Steering Committee
Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH 2.0)
Bersih 2.0 WILL happen at Stadium Merdeka on July 9th (SATURDAY)
Bersih 2.0 is disappointed in the manner in which the Prime Minister and his cabinet has reneged on their offer to provide a stadium for us to hold our peaceful gathering.The Steering Committee of BERSIH 2.0 comprises:
As members of civil society that are committed to principles of integrity, we fully intend to abide by the advice of Tuanku DYMM SPB YDP Agong and hold our gathering in a stadium to state our demand for clean and fair elections.
We have chosen Stadium Merdeka as the best venue for this event, due to its symbolic nature and central location, and we will not for one moment be swayed from our decision to gather there peacefully.
If the Prime Minister is a man of his word, he will make the appropriate arrangements for the event to proceed peacefully at Stadium Merdeka.
Whether or not the government abides by their principles, we the Malaysian people will always uphold ours. Our determination to exercise our constitutional right to gather peacefully for a just and reasonable cause is unwavering.
Recent statements by the Deputy IGP seem to indicate that the police fully intend to take action against us if we do anything on July 9th beyond staying at home.
However, patriotic Malaysians who want nothing but the ability to choose our leaders through genuinely democratic means will never be cowered by the unjust and immoral exercise of power.
Our first and foremost responsibility is to our future and our children, and we have resolved that they shall inherit a nation ruled by not by fear, but by the principles of justice.
Whatever happens between now and then, the rakyat will gather peacefully in an orderly fashion to call for clean and fair elections at Stadium Merdeka on the 9th of July at 2pm.
We are coming, we will be peaceful and together, we will build a better Malaysia.
Steering Committee
Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH 2.0)
Ambiga Sreenevasan (Chairperson), Andrew Khoo, Arul Prakkash, K Arumugam, Dr Farouk Musa, Haris Ibrahim, Liau Kok Fah, Maria Chin Abdullah, Richard Y W Yeoh, Subramaniam Pillay, Dr Toh Kin Woon, Wong Chin Huat, Yeo Yang Poh and Zaid Kamaruddin.
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RELATED ARTICLES
- Information and culture minister Rais Yatim said that the cabinet had decided the Bersih 2.0 rally could not be held in any stadiums within Kuala Lumpur, casting fresh doubt it would go ahead at all."Their application to hold the rally in Kuala Lumpur, such as in Stadium Merdeka, Stadium Negara dan Stadium Bukit Jalil will not be entertained." Read here for more
- The management of Stadium Merdeka has refused to allow the facility to be used for the Bersih 2.0 rally on Saturday.Read here for more
- Dewan pemuda PAS Pusat mengulangi komitmen mereka untuk menghantar 30,000 ahlinya dari setiap negeri ke himpunan aman Bersih 2.0 yang dijadual diadakan di Stadium Merdeka pada Sabtu ini."Kami akan pastikan jumlah asal 30 ribu pemuda dari setiap negeri akan dicapai.Kita harap jangan luntur semangat dan batal hasrat menyertai himpunan tersebut walaupun telah ditukar ke stadium," kata ketuanya, Nasruddin Hassan kepada Harakahdaily hari ini.Read here for more
- Pemuda PAS Johor akan mengerahkan lebih 30 ribu ahli dan penyokong untuk hadir secara beramai-ramai ke Perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 yang akan diadakan di Stadium Merdeka, Sabtu ini.Mereka tidak perlu bimbang untuk hadir kerana himpunan itu bukan himpunan haram, sebaliknya himpunan halal yang dilindungi oleh Perkara 10 Perlembagaan Malaysia dan tidak bertentangan dengan Akta Polis 1967.Ketua Pemuda PAS Johor, Suhaizan Kaiat berkata, tambahan pula, Jawatankuasa Bersih 2.0 tidak perlu mendapat permit daripada pihak polis untuk mengadakan perhimpunan dalam stadium kerana kawasan tersebut adalah kawasan persendirian.Read here for more
- Rakyat TIDAK harus BERUNDUR tuntutan Bersih
Read here for more
Senator Mumtaz Md Nawi menyifatkan Bersih 2.0 menempa satu kejayaan awal apabila Yang di-Pertuan Agong memberikan ruang untuk mereka mengadakan perhimpunan di stadium pada 9 Julai ini.
Sambil mengucapkan tahniah kepada sekretariat Bersih 2.0 yang bersifat terbuka untuk sebarang rundingan, Mumtaz berkata, Bersih 2.0 menunjukkan pendirian yang jelas iaitu ingin memastikan lapan tuntutan mereka didengar untuk diambil tindakan.
"Ini menunjukkan sikap terbuka pihak Bersih 2.0 nak menyelesaikan isu. Ia bukan masalah nak menunjukkan bantahan sahaja.
"Kalau memang tujuan mereka nak berjalan, mereka akan teruskan di jalan raya tapi kerana tujuan untuk menyelesaikan masalah.
"Ini satu tindakan matang dan rasional pihak Bersih 2.0 dalam menghormati Yang di-Pertuan Agong, bersikap terbuka, dan sekurang-kurangnya sudah nampak satu kejayaan apabila diberi satu ruang untuk dengar tuntutannya secara terbuka," kata beliau ketika ditemui di lobi Dewan Negara hari ini.
Naib Ketua Dewan Muslimat PAS Pusat itu juga berkata, sikap Bersih 2.0 ternyata berbeza dengan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) yang sudah menutup pintu rundingan dan menafikan segala dakwaan ketidaktelusan yang berlaku.
