This thing called change: Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan at TEDxPetalingStreet
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0:24 - 0:27Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
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0:27 - 0:29You all know the word "Bersih".
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0:29 - 0:31(Audience) Yes.
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0:31 - 0:34And you know that it means "clean".
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0:34 - 0:39So what was so special about Bersih
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0:39 - 0:43that brought up thousands
and thousands of people -
0:43 - 0:47on the 28th of April, 2012?
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0:47 - 0:50And thousands in July 2011?
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0:50 - 0:54What was so special about this movement?
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0:54 - 0:58We were asking for clean
and fair elections. -
0:58 - 1:00Something very simple.
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1:00 - 1:04Something that united all of us.
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1:04 - 1:08Look at the number of people
who were there in Kuala Lumpur alone. -
1:08 - 1:12This slide shows several
areas of Kuala Lumpur. -
1:12 - 1:16Not only did we have
thousands and thousands, -
1:16 - 1:20more than 200,000 in Kuala Lumpur,
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1:20 - 1:27we had Bersih happening in more
than 84 cities across the world. -
1:28 - 1:31Now, that was special.
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1:31 - 1:35It was organized by Global Bersih,
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1:36 - 1:42a movement that supported
the Bersih cause, -
1:42 - 1:47that was started by Malaysians overseas,
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1:47 - 1:53who felt very strongly about
what was happening at home. -
1:53 - 1:57They never forgot Malaysia.
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1:57 - 2:00They love Malaysia as much as we do.
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2:00 - 2:02Many of them are students.
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2:02 - 2:04Many of them may have moved there,
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2:04 - 2:09but they hold Malaysia
very closely to their hearts. -
2:10 - 2:14So what was it that
brought all these people together? -
2:14 - 2:17If you read about Bersih,
you would have known -
2:17 - 2:20that it cut across race,
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2:20 - 2:24it cut across religion, gender, age.
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2:24 - 2:26We had the old and the young there.
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2:26 - 2:29We had people on wheelchairs,
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2:29 - 2:31people with crutches.
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2:31 - 2:33On that day,
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2:33 - 2:36there was no difference
between any of us. -
2:37 - 2:41We were all united in one cause.
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2:41 - 2:43We were not alone.
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2:43 - 2:48When we started planning for Bersih
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2:48 - 2:52in July 2011,
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2:52 - 2:56we didn't know how many people
would come and support us. -
2:56 - 2:59And how wonderful was it
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2:59 - 3:02when on the first Bersih,
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3:02 - 3:05we had thousands and
thousands of people. -
3:05 - 3:07And then, this Bersih,
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3:07 - 3:09I should say, that was the second Bersih,
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3:09 - 3:12this is the third Bersih, in April 2012,
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3:12 - 3:17more than 250,000 people came together.
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3:17 - 3:20And if someone had to draw a picture
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3:20 - 3:24to represent what happened on that day,
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3:24 - 3:28it would be a picture of Malaysians
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3:28 - 3:32holding hands across borders.
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3:32 - 3:34That's what Bersih was about.
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3:34 - 3:40It broke down every barrier that we know.
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3:40 - 3:45And then, there is this
special man, Pak Samad Said. -
3:45 - 3:50I put this picture up
because it is poignant. -
3:50 - 3:55What happened to him in April 2012
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3:55 - 3:58was that he was not allowed
to cross that bridge, -
3:58 - 4:03which he would walk across
every day to go to the mosque. -
4:03 - 4:07He was stopped and he said,
"I insist on walking across." -
4:07 - 4:10And they said, "No, you can't."
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4:10 - 4:11So do you know what he did?
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4:11 - 4:14He sat down there and he said,
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4:14 - 4:17"This is my 'duduk bantah'. My sit-in.
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4:17 - 4:20I'm going to sit here alone."
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4:20 - 4:22He may look lonely,
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4:22 - 4:24but he was not alone.
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4:24 - 4:27We were all there.
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4:27 - 4:30Not just in Kuala Lumpur,
in the rest of Malaysia we were there. -
4:30 - 4:34Around the world, we were there with him.
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4:34 - 4:36This man is my hero.
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4:37 - 4:38In 2011,
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4:40 - 4:44after tear gas was shot at us
in a tunnel, -
4:45 - 4:49he walked out of that tunnel barefoot,
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4:49 - 4:51and walked to the palace,
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4:51 - 4:55where he was supposed to
hand over a memorandum to the king. -
4:55 - 4:58He was barefoot outside the palace.
