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BN on track for snap poll, looking at July date

By Jahabar Sadiq
Editor
The Malaysian Insider
May 06, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — A general election could be called as early as July, before the Ramadan fasting month begins, as the Bersih 3.0 rally has not affected support for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, sources say.

The Malaysian Insider understands that a June election has been ruled out as Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be away on holiday for nearly two weeks from the middle of May, although he will attend a “Friends of BN” gathering in London on May 14.

“After Umno anniversary celebrations on May 11, the prime minister will go for an event in London, then he will attend his son’s graduation before going off to Spain for a vacation,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.

“So, it isn’t likely in June. July looks good as most BN warlords are ready for a general election,” he added, saying it could be held before July 19 when the fasting month is expected to begin. More than 60 per cent of Malaysians are Muslims who generally refrain from political activity during the fasting month. Continue reading “BN on track for snap poll, looking at July date”

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SUHAKAM inquiry on Police Violence on April 28

Press Statement
Steering Committee
Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections 2.0 (BERSIH 2.0)
5 MAY 2012

While the government focuses on the breaching of the barricades at Dataran Merdeka by a few, and what they see as a threat to their power, there is a deafening and irresponsible silence about the unprecedented violence inflicted upon unsuspecting members of the public by the police force.

Whilst BERSIH 2.0 does not condone the breaching of the barricades, the legality of those barricades is questionable, as is the legality of the hurriedly obtained court order. We are also receiving information that much more was happening at the barricades than meets the eye.

The unanswered question still remains – who is responsible for the untold violence upon participants of the Duduk Bantah that occurred after the first tear gas was fired?

Evidence based on medical reports of some of those who were detained by the police appear to show that some members of the police force were out to punish those who wore BERSIH 3.0 t-shirts, anti-Lynas t-shirts or any yellow t-shirts, by inflicting excessive and completely unjustified violence on them.

Some detainees were attacked at the time of arrest, when they were in shops dining, or about to board LRTs while others were attacked after arrest and despite the absence of struggle. Some were alleged to have been assaulted by over 30 police personnel. Many speak of having to “run the gauntlet” of police personnel and beaten repeatedly before being loaded onto police trucks.

The brutality suggests that a segment of the police force on duty that day had acted with vengeance against BERSIH 3.0 participants whether due to orders given to them or because they had lost control. There are too many reports of police officers who were wearing blue police uniforms but without their names and police identity numbers so as to prevent the victims of violence from identifying the perpetrators of police violence.

In addition to BERSIH 3.0 participants, it must not be forgotten that more than 12 photographers and journalists were assaulted, intimidated or detained by police while reporting the rally, and cameras, memory cards and video equipment were taken away. Continue reading “SUHAKAM inquiry on Police Violence on April 28”

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Bersih and the mystery of the missing PM

By Nathaniel Tan | May 4, 2012
Malaysiakini


This is part two of an attempt to examine the following: what matters most about this rally (versus what does not), an analysis of both the police car that ran into protesters as well as the barricade breach incident, and what Saturday tells us about the government, leaders and people of Malaysia.

Whither Najib?

Videos of the police car being overturned during the Bersih 3.0 rally must have been a wet dream come true for BN spinmeisters the likes of Tan Keng Liang.

What can we say objectively about the violence at the rally?

Some posit that all the “violent protestors” were in fact agent provocateurs planted by the powers that be.
Continue reading “Bersih and the mystery of the missing PM”

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Bersih 3.0: What matters most and what does not

By Nathaniel Tan | May 3, 2012
Malaysiakini

This article will in two parts attempt to examine the following: what matters most about this rally (versus what does not), an analysis of both the police car that ran into protesters as well as the barricade breach incident, and what Saturday tells us about the government, leaders and people of Malaysia.

What matters most

While I cannot resist commenting on the two incidents analysed below, I would like to agree with commentators who observe that harping on these issues are a distraction from what really matters.

What is a distraction is spending hours trying to interpret hand signals. What really matters is electoral reform.
Continue reading “Bersih 3.0: What matters most and what does not”

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Najib’s Malaysia still stuck in the murk

by Hamish McDonald
Sydney Morning Herald
May 05, 2012

It’s an encounter that has gone into the folklore of our diplomatic service.

An Australian envoy meeting a senior Malaysian official heard a familiar complaint about critical coverage of his country’s politics in the Australian media.

He snapped back: ‘Xenophon’s experience suggests the settings won’t change for the election Najib seems about to call. It’s a pity, given what Malaysia could be.

‘The media in Australia are not owned or controlled by the government,” the envoy said. ”Here they all are, and throughout my time here, I’ve never seen a favourable report about Australia.”

