Category: Bersih

By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 23, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — Bersih accused the Election Commission (EC) today of failing to investigate 3.1 million voters whose identity card (IC) addresses differ from that in the electoral roll despite having the information since 2002.

Speaking at a press conference called by the electoral reform movement, independent polls analyst Ong Kian Ming said the EC was given this information for all states in the peninsula and also Kuala Lumpur in 2002 and the figure made up 37 per cent of the 8.3 million voters registered then.

The project director for the Malaysian Electoral Roll Analysis Project (MERAP) said he has had the information given by the National Registration Department (NRD) to the EC before the implementation of the new registration system where all voters have to be registered according to the constituency indicated by their IC addresses.

“The EC has failed to act on this… to clean up the electoral roll even though the presence of these non-resident voters contravenes Article 119 1(b) of the Federal Constitution which says a voter must be a resident in the constituency he is voting in,” he said. Continue reading “3.1m dubious voters on list for a decade, says Bersih”

— Justice Seeker
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 22, 2012

APRIL 22 — The mayor of Kuala Lumpur, or the man who heads the KL City Hall (DBKL), is a political appointee.

He is appointed by Prime Minister Najib Razak, and he takes orders from Putrajaya. It is not an independent DBKL, as Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein would have us believe, that the people at DBKL make decisions independently or without fear or favour.

DBKL listens to Najib, Federal Territories Minister Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, or any other Barisan Nasional power broker.

So Hishammuddin can save his act about hoping DBKL will offer the organisers of Bersih 3.0 the alternative of Stadium Merdeka, now that DBKL has denied approval for the use of Dataran Merdeka.

The Cabinet, in which Hishammuddin is a member, decided that Dataran Merdeka is off limits and wants to confine Bersih 3.0 to Stadium Merdeka and this information has been communicated to DBKL.

But here is the minister trying to hoodwink Malaysians into thinking a) that he is a reasonable chap; b) that the Datuk Bandar is some independent-minded chap and c) that the BN government is really unconcerned about Bersih 3.0. Continue reading “City shenanigans over Bersih 3.0”

by Dr. Chen Man Hin
DAP life advisor

BERSIH 3 will herald the Bersih Spring which will sweep throughout the country and bring about the changes to create a free, just and democratic multiracial, multilingual and multireligious society.

The people have long hungered for a new society where all Malaysians are equal, and have equal opportunities to be educated and to be prosperous.

The people will all be Malaysians who are equal under the Malaysian sun. There will be one people – who are all ketuanan rakyat, all equals whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and others, allowing for Malays and the indigenous peoples to be the first among equals.

The Bersih Spring will promote unity and solidarity among the people. We shall be one and our political, economic and social progress will advance rapidly. We shall become one the main players of the new Asian Century.

It is therefore of the utmost importance that on April 28, all Malaysians must unite and gather together by the hundreds of thousands throughout the country and demand for clean, free and fair elections. Continue reading “Bersih 3 to herald Bersih Spring to bring about vital changes for an united progressive and prosperous Malaysia”

The Malaysian Insider
Apr 21, 2012

APRIL 17—My dearest son:

We all know that when taking care of a healthy child, the bare minimum required is proper food and shelter. And of course, where possible, lots of love and care.

When the child is sick, the bar of bare minimum is raised to include proper medication and tender care. In most cases, it is the usual Panadol, anti-histamine and cough syrup.

But if the child’s sickness is prolonged, the bar is raised again to include a doctor’s attention.

Any thing further than this and the child will need to be taken for diagnostic tests and observation which may even include hospitalisation and other extensive/aggressive medical attention.

Anything less and the child may run the risk of lifelong impaired health, or even death.

In every step of the way, the attending adult caregivers are duty- bound to properly raise the bar of proper and adequate response; failing which he/she is in danger of dereliction of duty as a responsible caregiver. Such an offence is grievous to natural justice.

Similarly, as responsible citizens of this country, to register ourselves to become voters and then to do the necessary in order to cast our votes on polling day is the bare minimum anyone of us can do. Continue reading “Beyond bare minimum — From a Reformasi Mum to her Boy Named Justice”

by Mok Chuang Lian
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 21, 2012

APRIL 21 – I do not have confidence in the Malaysian electoral system. I am not confident that my vote will count, and that my voice will be heard. In a genuine, open democracy, each vote has equal value – every vote counts.

There are currently 42,051 known dubious names in the electoral roll and further irregularities: 79,098 voters are registered at a mere 354 addresses. Although relatively small given the Malaysian voting age population, these numbers can make a huge difference in the outcome of elections. Marginal seats can swing very easily with small numbers of votes.

The Election Commission’s response to these questionable electoral roll figures has been unimpressive. The Chief of the Election Commission reportedly said that the Commission’s ‘hands were tied’ on cleaning up the electoral roll, and downplayed the importance of an accurate electoral roll.

For a democracy to function effectively there must be absolute faith in the electoral system, so that citizens will exercise their right to vote and make their voice heard. Continue reading “I am joining BERSIH 3.0 because I want my vote to count”

— Mohd Iqbal (loyarburok.com)
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 19, 2012

APRIL 19 — The Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms (“PSC”) recently completed its report on the improvement and reform of the parliamentary process in Malaysia. This report was tabled and passed by the august House on April 2, 2012, alas, without any debate due to a commotion caused by the opposition during the proceedings. The main grievance of the opposition was that the Speaker had rejected their motion to table a minority report on the PSC. Sadly, despite various international precedents on this procedure of presenting a minority report, the Speaker decided to ignore this motion.