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4:58 - 5:02And he said, "I want to see the king
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5:02 - 5:05because I have an appointment
to hand over the memorandum." -
5:05 - 5:08Needless to say, he was
not allowed to do that. -
5:08 - 5:13So when people see this happen,
I tell them, "Look at him. -
5:13 - 5:17Over 80 years of age,
he is still fighting. -
5:17 - 5:19He hasn't stopped fighting.
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5:19 - 5:22He's not going to stop fighting
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5:22 - 5:27because Malaysia is worth fighting for.
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5:27 - 5:30It doesn't matter what age you are.
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5:30 - 5:36We're all Malaysians and we want
what is best for our country." -
5:36 - 5:40So what is that moment when doing nothing
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5:40 - 5:42is no longer an option?
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5:42 - 5:44What is that moment?
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5:44 - 5:47That moment when something
stirs within you. -
5:47 - 5:51It's like when you see an accident
and someone is hurt. -
5:51 - 5:53Is doing nothing an option? No.
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5:53 - 5:56You have to do something.
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5:56 - 5:58It is that kind of a moment.
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5:58 - 6:00When that moment arrives,
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6:00 - 6:02that's when you say,
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6:02 - 6:06"We need to stand up and be counted."
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6:07 - 6:13Now, these are the moments
that change things. -
6:14 - 6:19There was a video journalist,
who was there at Bersih 3, -
6:19 - 6:21and he wrote an article:
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6:21 - 6:24"How Bersih 3 Changed Me".
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6:24 - 6:26And he said,
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6:26 - 6:30"I was a freelance video journalist
but now I realise -
6:30 - 6:32I have to do things differently.
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6:33 - 6:37I have to tell critical stories,
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6:37 - 6:41so that the message
goes out to the people. -
6:41 - 6:45And I must do this for all Malaysians."
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6:45 - 6:48That was a moment in his life
that was important. -
6:48 - 6:52Now, every single time
there is an injustice, -
6:52 - 6:55and I say this to the
perpetrators of injustice, -
6:55 - 7:02every time there is an injustice,
a moment is created in someone. -
7:02 - 7:06In fact, a moment is created
in many people. -
7:06 - 7:10So every day you inflict
injustice on someone, -
7:10 - 7:14you are creating a moment
in someone else, -
7:14 - 7:18and another seed for change
is counted. -
7:20 - 7:24Now, sometimes, you have
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7:26 - 7:29moments thrust upon you
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7:29 - 7:33when you see something
that you are unhappy with. -
7:33 - 7:35Look at this young lady.
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7:35 - 7:38Her moment came too early in life.
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7:39 - 7:41She is a child in my eyes.
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7:41 - 7:43I'm a mother of two children.
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7:43 - 7:47And yet, her moment came very early on.
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7:47 - 7:49She had no choice.
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7:49 - 7:52A moment that came
and changed her life. -
7:52 - 7:56She, too, felt something had to be done.
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7:56 - 8:00And what a wonderful example she is.
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8:00 - 8:05She is an inspiration to me.
I'm 57. She is 16. -
8:05 - 8:10Her moment came, and
she is bringing change. -
8:10 - 8:14She is changing the way people think.
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8:14 - 8:17So when I say, "People have moments",
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8:17 - 8:22we can also create moments in others
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8:22 - 8:24by this, "education".
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8:24 - 8:28One child, one teacher,
one book, one pen. Simple. -
8:28 - 8:29The message is simple.
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8:29 - 8:32She is talking about basic education.
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8:32 - 8:36Malala is talking about
basic education. -
8:36 - 8:41I'm talking about
education beyond that. -
8:41 - 8:44And I believe, when you look at
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8:44 - 8:47the level of awareness
that Bersih created, -
8:47 - 8:51it really educated us.
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8:51 - 8:53It changed us.
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8:53 - 8:59And for me, we will never
be the same again after Bersih. -
8:59 - 9:00It makes you overcome your fears.
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9:00 - 9:02I have been asked,
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9:02 - 9:04"Weren't you afraid?"
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9:04 - 9:07"Weren't you afraid of
all the things that were happening?" -
9:07 - 9:11I said, "Of course I was. I'm human."
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9:11 - 9:14But it's not about fear.
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9:14 - 9:17It's not about having fear,
that's normal. -
9:17 - 9:20It is about overcoming them.
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9:20 - 9:22And I know a friend of mine,
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9:22 - 9:27who said he made a choice
to overcome that fear. -
9:27 - 9:30Thomas is his name.
He made a choice. -
9:30 - 9:35And there must be a compelling reason
why you make that choice. -
9:35 - 9:40His compelling reason was his two sons.