Senator Nick Xenophon, who went up last month to join an international team looking at Malaysia’s electoral system, has just had a personal lesson in just how slanted and hostile its media can be. After the team published a highly critical report, the New Straits Times newspaper, owned ultimately by the ruling United Malays National Organisation or UMNO, went to work on him. Continue reading “Najib’s Malaysia still stuck in the murk”

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Eight questions that a full and credible public inquiry into the “428” Bersih 3.0 violence must provide answers

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is leading the Barisan Nasional propaganda campaign of damage control to minimize the adverse fall-outs from the government mishandling of Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” at Dataran Merdeka for free and fair elections with wild and far-fetched allegations, for instance, that Bersih 3.0 was an attempt by the opposition to topple the Barisan Nasional government.

In actual fact, Bersih 3.0 marked the greatest awakening, empowerment and unity among Malaysians transcending race, religion, class, region, gender or age to demonstrate their love for the country and concern for clean elections for a clean Malaysia.

What is undeniable is that Bersih 3.0 is proving to be a bigger public relations disaster for Najib and his image as a “reformer” and “transformer” with every passing day.

Suhakam has said that the “heavy-handed and arbitrary manner” in which the police used “disproportionate and unwarranted force against the participants of the rally as well as members of the media” in the Bersih 3.0 rally was “unacceptable conduct” while the Bar Council has said that police brutality against protestors during Bersih 3.0 had worsened as compared to the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 last year. Continue reading “Eight questions that a full and credible public inquiry into the “428” Bersih 3.0 violence must provide answers”

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A bittersweet experience

By A Humble Malaysian
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — I personally believe that there are three occasions where you can experience the spirit of 1 Malaysia: football, badminton and rally.

Why did I join Bersih 3.0? Various reasons, but certainly NOT for politics.

I woke up automatically at 6.30am on April 28, an hour ahead of my alarm set. The first thing I did was to turn on my laptop and checked the updates on Facebook.

There were already an estimate of 5,000 people around Dataran Merdeka. Next, I checked RapidKL Twitter to ensure the train was in service. No service disruption. Good.

I left my house at about 8am for the Kelana Jaya LRT station. At the car park, I saw a few groups of people, clad in yellow and green. That was when I realised, I was not alone.

We looked at each other, with smiles on our faces, as if we could read each other’s mind.

Each stop at the LRT station, I could see more and more people in yellow and green boarding the train.

A big crowd went off at Pasar Seni for one of the main meeting points, Central Market.

I got out from Masjid Jamek. After meeting my friend at the platform, we walked towards Petaling Street.

I could see yellow everywhere, even yellow “Angry Birds”. We headed towards the food stall area for breakfast. All the stalls and restaurants were jam packed. We actually stood while eating. Continue reading “A bittersweet experience”

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Violence against Malaysia

by Zan Azlee
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2012

MAY 4 — I waited for almost a week before actually writing or posting anything much about the recent Bersih 3.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur. There were so many emotions, I wanted to make sure that I was calm and coherent before actually commenting on it.

And now that everything seems ever so slightly clearer to me, the one thing that affected me most that Saturday was the violence that occurred.

The day had started early for me and walking all around the city, I felt the almost party-like atmosphere amongst all the Malaysians that had gathered.

Dataran Merdeka, of course, had a heavy police presence. It was cordoned off with metal fencing and even scary-looking barbed wire.

But, as I mentioned, the atmosphere was very festive and I guess the intimidation wasn’t working that well.

When the rally was in full force, I was standing alongside the leaders as they were giving their speeches and encouraging the people to sing.

Once everyone was as close to Dataran Merdeka as possible, I heard the leaders declaring the rally a success and calling for the crowd to disperse.

The crowd didn’t disperse and I made my way behind the barricade and police line with the help of my press tag.

Before I knew it, I heard people shouting and noticed the police running back from the barricade. The protesters had breached the barricade. Continue reading “Violence against Malaysia”

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Debunking the myth and clearing the path

By RZMay
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — We were ordinary Malaysians, professional, non-professional, rich, middle class and poor. On April 28, I found out that the different classes don’t matter, we all felt the tear gas. I was at the Masjid Jamek LRT station when they fired on us, and they closed the LRT station. I was angry at that time, but now I understood that an open LRT station could have caused more danger to us than a closed one. We could have fallen on the tracks; there could have been more injuries, and even death.

We found out on that day that our skin colour and our beliefs don’t matter. Muslims or non-Muslims, Malays, Indians, Chinese, Ibans, Kadazans, half-Eurasian half-Malay, quarter-Javanese, quarter-Portuguese, we were all one colour — yellow.

