APRIL 15 — Speakers’ Corner in London is famous for its loud rhetoricians on sleepy Sunday mornings.

While the rest of the city is slowly waking up to their Sunday, folks dedicated to their cause are already in that corner of Hyde Park plying their ideological ware.

I have been to several events in Hyde Park over the years but the most recent was definitely one of the more exciting ones. A large group of Malaysians in London were signing the Deklarasi Rakyat (People’s Declaration). This is a clear indication of the dissatisfaction Malaysians feel with the present government.

One of the organisers of the event was Karis Wong. She hails from Kuala Lipis in the prime minister’s home state and has been in the UK since the early 2000s, first arriving as a student and then becoming a successful chartered surveyor with her own firm.

However, she has never lost her connection with Malaysia. This is really a case of the di mana bumi dipijak type situation.

As the participants slowly gathered at the Hyde Park Café (way too expensive, cross the road to Sainsbury’s Marble Arch and you’ll save a bundle!), I noticed a familiar figure among those sitting there.

It was none other than the young politician Dyana Sofea who turned out to be the other organiser. In 2014, she became a media sensation when she competed for the parliamentary seat in Teluk Intan. Although she eventually lost the race, she did get almost 50 per cent of the votes.

Dyana is currently pursuing her Masters degree in international studies and diplomacy at the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Although busy with her studies — she takes her final exams in a month and has to write a 10,000-word thesis thereafter — she is still active with her political work back home.

Some of the Malaysians including Dyana Sofea (2nd from left) and the writer (right) at Hyde Park that morning to sign the People’s Declaration. — Picture courtesy of the author

For me, Dyana represents the new generation of Malay democrats. These are young Malays who repudiate the traditional race and religion type politics and focus on what matters the most, the welfare of the rakyat.

For Dyana, the People’s Declaration was a resounding call. Malaysians from all walks of life — no matter the race, religion, creed, colour or even political party — gravitated towards it. The voices of dissent were loud and for Dyana, dissent is the lifeblood of democracy.

The statement which Malaysians were signing that morning was a call for the prime minister to step down. It was an unprecedented move in Malaysia’s history but those who were calling for it felt that no lesser step was adequate.

The declaration included facts regarding the infamous 1MDB scandal which is now gaining much international attention. Malaysians were queuing up to sign it.

The declaration gained much momentum last month when Tun Mahathir himself added his name to the list. Mahathir, an Umno stalwart for the over half a century and its leader for decades, earned the ire of Najib’s supporters when he did so, signing it along with Lim Kit Siang himself.

Ever since then, the declaration has only gained momentum. According to Karis, they had already garnered 200,000 signatures and were aiming for a million by the end of the year. She is confident that this goal will be achieved.

What comes after that though, is what I ask? Can we translate this dissent into lasting political change? We have to bear in mind that Barisan Nasional has been in power for almost six decades and Umno has led the Malays for seven. Will the People’s Declaration really manifest in a political tsunami in the next general elections?

Karis did not explicitly promise anything but she did feel that the focus at present should be the prime minister. Once that has been achieved, Malaysians can then turn their attention to reforms which will bring positive, long lasting change.

*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.