What perhaps started as a new hope for Malaysians when the establishment of the PSC was announced by the prime minister in August 2011 as part of his political transformation programme has turned out to be a huge disappointment. Immediately, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) dismissed the report, inter alia, on the ground that only one out of their eight demands was addressed.

Bersih also announced that it will organise a sit-in protest on April 28,2012 across the country, and in various locations worldwide. The main venue for the sit-in protest will be at Dataran Merdeka with the title “Duduk Bantah”. Continue reading “To vote or not to vote?”

— Vivek V. Velan
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 17, 2012

APRIL 17 — Nine months have passed since thousands of Malaysians from all walks of life went to ground in anger and hope, tired of the continued deceit, fraudulent politics and false promises of the current regime. Their actions in some way can be derived from the somewhat lack of faith even in the opposition for it takes more than mere economic scandals and backhanded politics to stir up the emotions of the common man to take to the streets. And take to the streets they did for in their hearts they believed that the time for change has come. The Bersih sterling committee headed by Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and Datuk A. Samad Said as chairpersons could not have envisaged the sheer magnitude of response that would follow when Pakatan Rakyat threw its support behind the movement.

In a simpler context, Bersih’s aim was to push for cleaner elections wherein dirty politics is to be abhorred and the entire election system is to be overhauled either by reforms or revamping current systems. The Najib Razak administration’s gross mishandling of the rally where police force was used against unarmed protestors, tear gas shot at hospitals and the unlawful arrests of hundreds of protestors have been highlighted both locally and internationally.

Without going into detail, Barisan Nasional’s ratings fell drastically and the government was under pressure to rectify its mistakes for the people were enraged at the government’s stance in handling what was supposed to be a peaceful protest. Continue reading “Bersih 3.0: A double-edged sword”

by Dahlia Martin
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 15, 2012

APRIL 15 — Malaysian election watchdog Bersih 2.0 (Bersih) announced that 28 April 2012 is the date for a third gathering for clean and fair elections, but already a succession of politicians and officials have criticised the move. So far, though, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has kept mum.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s department (and de facto Law Minister) Nazri Abdul Aziz was the first to attack the sit down protest plans, saying that the proposed venue Merdeka Square had “not been gazetted as an area for peaceful gatherings”.

One politician from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) labelled it a “ploy” by the Opposition, and Electoral Commission (EC) deputy chairman Wira Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said Bersih’s plans were “rushed, hasty and troublesome to people.”

The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reforms, formed in response to the second Bersih gathering in July 2011, had only just released a report, Wan Ahmad said, and the EC had yet to study the report’s 22 recommendations. Continue reading “Bersih 3.0 wants to sit down and protest”

KJ John | Apr 10, 2012

Malaysiakini

Prime ministers make promises. Prime ministers sell to the nation the future into which they want to lead the country. Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has in fact promised and set us on a different route, with an improved trajectory through his leadership.

Usually, if such change is begun at the centre, even if the change is just one degree, it is enough to facilitate a large change down the line. Therefore, when he made his first promise, and when I believed he was serious, I wrote, ‘Right direction, slow speed!’ in Micah Mandate of April 20, 2009.

Therefore, as part and parcel of ordinary citizens who are seeking improved governance of this democracy we call Malaysia, which my friend AB Shamsul still calls “a state but not yet a nation,” I will be at the sit-in so that the PM will fulfil the promises he made about many things, but most importantly for this general election (GE); the promise of clean and fair elections.

I did march with Bersih 2.0, but clean elections cannot be done without a valid and above-board voter list. Bersih’s primary objection is now about a corrupted voter list; and, it is not even yet about the weighted size of different constituencies.

Furthermore, as a public servant who has worked closely with those issuing the new identity card (MyKad) and working with the research group behind the original design, but fully aware of the technical capabilities and weaknesses of the 64k chip embedded in the new MyKad, I find their so-called inability to clean up the list absolutely unacceptable. Continue reading “Why I’ll be at the Bersih 3.0 sit-in”

By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 10, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — Over 400,000 dubious voters are on the electoral roll, enough to swing 35 federal seats either way and decide if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) can capture Putrajaya or Barisan Nasional (BN) reclaim its customary two-thirds supermajority in Parliament, according to a polls analysis.

Independent political analyst Ong Kian Ming said his Malaysian Electoral Roll Analysis Project (MERAP) found some 100,000 problematic names and combined with other previously highlighted issues, would “easily amount to over 400,000 dubious voters.”

Cleaning up the electoral roll is a key demand by the opposition and activist groups although BN say PR’s five-state victory in Election 2008 is proof there is no irregularity.

Ong told The Malaysian Insider this is likely “just the tip of the iceberg” as there may be other discrepancies that have not yet been uncovered by various parties who have combed through the gazette of over 12 million voters.

“If you divide 400,000 between 222 federal seats, it would average to about 1,800 voters. This is enough to potentially decide 35 seats,” he said, referring to the seats that had slim victories for either coalition.

“If voter sentiment is the same as 2008, then this can add the 30 seats PR needs to form federal government or the eight more BN needs to regain two-thirds,” said the political analyst. Continue reading “400,000 dubious voters may decide 35 seats, GE winner, says polls analyst”