Our fight was for justice, and justice is a universal value that is upheld in every religion and belief. They say that if the polls were rigged, the opposition wouldn’t have won five states. If the polls weren’t rigged, how did BN with only 50.27 per cent of the votes get 63.1 per cent of the parliamentary seats? Why does Putrajaya have 5,000 voters yet Klang has 100,000 voters?

Then you’re going to say that we were hijacked by the opposition. Let me tell you this, we invited everyone, BN and PR, to join us, the rakyat. We are your masters, not the other way around. The only one who got “hijacked” during the gathering were PR leaders because they succumbed to our demand for free and fair elections. And let me give this warning to PR leaders, in any case during the future should you be in power and you rig the elections, we would not hesitate to go back to the streets to demand what is just, because we are your boss. Continue reading “Debunking the myth and clearing the path”

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Bersih 3.0: A celebration of political maturity

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2012

MAY 4 — The battle for freedom must be won over and over again.

I am sure there will be a Bersih 4.0 if the legitimate demands of a people craving for political meaning are not met. Why should the Election Commission resist demands to clean the electoral list? Why should the government deny electoral reforms? Why should the Malaysian people be denied the right to insist elections are only for Malaysian people? Why should we not demand the exclusion of phantom voters and aliens from our electoral list? Admitting Bangladeshis, Myanmars, Nepalis and other illegals and giving them instant MYkads because they can support a fearful government is treasonous!

We are denied because this government fears the judgment of its own people. It has certainly shown it fears its own people. Otherwise what kind of government that has shown it was willing to unleash the repressive instruments on its own people?

I almost fell off the chair when someone uttered the unthinkable — that Bersih 3.0 would serve only to whip up Malay nationalism. Because of Bersih 3.0, Malays will gravitate towards Umno? Continue reading “Bersih 3.0: A celebration of political maturity”

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A response to Chandra Muzaffar’s lambasting of Bersih

by Dr Lim Teck Ghee
Friday, 04 May 2012
CPI Writings

Friends have asked me what prompted the extraordinary hatchet job that Dr Chandra Muzaffar attempted on the Bersih 3.0 movement and its leaders in his recent article misleadingly titled ‘Bersih and the Quest for Human Rights’ published in various media.

What was in the article that could be of academic or scholarly value to warrant any close reading? Those attracted by the title may have expected an article on how the quest for human rights in Malaysia may have taken on fresh urgency given the police manhandling of the demonstrators and media, and the many instances of violation of democratic rights.

In the internet and mainstream media, the issue of police brutality has become the main focus and memory of demonstrators and the Malaysian public. That could have been a topic that Dr Chandra – in defending the status quo – could have brought fresh insights from a human rights perspective.

However, he chose not to do so. Instead he churned out a propagandistic piece praising the political reforms undertaken as well as aimed at demonizing the Bersih leaders and its supporters from the opposition. Continue reading “A response to Chandra Muzaffar’s lambasting of Bersih”

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Bersih 3.0 is even greater public relations disaster for Najib than Bersih 2.0 – with damage growing in magnitude and impact when all the horror stories of police rampage of violence and brutality are told

As I said after the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 last year, there were many casualties especially the police, the mainstream media and the election commission but the biggest loser of all was undoubtedly the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

This is even more the case with the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” last Saturday on April 28 as Bersih 3.0 is an even greater public relations disaster for Najib than Bersih 2.0 – with the damage growing in magnitude and impact when all the horror stories of police rampage of violence and brutality on that day are told where hundreds of thousands of Malaysians who came to Kuala Lumpur in peace were not allowed to disperse in peace.

No reasonable and thinking Malaysian would buy Najib’s blame yesterday alleging that Bersih 3.0 organisers were responsible for last Saturday’s violence, in particular the police rampage of violence and brutality against peaceful protestors and media representatives.

The excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of police force, whether firing of tear gas and chemically-laced water cannon or downright police violence and brutality, cannot be justified by any breach of the Dataran Merdeka barricades last Saturday.

A critic of the government’s gross mishandling of Bersih 2.0 rally for free and fair elections in July last year had urged the Najib administration to discard its “Cold War” mindset and to modernize its concepts to address internal security and national issues.
Continue reading “Bersih 3.0 is even greater public relations disaster for Najib than Bersih 2.0 – with damage growing in magnitude and impact when all the horror stories of police rampage of violence and brutality are told”

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BN-owned media’s shameless whitewash

CL Tang
May 1, 2012
Malaysiakini

Three days after Bersih 3.0, Malaysian hermits who lives in caves, who have never heard of the Internet and who only read the mainstream newspapers would probably have the impression that it was the police force who were protesting and ended up physically assaulted by angry civilians.

