Bersih-101 East- Malaysia protest

101 East- Malaysia protest- 15 Nov 07- Part 1

101 East- Malaysia protest- 15 Nov 07- Part 2

Defiant Malaysian protesters face tear gas

Rights group urges Malaysia to probe use of force during peaceful Bersih rally

An international human rights group called Thursday for an investigation into why Malaysian police used tear gas and other force against a rare opposition-backed rally for electoral reforms.

The appeal by New York-based Human Rights Watch came as Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi praised the police action to break up the demonstration, which had been declared illegal. Malaysian law prohibits public gathering of five or more people without a police permit.

Saturday's rally was the biggest political demonstration in Malaysia in nearly a decade. Organizers said 30,000 people took part while the police put the number at 4,000. The last time so many people poured into the streets was in September 1998 when supporters of former deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim protested his dismissal from the Cabinet and ruling party by then-leader Mahathir Mohamad.

Human Rights Watch said police kicked and beat at least seven people, and dozens of those detained were denied legal counsel. Police released all of those detained after taking their statements. Police did not immediately respond to these allegations.

National police chief Musa Hassan warned Malaysians on Wednesday they face tougher action if they take part in future rallies.

A statement by Human Rights Watch said the government should set up an independent commission to probe the use of chemical-laced water cannons and tear gas to disperse demonstrators. Police also detained 245 people.

"If there was any doubt that the prime minister is more worried about political power than political rights, it was washed away with his defense of police actions against the marchers," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement.

Abdullah's remark was "as good as saying outright that he condoned violence against political critics. He should rectify this impression by immediately calling for a Royal Commission to independently examine the facts," he said.

The government did not immediately respond to the statement but Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak defended the police action, saying Wednesday they used tear gas and water cannon "only after their repeated warnings to the crowd to disperse were ignored."

He said the police were simply enforcing the law, and the use of force was "their last option."

The rally was organized by some 70 non-governmental organizations and opposition parties, which demanded the removal of phantom voters from electoral rolls, a crackdown on government workers using absentee ballots, access to state-controlled media by all political parties, and an end to vote-buying and other irregularities.

The government has denied election irregularities, saying electoral rolls have been cleaned up.

Najib also said that elections in Malaysia are transparent, and that if the elections were rigged, the opposition would not win any seats at all. Malaysia's Parliament is dominated by the ruling National Front coalition while opposition parties make up a small minority.(IHT)

Malaysia-a virtual one-party state ?

Setting aside diplomacy, the European Union's outgoing ambassador has soundly criticized Malaysia, describing it as a virtual one-party state that discriminates against minorities and foreign investors by openly favoring the majority Malay Muslims.

Law Minister Nazri Aziz dismissed the accusations by Ambassador Thierry Rommel, who left his post Tuesday after 4 1/2 years, saying he is an outsider who does not understand the country. "I treat his opinion as uninformed and ignorant," said Nazri.

Rommel's blunt message _ in a recent interview with The Associated Press _ comes as Malaysia and the 27-nation European Union are getting ready to start negotiations next year for a free trade agreement. Rommel's advice will heavily influence policy makers in the EU.

The Malaysian government is facing one of its most critical moments of the last ten years as it prepares for the 2008 general elections. Civil society groups, ethnic minorities and the opposition in parliament are united in their demands for electoral reform and greater royal intervention to guarantee justice against the authoritarianism of current Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

The reality of the widespread dissatisfaction was brought home on Saturday when, according to organisers, 40,000 protesters took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur. The authorities ended up banning the mass gathering, and police used tear gas and water canons to disperse the crowd. Some 245 people were arrested but were eventually released after posting bail. The police intervention was however criticised in many quarters, including the Catholic community.

Analysts are convinced that the prime minister’s party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), is not likely to take 90 per cent of the seats in parliament as it did in 2004.

According to Fr Lawrence Andrew, from the Catholic weekly Herald, the Bersih march shows the political and social cracks in the country’s model, highlighting how some people get preferential treatment because they are on the right side of the political divide compared to those who just stand for rights in general.

For him these initiatives are fundamental in safeguarding the supremacy of the country’s constitution, which is threatened by personal interests and Islamic law.

Abdullah's coalition is in no real danger of losing office -- he has a record majority and a peerless political machine -- but political analysts say Saturday's protest, and the prospect of more, could make him question the wisdom of an early poll.

The next election does not have to be held until early 2009.

"The time is not right for them (the government)," said Ooi Kee Beng, of Singapore's Institute of South East Asian Studies.

"There are too many things going on that have made people quite dissatisfied, if not angry, with the government. They will wait for a time when the 'feel-good factor' … is higher."