"Kenyataan SPR seolah-olah mereka tidak akan meminda apa-apa pun. Prosedur SPR sepatutnya boleh dipertingkatkan.
"Jadi keengganan mereka untuk berikan satu ruang untuk perbincangan menyebabkan wujudnya satu gabungan yang dianggotai 80 NGO ini.
"80 NGO nak kemukakan tuntutan pun mereka seolah-olah menutup pintu perbincangan. Inilah yang tak selesai masalah," katanya.
Justeru katanya, rakyat tidak harus berundur sebaliknya turun beramai-ramai menyatakan lapan tuntutan tersebut.
"Kita mahu kuantiti (peserta himpunan) yang ramai untuk menunjukkan bahawa ada ramai yang nampak SPR tidak telus dan kita tidak boleh berundur.Kita ada ketua negara iaitu Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Bila Yang di-Pertuan Agong beri arahan begitu (berhimpunan dalam stadium) kita akur.Akurlah kerana tujuan kita bukan hanya nak menujukkan kuantiti yang ramai yang tidak berpuas hati dan mahukan perubahan tetapi yang penting kualiti dan hasilnya," katanya. - BERSIH and the Inane Responses
Read here for more in "SAKMONGKOL AK47" blog
"....By asking the elections commission to conduct itself properly shows that Bersih accepts that the means to unseat a government is through the voting system.
But the voting system is in need of better supervision and that's where the demands on the election commission come to the fore.
This aim should be supported. Some people will show their support by participating in the rally. Some will not do so. It's a matter of choice.
The right to express their wishes must be upheld by the government.
If Perkasa and other groups supportive of the sitting government are allowed to gather and demonstrate, that right must also be given to others. If the Bersih planned rally is wrong in law, then the same judgment applies to the rallies carried out by supporters of the sitting government.
Our laws are clear. If people break the law, irrespective of who they are, they must be brought to before the forces of the law. We have the institutions to deal with that and we certainly don't need a third line of defense. Can any secret society and gangster organizations apply to be a bona-fide 3rd line of defense?
The problem here is that the elections commission is seen as a pliant tool for one side of the contestants.
It doesn't answer questions with solutions but gives all sorts of excuses. People accept the principle of elections as a means to establish governments. But they also want that means to be above board. They accept they are powerless unless they act collectively and speak as a voice. The powerless are striking back demanding that competition to get power to form governments be carried out fairly and in even handed manners.
The body that oversees elections is conducted fairly and transparently is the elections commission.
We mustn't lose sight of the object of the current disputes now.
Bersih's objective is to call upon the election commissions to conduct itself as it's chartered to do. This isn't a rally threatening the sovereignty of the Agong or to strike fear at Malays.
The election commission is an independent commission. It's not just another government department answerable to the Chief Secretary or even to the PM. It's the custodian of fair and transparent conduct of elections and it must guard this role jealously. It does so jealously from the meddling and intervention of interested parties. It must also rid itself of any perceptions of being a submissive tool for those holding power at the moment.
Its responses to criticisms therefore mustn't be evasive. It has to avail itself to the latest methods and technology that upgrade the participation of people in an electoral process. If the use of indelible ink is good for participatory democracy it must adopt the method as a natural development without having to be at pains defending its non-usage. If making voting compulsory and its cost effective doing so, then it must do so.
People are now diverting their attention to debating whether the planned assembly of people in the Bersih Rally should be allowed or otherwise. The real issue has and is always the conduct of the elections commission.
The watching majority must be dismayed at the response of our police. The police with all the sophisticated instruments of crowd control and other suppressive means appear to have admitted that they are powerless to control the crowds.
What have we spent public money for then? The idea of a police is to keep the peace. In keeping the peace, it must conduct its business in a professional manner and be fair minded. If Bersih is not allowed to hold rallies, then other parties must also be disallowed.
In Penang, the police have given permit for some people to hold a rally? In Rembau, some people consisting of ex policemen were given permit? Ibrahim Ali was even given a permit to denounce a rally that has not taken place. He is a clairvoyant extraordinaire- can see the future. In ancient times, people like Ibrahim Ali got burnt at the stakes. Shall we roast Ibrahim Ali then?
Let's not forget the object of the issue. It's the election commission. It answers to the Agong and therefore should not be seen as working for an interested party. What's the problem with clearing the electoral registers off dead people? How can it apply its resources and time to restructure how postal votes can be seen to be fair and transparent? How can it monitor and apply strict rules to election spending and election funding etc.?
These are important issues to those looking at elections as a means to exercise their democratic rights to elect a government of their choice. This isn't an issue whether public demonstrations or going on a march as practices that are good only elsewhere but not suitable in Malaysia. The need to express publicly the collective wants and demands is part and parcel a democracy.
1 comment:
Since PM and HM do not respect YDP Agong, indirectly they are telling Bersih to do the same. If they do not provide the stadium as agreed and are deliberately delaying and not responding, Bersih should not fall into their game plan but proceed with the original plan of the street rally. Good suggestion, Merdeka Square is the best alternative. No need to ask for permission.
On another note, you cannot trust these UMNO politicians...perhaps, the dead ones!
Now they are playing with Bersih, passing the ball around and try to make a fool of the Bersih organizers. There is always another day to confront these UMNO political dickheads!!
Like kerala mamak kutty commented, the last resort is to go back to the street. This provisin is enshrined in the Federal Constitutions, guaranteed the right of citizens to hold peaceful demonstrations in closed or opened areas!!
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