Despite clear evidence of police brutality available on YouTube, hundreds of personal testimonies by victims and personal witnesses, and pictures of appalling injuries spread all over the Internet, the BN-owned media shamelessly whitewashed the government-sanctioned atrocities against its own people.

Despite hundreds if not thousands of Bersih participants, most of whom were already dispersing, being beaten and chased like criminals by baton-wielding police and ending up with injuries, these crimes were not reported.

Despite thousands of the ordinary rakyat suffering beatings from the authorities, the mainstream media chose to highlight one single case of an injured police personnel.

Despite scores of journalists and media personnel being abused by the police, their cameras and memory cards confiscated, The Star, instead of coming to the defence of its colleagues and upholding the media’s right to cover events without fear of reprisals from the authorities, it chose to showcase one single reporter’s story of being roughed up by the protesters.

So much for BN’s so-called greater freedom for the media via the Printing Presses and Publications Act amendments. Continue reading “BN-owned media’s shameless whitewash”

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Ugliest day in media history of Malaysia

— Lim Mun Fah
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2012

MAY 4 — The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 as World Press Freedom Day in 1991 to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right of freedom of expression.

On this day over the past 19 years, the world’s members of the media had reaffirmed the basic principles of the freedom of the press, expressed their determination in defending the freedom of the press, and even paid the highest respect and remembrance to those who have lost their lives in harness.

In Malaysia, we must use the opportunity to reflect and repeatedly ask ourselves: do we enjoy the freedom of press?

Unfortunately, pressmen were violently treated during the recent Bersih 3.0 rally. Some of them were assaulted and injured, some of them had their cameras snatched and some of them had their photos deleted. That day is undoubtedly the darkest and ugliest day in the media history of Malaysia! Continue reading “Ugliest day in media history of Malaysia”

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The legitimacy of law

by Zairil Khir Johari
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2012

MAY 4 — I don’t know if the government actually noticed, but more than 100,000 people broke the law last Saturday. They did so not only unashamedly, but also proudly and cheerfully.

The Bersih 3.0 rally on April 28 saw what is estimated to be hundreds of thousands of Malaysians gathering at six different locations in Kuala Lumpur before marching towards a single destination point — Dataran Merdeka, or as some temporarily-erected signage labelled it, Tel Aviv.

In case the authorities have forgotten, this constitutes a breach of the newly enacted Peaceful Assembly Act which clearly outlaws “street protests”, legally defined as an “open air assembly which begins with a meeting at a specified place and consists of walking in a mass march or rally for the purpose of objecting to or advancing a particular cause or causes.” Which was exactly what a few hundred thousand of us did.

I point this out because for everything that has happened, no one, especially those on the side of authority, seems to have noticed this technicality. If the authorities did, then they certainly didn’t do anything about it. In fact, the Inspector-General of Police himself has claimed that his officers had been instructed to give way to demonstrators.

Am I to understand that our police will now facilitate law-breaking? Perhaps, if one were to grant them the benefit of the doubt, one could say that they were being pragmatic, or understanding, or merely turning a blind eye. Or perhaps it is simply that there was nothing they could reasonably do because the law made no sense in the first place.

In other words, the legitimacy of this particular legislation now comes into question. Here, I think it is important to distinguish between legality and legitimacy. Legitimacy hinges on popular acceptance, while legality rests solely on conformity and observance of the letter of the law. Just because a law exists doesn’t make it legitimate. After all, Hitler’s systematic subjugation of the Jewish people was for all intents and purposes perfectly legal, yet can we accord legitimacy to his actions? Continue reading “The legitimacy of law”

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Doing the right thing for the right reasons

Zaleha | May 3, 2012
Malaysiakini

For those who think Bersih 3.0 is about Najib Razak, Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir Mohamad, S Ambiga, you’re missing a point.

I am a Malaysian, rightly proud of my country’s achievements in economic and social progress. I am proud that in this unique multi racial Malaysia, peace and harmony can be maintained.

But now I ask myself – have I been hoodwinked all this time? I asked myself these questions:

•Is my country truly free from hatred, deceit, selfishness and injustice?

•Is Malaysia today free, clean, refined and proactive?

•How do we, Malaysians, measure civilised society?