Khoo Kay Peng, who runs a local independent Web site of political commentary, said it would be risky for Abdullah to call a snap poll without dealing with the issue of electoral reform.

"Saturday's protest has awakened people's awareness," Khoo said. "Abdullah has to look at the elections and convince people that elections are fair," he added.

Saturday's protest was organised by Bersih, a coalition of opposition groups and civil societies who have united to demand a clean-up of the electoral roll, elimination of so-called "phantom voters", curbs on postal voting and equal access to the government-friendly mainstream media for all political groups.

The ruling multi-racial coalition, which has governed in several different forms since independence 50 years ago, has denied that there is a need for reform and has said Saturday's protest was an illegal assembly by opposition trouble-makers.

But the protest revealed another uncomfortable fact for the coalition, Singapore's Ooi said -- that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who helped stage it, was still a potent political foe.

"It puts Anwar back on the map in a big way," Ooi said.

"With this demonstration and the support that has been shown, he will have to be taken very seriously from now on."

Anwar, who led the 1998 "Reformasi" protests, and his supporters have promised to stage more protests on the theme of electoral reform -- one of the few issues that all opposition groups, ranging from Islamists to leftists, can agree on.

"You know in the past, we hardly appeared on the streets until we had no confidence in the police, judiciary and in the elections," Anwar told Reuters by phone this week.

"Now we have come to that stage (again)... We have exhausted all avenues, except to go to the street," he added, comparing the mood now with that of his old "Reformasi" movement.

Anwar had been dismissed publicly by both the government and some political analysts as a spent force in Malaysian politics.

The 60-year-old's political party had failed to make a dent in the ruling coalition at a recent by-election, and even foreign journalists, who once regularly attended his news conferences, had stopped turning up to hear him speak.

Now, for the first time since Anwar was released from prison three years ago, he has shown he can still pull a crowd -- and not just any crowd: Saturday's protesters were mostly Malays, the majority ethnic group and the government's core constituency.

Malays have always been Anwar's main supporters. He was once heir apparent to lead the main Malay ruling party, a step away from the prime ministership, before he was sacked from government in 1998 and jailed on what he called trumped-up charges.

"He is a figure that most opposition see as a leader to voice their demands," said Lim Guan Eng, secretary-general of the opposition Democratic Action Party, acknowledging Anwar's role in galvanising the country's disparate opposition parties.

Umno and her president could have stood tall to walk the talk, should they have truly understood the true import of the “time for parochial interests is over”. BERSIH rally calling for some urgent electoral reforms, couldn’t have been a better opportunity to ‘show-case’ their earnestness and honesty of shifting from parochialism to the bigger interest of the nation. Electoral Reforms is surely one of the critical reforms in achieving a democracy worthy of Malaysia.

Admission by none other than the Chairman of the Election Commission of the need for various electoral reforms have been repeated not once or twice but many time over. SUHAKAM similarly expressed concern over the many undemocratic practices rampant in this country as amply argued in their many publications. BERSIH is ready to join hands with anyone, any party and any organization, so as to provide a functional democracy worthy of being inherited by our grand-children and all. It surely is beyond the parochial interest of both ruling and opposition parties. It serves the national interest of every citizen in the entire society.

But alas, Umno’s parochial interest took sway of their better selves!

By outlawing and forbidding BERSIH peaceful rally, they have indeed confirmed and reaffirmed of how parochial and more-than-narrow-minded they actually are! It is again an epitome of a ‘legacy of lost opportunity’ for the president of Umno.

Be that as it may, BERSIH, now a coalition of 6 political parties and over 70 NGOs must step up their relentless effort to achieve their electoral demands before the next GE. The Umno/BN government have denied BERSIH their right to a peaceful assembly, but the rakyat are resolute and unflinching to achieve the electoral reforms!

“The Time for Parochial Interest is Over”. What say you Mr Premier? Is it really over?

Malaysia's anti-democracy

Malaysia is in a political cul-de-sac, resulting in an erosion of national institutions and the entrenchment of corruption. Recent events show that awareness of these problems is growing, but Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is politically too feeble to implement his good intentions, increasing the difficulty of reconciling the interests of the Malay/Muslim majority with the non-Muslim Chinese, Indian and indigenous groups that make up 45 percent of the population.

Public disquiet and Abdullah's own weakness were on display in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday when some 40,000 people, headed by the leaders of the three opposition parties and including former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and representatives of a wide range of NGOs, defied a government ban to march to the palace of the king, the titular head of state, to petition for clean and fair elections.

The Malaysian government's clampdown on Saturday's rally in Kuala Lumpur is predictable as far as the political constellation in place in the country is concerned.

Malaysia is still attempting to secure socio-political stability in the multi-ethnic society it badly requires to build a strong and prosperous country, as outlined in its Vision 2020. Despite his squabbling with Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and his predecessor share much in common, notably when it comes to stability.