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9:40 - 9:44That was his compelling reason,
because he said, -
9:44 - 9:50"I have to leave a nation we can
be proud of for my children." -
9:50 - 9:51That was his reason.
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9:51 - 9:54That's why he overcame his fear.
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9:54 - 9:59But of course, we must
bring effective change peacefully. -
9:59 - 10:03"Non-violence
is the first article of my faith. -
10:03 - 10:06It is the last article of my faith,"
said Gandhi. -
10:06 - 10:10And non-violence makes sense.
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10:10 - 10:15It makes sense to bring change
through non-violent means. -
10:15 - 10:21I was asked, "Is what you're doing
an attempt to bring regime change?" -
10:21 - 10:23I said, "No."
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10:23 - 10:26I said, "If we are going
to change the regime, -
10:26 - 10:29or we're going to
change the government, -
10:29 - 10:32we want to do it
through the ballot box." -
10:32 - 10:35We don't want to do it any other way.
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10:35 - 10:38We want to do it
through the ballot box. -
10:38 - 10:41But to be able to do it
through the ballot box, -
10:41 - 10:47we must have free and fair,
clean and fair elections. -
10:47 - 10:51Now, all these people
who are in positions of power, -
10:51 - 10:54they have authority, they have power,
they have the police, -
10:54 - 11:01they have all that is necessary
to enhance their power. -
11:01 - 11:03What do we have?
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11:03 - 11:05The ordinary citizens?
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11:05 - 11:10We have "truth", we have "justice",
we have "goodness", -
11:10 - 11:12"compassion", "knowledge".
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11:12 - 11:14That's what we have.
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11:14 - 11:18Recently, we set up
a People's Tribunal. Why? -
11:18 - 11:21Because we want to arrive at the truth
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11:21 - 11:24as to what happened in the last election.
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11:24 - 11:28Because "truth" is a powerful weapon.
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11:28 - 11:33This artillery that you see before you
that I have named, -
11:33 - 11:37is a powerful artillery,
let me tell you. -
11:37 - 11:41Because you can't fight it.
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11:41 - 11:42You can't beat it.
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11:42 - 11:45You can't beat truth.
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11:45 - 11:47It's a powerful weapon.
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11:47 - 11:50"Justice". As a lawyer,
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11:50 - 11:52I've always felt that
every argument that we take -
11:52 - 11:56must be based on the rule of law.
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11:57 - 11:58And when you do that,
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11:58 - 12:02when you base your arguments
on the rule of law, -
12:02 - 12:04you will win arguments.
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12:04 - 12:07You will win people
over to your point of view, -
12:07 - 12:08and that's why it's important.
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12:08 - 12:13"Goodness" and "compassion".
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12:13 - 12:17I've seen it so many times
over the past few years. -
12:17 - 12:19I don't know if you all remember
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12:19 - 12:23that event that took place
outside my house, -
12:23 - 12:26when there was an attempt
at intimidation. -
12:26 - 12:30People who gathered there
in an assembly, in huge numbers. -
12:30 - 12:34For a few days, they tried
to intimidate me. -
12:34 - 12:39And there was so much ugliness
that went on outside. -
12:39 - 12:44But let me tell you of the goodness
that was happening inside my house. -
12:45 - 12:49The number of Malaysians
who came to sit with me, -
12:49 - 12:52some of them I don't even
know very well. -
12:52 - 12:54Some of them just popped in to say,
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12:54 - 12:56"We're sorry you're
going through this." -
12:56 - 13:00I had flowers, beautiful bouquets
and bouquets of flowers. -
13:00 - 13:02And that's what gives me hope.
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13:02 - 13:05While all that ugliness was
going on outside, -
13:05 - 13:09there was something wonderful
happening inside my house. -
13:09 - 13:12And that is far more compelling,
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13:12 - 13:16far more lasting than anything else.
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13:16 - 13:19And I remember walking
into my office one day, -
13:19 - 13:21and there was this jar,
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13:21 - 13:23a see-through jar of colourful notes.
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13:23 - 13:27More than 70 colourful notes
written by students. -
13:28 - 13:30How wonderful of them!
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13:30 - 13:33Each one of them sat down
and wrote me a note! -
13:33 - 13:38And that's 70 moments.
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13:38 - 13:40Each of them had a moment.
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13:40 - 13:42Each of them felt
compelled to write to me! -
13:42 - 13:45Of course I was very flattered,
because one of them said, -
13:45 - 13:49"I love John Lennon, I love the Beatles,
and I love you." -
13:49 - 13:54Very flattered.
(Laughter) (Applause) -
13:54 - 13:57But what it means is,
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13:59 - 14:04once we arrive at this moment,
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14:04 - 14:06change is inevitable.
