Category: Bersih

— Nagappan Karuppiah
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 26, 2012

APRIL 26 — I read Yolanda Augustin (“Why Malaysians overseas are joining Global Bersih 3.0”, Side Views, April 24) and found myself nodding at each line.

I left Malaysia in 2003 to study in Australia. At the end of the first semester, I’d decided I’d make Australia my home. I’d had no interest in Malaysian politics to start with, but in that first semester, Australia opened my eyes to what freedom of speech is about. What multiculturalism — living with people of various races — is all about. How you can write to the newspapers and criticise the prime minister and the government for their policies. How on prime-time television you can voice your opinion. In Australia, I found the meaning of being part of a free, democratic and civil society.

I received my permanent residency in 2007 but to date I am not able to make or call Australia home. Malaysia is still where I cherish the best memories of my life, my school days and friends. I still find myself calling Malaysia home. I am still very much Malaysian at heart. Continue reading “Let’s take back our votes”

by Dr. Chris Anthony

The first Bersih rally held on 10 November2007 saw over 40,000 people from all walks of life taking to the streets of Kuala Lumpur demanding for fair, free and clean elections. The rally organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) reflected the people’s yearning for change. However after more than 3 years on we did not see any substantial changes to our electoral system towards that end as the Barisan Nasional(BN) government did not take the calls by the people seriously. This lackadaisical attitude towards the demands by the people led to the second rally, Bersih 2.0 on 9 July 2011.

Bersih2.0 was a great success as despite being declared illegal, the tightened security, extensive police road blocks and threatening tactics, the people came out in droves, braving the high handed and brutal tactics of the police to defy the ban and demand for something simple and basic rights of every citizen – a free and clean elections.

The eight demands of Bersih 2.0 were: Continue reading “Bersih 3.0 and the clamor for change”

by T H Liew

I believe that IF our nation practices TRUE democracy, then our citizens will be better off.

However, I feel that our nation has gradually become a one-party state, with the ruling political party having a hold on virtually ALL of the bodies which are supposed to be independent in a true democracy, but are not.

The mass media (printed, electronic) are controlled; the police and anti-corruption agency do not seem to act impartially; the judiciary appears tainted esp at the upper echelons. Under these circumstances, how are we to practice true democracy?

Had these bodies been truly independent, then the ruling government will be more just, and more sensitive, to the needs and rights of the citizens. Continue reading “Why I am going for Bersih”

— Damien Kingsbury
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 26, 2012

APRIL 26 — Malaysia is facing a political crisis. Its government appears to have lost electoral legitimacy and is facing its biggest challenge to holding onto power since independence half a century ago.

As with the flowering of democratic movements in other countries over the past year, Malaysia now appears to be approaching its own “democratic spring”.

In order to forestall this blossoming of democracy in Malaysia, the government has hobbled the Election Commission, has rorted the electoral process through disproportionate parliamentary seats and a range of other matters that continue to require investigation.

The government now appears ready to stage elections at a time it believes will produce the best results for itself. Continue reading “Malaysia should welcome independent electoral observers”

— Stephen Ng
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 25, 2012

APRIL 25 — I had half expected that this would develop, despite the Najib administration promising that the Bersih 3.0 sit-in protest could go on.

The prime minister will not allow civil society’s push for democracy to topple his government under Barisan Nasional for the past 55 years. Frankly, since Bersih 2.0 on July 9, Najib Razak has not learnt his lesson from history that no government that continues to fight the people will last long.

Whatever happens on Saturday will cost his government a big price. Two things I wish to remind Najib Razak and his men:

— That if the government continues to fight civil society, it will no last very long

— That if the civilians are treated with brutality or arrested, or charged in court, as threatened, it will create more anger amongst the people. Each of us has a network of at least 100 people around us. People like Ambiga Sreenevasan or Pak Samad Ismail would have thousands of supporters. You touch anyone, it will have a multiplying effect that will never be matched by even the biggest tsunami! Continue reading “A lack of sincerity is what pisses off city folks”

By Ong Kian Ming | Apr 24, 2012
Malaysiakini

COMMENT In two previous articles, I highlighted 10 problems associated with the electoral roll as part of the preliminary findings of the Malaysian Electoral Roll Analysis Project (Merap), a research effort to identify and understand problems with the existing electoral roll.

