ protest for abusing the freedom to assemble by violating Ambiga’s private space 
.
Meanwhile, deputy police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the protests were not an offence as they were conducted in “public space”.- malaysiakini

Next, selling Char Kuey Teow in front of Seri Perdana...

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar said he is "uneasy" over the ‘butt protest' in front of Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga's home on Tuesday, saying there are other ways of expressing dissent.

As an example, he pointed out that he had a debate with Ambiga, and said there was no necessity for the protests in front of her residence.

Khairy (right) is particularly worried that the whole thing could deteriorate into a tit for tat saga with the country ending up the laughing stock of the world.

"If not, this thing will never end: Sell burgers in front of Ambiga's house one day, sell thosai in front of the deputy IGP's house a few days later. Maybe sell kuey teow in front of Seri Perdana (the prime minister's official residence) next week.

"This will get ridiculous and we will be the laughing stock of the world... Let's be more mature in our politics," he said at a press conference after launching Auto Forum 2012 in Kuala Lumpur today. - malaysiakini

'Apa lagi, jual kuetiau depan Seri Perdana pula?'

 

'Senaman punggung' ia seksis... mentaliti buli...

Pengerusi Bersama BERSIH Ambiga Sreenevasan mengkritik apa yang dipersetujuinya sebagai gangguan seksual dalam acara "senaman punggung" di depan rumahnya oleh sekumpulan pesara tentera.
"Ia seksis... mentaliti buli," katanya sambil menyifatkan ia dilakukan kerana beliau seorang wanita,
 
Dalam wawancara dengan Malaysiakini semalam, Ambiga berkata, tindakan itu juga melanggar ruang peribadinya.

"Jika kamu lihat bahagian tertentu dalam video, ia mengganggu. Sepuluh lelaki berdiri di depan rumah seseorang, kamu fikir apa? Saya rasa ia peri laku yang mengejutkan," selar Ambiga.

Kelmarin, sekumpulan 15 orang bekas tentera daripada Persatuan Veteran Tentera Melayu (PVTM) mengadakan senaman aneh depan rumah Ambiga di Bukit Damansara dengan dengan membongkok dan menggoyang-goyangkan punggung.- malaysiakini

Nampak sama aje,punggong UMNO dengan bontot lembu UMNO, maklum saja dari spesis yang sama...

cheers.