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14:06 - 14:10So whose responsibility is it
to bring change? To move change? -
14:10 - 14:12Vaclav Havel, what did he say?
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14:12 - 14:16"To move change, we all have to act."
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14:16 - 14:18You can't just complain
about what's there. -
14:18 - 14:23We, in a sense, are also
responsible for that. -
14:23 - 14:27And that's why, we, the rakyat,
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14:27 - 14:30are responsible for what's happening now.
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14:30 - 14:33We can bring change.
It is up to us to do it. -
14:33 - 14:35We must be united.
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14:35 - 14:37You all know Martin Luther King.
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14:37 - 14:42And he said, "Injustice anywhere
is a threat to justice everywhere." -
14:42 - 14:46And that's why when you
look at Global Bersih, -
14:46 - 14:49and you look at this saying,
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14:49 - 14:50what does it mean?
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14:50 - 14:52It means we're not alone.
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14:52 - 14:57When there's injustice here,
it matters around the world. -
14:57 - 15:05Global Bersih is a wonderful
network of Malaysian diaspora. -
15:05 - 15:09They make things happen where they are.
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15:09 - 15:11And if they are in different countries,
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15:11 - 15:13they can change things there too,
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15:13 - 15:15by the way they feel,
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15:15 - 15:17by the things they say,
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15:17 - 15:23by the advocacy that they do
on behalf of Bersih. -
15:23 - 15:25So we're all connected.
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15:25 - 15:29We're under the same sky.
We're under the same sun. -
15:30 - 15:35Ladies and gentlemen,
so what is "change" about? -
15:35 - 15:39"Change" is about creating moments.
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15:39 - 15:42And I told you just now,
those little colored notes, -
15:42 - 15:4876 more new moments
were made, were created. -
15:49 - 15:52But we can't leave it as just moments.
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15:52 - 15:57From those moments,
we must build momentum. -
15:57 - 16:00And we have it. We have momentum.
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16:01 - 16:05And with that momentum,
we will bring change. -
16:05 - 16:06It may take time.
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16:06 - 16:08Change is not easy.
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16:08 - 16:10Change will come slowly.
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16:10 - 16:14But when we do it by education,
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16:14 - 16:18when we do it by convincing,
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16:18 - 16:22by acting justly, by acting non-violently,
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16:22 - 16:23it will last.
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16:24 - 16:26That's the kind of change that lasts.
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16:26 - 16:29Not change that is brought by force.
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16:29 - 16:32But change that comes from within.
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16:33 - 16:38Now, why did I show you the quotes
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16:38 - 16:43from those wonderful people
that I put before you today? -
16:43 - 16:47Because I was trying to find out:
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16:47 - 16:52What is it about Bersih that is so special
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16:52 - 16:56that captured the imagination
of all Malaysians? -
16:56 - 16:59So I pulled together the threads
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16:59 - 17:03of this wonderful wisdom, of these people,
-
17:03 - 17:08and I found those threads
in the Bersih movement: -
17:08 - 17:15justice, education,
awareness, non-violence. -
17:15 - 17:19I found all that in
the Bersih movement. -
17:19 - 17:21So although you all know
what these quotes mean, -
17:21 - 17:24and you've heard them
so many times before, -
17:24 - 17:27it matters to hear it once again
-
17:27 - 17:34because we use it to move
the way in which we do things. -
17:34 - 17:36Ladies and gentlemen,
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17:36 - 17:39the Bersih story is not my story.
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17:39 - 17:42It's our story.
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17:42 - 17:43Thank you.
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17:43 - 17:45(Applause)
- Title:
- This thing called change: Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan at TEDxPetalingStreet
- Description:
-
What makes a person change? How does one change? Let Dato' Ambiga take you on her journey that made her change her world and her life. Daring to be different, let her story inspire you to change yourself to be a better you.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 17:54
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for This thing called change: Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan at TEDxPetalingStreet | ||
Mary Beth Strawn commented on English subtitles for This thing called change: Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan at TEDxPetalingStreet | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for This thing called change: Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan at TEDxPetalingStreet | ||
Leonardo Silva commented on English subtitles for This thing called change: Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan at TEDxPetalingStreet | ||
Leonardo Silva approved English subtitles for This thing called change: Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan at TEDxPetalingStreet | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for This thing called change: Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan at TEDxPetalingStreet | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for This thing called change: Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan at TEDxPetalingStreet | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for This thing called change: Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan at TEDxPetalingStreet |
Leonardo Silva
Great transcript! Great synching! :)
Mary Beth Strawn
Thank you! That's very sweet! :)