•Do we measure it by how much we abide by standards of law, behaviour and value systems

•How much do we value freedom? Continue reading “Doing the right thing for the right reasons”

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Joy in seeing spirit of Bersih in so many

A True Malaysian Pastor | Apr 30, 2012
Malaysiakini

After having rested and had time to reflect on Bersih 3.0, I have come to the following conclusions.

Compared to Bersih 2.0

1.It was so much easier to mobilise my church members to go. Many who regretted not taking part in Bersih 2.0 out of “fear”, managed to overcome the invisible fear barrier and made their physical presence felt.

2.We were much better prepared physically, spiritually, emotionally and psychologically for Bersih 3.0 compared to 2.0.

3.As a church we could openly pray about the situation and condition of our beloved nation and where it is heading.

4.There was obviously more Chinese people present this time around.

5.More young people were in attendance.

6.More recording devices were evident.

7.People came much earlier.

8.More food stalls were open this time around and did a roaring business eg along Petaling street.
Continue reading “Joy in seeing spirit of Bersih in so many”

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BN’s Dirtaran Merdeka

Dean Johns | May 1, 2012
Malaysiakini

BN’s attempt to thwart the Bersih 3.0 rally by transforming the people’s Dataran into its own ‘Dirtaran’ with razor wire, barricades and battalions of police was a monstrous mockery of the meaning of Merdeka.

And this was the clearest sign yet of how terrified the regime is that clean and fair elections would spell an end to its corrupt and kotor rule of the country.

Yet Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his accomplices in crime and grime are still spouting all their usual filthy lies. Continue reading “BN’s Dirtaran Merdeka”

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A case of the empire strikes back

— Daisy Lee
The Malaysian Insider
May 03, 2012

MAY 3 — Since most readers wrote in describing their experience during Bersih 3.0. I wanted to have my say about this event as well. It was my first Bersih rally after hearing all the happenings at Bersih 2.0 last year, I regretted not going for the second rally. I vowed that I would go this time and I did. Most of the people whom wrote in described almost all of the happenings, the mass turnout, the atmosphere and from the cheerful first half to the horrific second half.

After looking through all the aftermath videos and pictures both from the mainstream media and alternative online media and social media, I questioned myself if it was a trap set purportedly by the authorities to contain and gang-bang the rally-goers!

I personally saw the sudden retreat of the entire police force, which were guarding the area, away from the barricades not long after the arrival of Ambiga and Anwar. I thought why the police are running away like rabbits when they are the ones with guns and batons (not to mention tear gas and water cannon)! Rounds of tear gas with water cannon trucks surged on, way off into Jalan TAR, Jalan Raja Laut and Jalan Tun Perak. Gas and toxic water was also spewing from Menara Maybank toward Jalan Tun Perak and from Bank Negara roundabout toward Jalan Parlimen. It was a no way out situation further with the closure of LRT operations at Masjid Jamek and Dang Wangi stations. I guess the entire blockade was planned out with the scrutiny of the hovering helicopters and para-gliders, mapping out where the yellow dots converge most below ground. How come during the commencement of the havoc, nearby LRT stations (as I know at least two – Dang Wangi & Masjid Jamek stations) were closed. Is it to entrap people so that all could be gassed and whacked? Continue reading “A case of the empire strikes back”

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We are a confused nation, aren’t we?

— Abdul Haleem Abdul Rahiman
The Malaysian Insider
May 03, 2012

MAY 3 — While the dust yet to settle on Bersih 3.0 the nation seems so drunk. So lost and so confused.

The best news today surely about Nayati Shamelin Moodliar who was released after been kidnapped for almost a week.

This young boy was released after an undisclosed amount of cash ransom was paid to the abductors. During the press conference Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh have said the following; “The family decided to pay the ransom. The demand was made immediately after the kidnapping. Police are still investigating the case under the Kidnapping Act, and if found guilty, the suspects will receive the death sentence,”

Why is he talking about if found guilty the suspects will be hanged. Have you found the suspects? Arrest them and charge them and then tell us what punishment they will face. After all on many cases before this the only thing you guys found was dead bodies or innocents children.

More on our famous police force. The KL city police released photo shots of 49 suspects who were responsible for the mayhem and violence on Bersih 3.0. Good. Arrest them investigate them and charge them.

Based on the report in TMI Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh told a press conference today the 49 persons were being investigated for various crimes under the Penal Code related to unlawful assembly and disobeying police orders.

When asked if any policemen have been listed as suspects he said there were no numbers yet but said it was not an issue as there are “no problems tracing” members of the force.

“Where is the proof? Show us. These are only allegations which must have proof,” he said when asked repeatedly about various allegations of police brutality. Continue reading “We are a confused nation, aren’t we?”