In this article, I want to highlight further problems involving far more voters than those identified in the previous two articles. [see Part 1 I Part 2]

Firstly, approximately 3.1 million voters were identified as potential non-resident voters by the National Registration Department (NRD) in 2002. This data was given by NRD to the Election Commission (EC) but no action was taken by the EC to assess the magnitude of this problem and to identify ways to rectify it.

Secondly, using the EC’s own data which lists the nationality or ‘bangsa’ of each voter, approximately 65,000 voters were identified as having foreign nationalities. Of these, close to 90 percent or 58,000 had IC numbers which indicate that they were born in Malaysia.

In addition, approximately 49,000 of these voters came from one state alone – Sabah – which has a well-documented history where ICs were given to illegal immigrants in order to allow them to register as voters.
Continue reading “Electoral roll: What else is the EC hiding?”

By Ong Kian Ming | Apr 8, 2012
Malaysiakini

ANALYSIS In the first part of this article, I highlighted five problems with the electoral roll which were not addressed in the report by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Electoral Reform.

In this second part, I will highlight five additional problems with the electoral roll, all of which concern the highly problematic area of postal voting among army and police personnel.

5. Postal voters who are registered using their regular ICs

Army personnel, who are postal voters, have IC addresses beginning with T. Police personnel, who are postal voters, have IC addressing beginning with R, G and I.

If any of these army or police voters were previously registered as voters using their civilian IC numbers, their civilian registration entries should be deleted from the electoral roll.
Continue reading “‘Dubious’ voters may decide GE13”

By Ong Kian Ming | Apr 7, 2012
Malaysiakini

ANALYSIS The Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform report, which was released earlier this week, highlights 22 recommendations on how to improve the electoral process.

I will not go through each and every recommendation or discuss the overall quality of these recommendations since others including the Bar Council chairperson and the Bersih steering committee have already done so.

bersih announcing 3rd rally 040412 ong kian mingWhat I will focus on in this two-part article is the many problems which are to be found in the electoral roll. To summarise, the report fails to acknowledge significant problems that have to do with the electoral roll, many of which are already well known, and seems to limit the scope of checking the accuracy of the electoral roll to a few not very useful parameters.
Continue reading “10 major problems in EC’s electoral roll”

— Thomas Fann
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 24, 2012

APRIL 24 — As I write this, we are just four days away from April 28, 2012. It is the day which the Bersih 2.0 steering committee has chosen to have Bersih 3.0, a sit-down protest called by its BM name Duduk Bantah. It is late at night and I am sleepless. As I lay awake, I reminisced about Bersih 2.0 held last year on July 9.

However, this time round, Bersih 3.0 is no longer an option for me for I found myself roped into the committee organising it simultaneously with the KL event, in my city. The band of us was crazy enough, probably foolish as well, to even consider doing it. Probably the experiences of July 9, 2011 have hardened our resolve to push for change and we didn’t want our beloved city to miss out on it.

But I am realising that it is one thing to risk your own life and another to be in a position where you may also be risking the lives of others. It is a fear that is multiplied by the number of those who will be coming out to sit down and protest.

Wait a minute! We are just talking about we, the citizens, wanting to say that we think the present electoral system and roll needs to be improved and cleaned up. All we are asking is two hours to sit down in a public space to voice our concerns. Why should we be afraid? Yet, we are. Continue reading “Bersih 3.0, the fear factor”

— May Chee Chook Ying
The Malaysian Insider
April 24, 2012

APRIL 24 — What do you pray for when you pray, as when you speak to God? I was educated in a convent. So, from young I was “exposed” to the Catholic faith. So, I learnt how to pray, at least I think I know how to pray. Apart from the set prayers, I learnt how to talk to God.

My first and only gift I’ve asked from God since my primary years has been this — a conscience. A heavy conscience can be so inconvenient but that was what I asked for and that was what I got. I asked for it, so to speak!

So, what’s a conscience? The Oxford dictionary defines a conscience as a moral sense of right and wrong. I guess it means that when you have a conscience, simply put, you do know when you are doing right or wrong. When it’s right, you feel good and liberated. When it’s wrong, you feel lousy and imprisoned by guilt, fear, doubts, etc.

Please bear with me when I speak of conscience from the viewpoint of a Catholic. The size of the world depends on your conscience. Conscience can make the world bigger or smaller. It was the Lord Himself who said this: Two men can look at the “lily in the field” and the one sees more than the other. The first sees the stem and the petals of the flower. The second sees this and something beyond: the Providence of the Father who clothes it more magnificently than “Solomon in all his regalia”.

For the second man, his conscience is something more than a “still, small voice” at the back of his head. His world is bigger and he is too big a person to be crippled by the chilling fear of punishment when he does wrong or a feeling of guilt when he dares to be unconventional. Such a man can see the whole stage and not just part of the scenery. His conscience is what we, Catholics, call “the Vision of the Whole”. Continue reading “How do you discern?”

– Yolanda Augustin
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 24, 2012

APRIL 24 – My name is Yolanda Augustin and I left Malaysia 14 years ago to study in the UK, where I now live and work as a doctor. I’m writing to explain what inspired me to get involved in the Bersih movement and global solidarity work for Malaysia.

For many years, I felt a sense of helplessness and frustration as I followed Malaysian current affairs and saw the country I grew up in stuck in a downward spiral of poor governance and deteriorating civil liberties and human rights. What really got to me was the complete waste of potential – Malaysia was and remains a beautiful country – rich in natural resources, great weather, fantastic cuisine and diverse culture. It has a small population of 28 million people that could enjoy a world class healthcare and education system if the money spent on hapless vanity projects and siphoned off to fund the multimillionaire lifestyles of government ministers was spent on improving the lives of the rakyat.

I was also struck by the vast number of Malaysians I met living overseas – many of them doing interesting and inspiring things – writers, scientists, entrepreneurs, doctors, chefs, bankers, lecturers, lawyers, nurses, town planners, engineers, actors, the list goes on. Many of them still with strong roots and a sense of connection to their place of birth. Many of them wanting to contribute something good and positive towards Malaysia but not knowing what, where or how. Continue reading “Why Malaysians 0verseas are joining Global Bersih 3.0”

— Faizal Tajuddin
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 23, 2012

APRIL 23 — Step One: Pretend you’re reforming and making changes. For the better, of course. And make sure people notice it, and to make doubly sure they don’t forget, don’t make the changes too early. Do it late. Very late. A month or two before General Election late. Then you can appear on mass media and go “See? See? It was a struggle and a sacrifice and it was tough but we did it for you. For the people!”

Step Two: Real reform can be dangerous. Especially if one is too comfortable holding on to power. The power is practically a permanent mandate now. An entitlement. And real changes might mean you’d lose that power. So don’t really change anything, appear to change something. A little bit of window dressing or a new coat of paint, something along the lines of: Telling people you’re going to scrap the ISA, but then replace it with something just as nasty. Or tell people they can protest peacefully now, no need for permits, freedom of assembly is upheld etc, blah blah blah, but then designate practically everywhere as non-assembly zones.

Step Three: Really change something. Only this time, something of benefit for powers that be and not for people, then slip in that tiny, innocuous real game-changer along with the big pronouncements and make the necessary amendments at the parliament. Rush all those bills in one day, get it all done and announce it to the media. With any luck, everybody would concentrate on the big public relations “reforms” and ignore that one tiny innocuous nothingness that really changes a whole lot.

Step Four: Celebrate. You just won the election again. Continue reading “How to steal an election”

— May Chee Chook Ying
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 23, 2012

APRIL 23 — Let’s forget about trying to break into the Guinness Book of World Records and stuff. Let’s just get back to basics. Let’s just go back to square one; what it means to be a democracy, what it means to uphold the constitution. Let’s remember the pledge of the Rukunegara, first mooted in 1970. For those who have forgotten about it and for those who do not know anything about it, it goes like this:

“Our Nation, Malaysia, is dedicated to: Achieving a greater unity for all her people; maintaining a democratic way of life; creating a just society in which the wealth of the nation shall be equitably distributed; ensuring a liberal approach to her rich and diverse cultural tradition, and building a progressive society which shall be oriented to modern science and technology.

We, the people of Malaysia, pledge our united efforts to attain these ends, guided by these principles:

Belief in God

Loyalty to King and Country

Upholding the Constitution

Sovereignty of the Law and

Good Behaviour and Morality”

Seen or felt any of the above lately? Am I the only one sorely missing the spirit of the Rukunegara? Can we drown out the din, please, and get back to living with dignity, the way decent human beings deserve to? Continue reading “Let’s just get back to basics”