Mahathir is an avid critic of democracy, as well as the West, but Malaysia, particularly the dominant Malay ethnic group, and Badawi owe him a lot for laying the foundation for the country's economic viability during his 20 years in power. Under Mahathir, Malaysia survived the financial crisis that swept across Asia in the late 1990s.

While no local media covered the rally, foreign news services reported that 300,000 people attended the event, making it the biggest rally in the country since 1998 and the arrest of fired deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Police said they detained 245 people who were among the crowd marching to the royal palace to hand over a letter calling for clean and fair elections.

The fact that local media exercised self-censorship in response to the rally only underlines the long-standing paradox of Malaysia, where publications are free to live without press freedom.

By any conventional standard, Malaysia remains a quasi-democracy despite the bicameral parliamentary system that has prevented an absolute monarchy from reigning.

The country maintains the draconian Internal Security Act and Official Secrets Act, which have continued to haunt the opposition or those who differ with the government, including the press.

Following the heavy handling of Saturday's protest, nobody can guarantee that the Badawi administration will not be tempted to enforce these acts to crack down on government critics and the opposition and further silence the media. The world is watching closely whether Badawi will seek another Ibrahim to be sacrificed to keep Malaysia free from noisy criticism.

While Badawi may have every reason to stifle the critics for the sake of stability, he must take into account the changing world, where sooner or later no government will be able to resist public aspirations.

Indeed, democracy has not fully taken root in the region, but it is growing fast thanks in part to the revolution in information technology. Malaysia can ban criticism against the government, but the question is for how long.

Democracy, human rights and press freedom are the keys to success in today's world. Unfortunately, Malaysia, as well as other developing nations, is afraid to give this recipe a try.


Broken promises !

Abdullah came to power in late 2003, promising greater transparency and to fight the country's endemic graft. However, the general perception is that he has failed to deliver and there is a growing sense as he becomes entrenched in power that he no longer intends to. He has retained a number of high-ranking officials widely suspected of corruption. The anti-corruption agency remains under the purview of the ruling government. Critics also charge Abdullah with neglecting to address judicial corruption and electoral fraud and other cases of official abuse and neglect.

Malaysia's race-based political landscape means agendas often play out along ethnic lines. Saturday's protest witnessed the participation of a large number of members from the opposition, the ethnic Malay-dominated, Islamic PAS party, which apart from running on a clean governance platform would like to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state. But a much broader swath of Malaysian society was represented - activists, ordinary citizens, young, old, Indian, Malay, Chinese. Police expressed alarm at the large number of children present, state media reported.

"It was a citizens' event involving an issue that is quite universal," said activist Tian Chua. The last time Malaysians took to the street on such a scale was during the reformasi movement in 1998 after the nation's then deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was sacked after challenging former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad's hold on power and later received a black eye from a beating in jail by police chief Rahim Noor.

Public participation in the political process waned sharply after reformasi, however. Indeed, a much overlooked consequence of the period is that the government has used that tumultuous turn of events to repel many Malaysians from being active stakeholders of the national development process. The ruling elite now often brands those vocalizing dissatisfaction with official policy short-sighted troublemakers intent on destabilizing the nation, and many Malaysians today echo that government line.

The government's rhetoric of fear and intimidation was employed once again during Saturday's protest. For instance, Abdullah was quoted as saying, "They are challenging the patience of the people who want the country to be peaceful and stable." Anonymously sent text messages warned people to stay away from Freedom Square, where an "illegal anti-government" rally would be held. It was illegal in the sense that gatherings of more than five people require a police permit and organizers were unable to obtain one on the grounds that it would block traffic and disturb business.

The New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said in a statement, "If Malaysia wants to count itself a democracy, it can begin by upholding constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly. The way the system works now, only the ruling coalition can get its messages out."


Open letter to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Beth Yahp
Nov 13, 07 5:12pm

Dear Prime Minister,

Sept 26 saw 2,000 lawyers at the ‘Walk for Justice’ to defend the good name and protest the sliding standards of their profession. “When lawyers march,” said Ambiga Sreenevasan, president of the Bar Council, “something must be wrong.”

Last Saturday (Nov 10), 40,000 people from all walks of life and ages walked through the rain-drenched Kuala Lumpur, skirting roadblocks, locked LRT stations, FRU batons, tear gas and water cannons, as well as weeks of misinformation and propaganda spread through the mainstream media and hacked alternative media. They marched to show their disappointment in the current electoral system and their hopes for reform.

Malaysian citizens travelled for hours through the night from all over the country to play cat-and-mouse in Kuala Lumpur with an intimidating array of security forces whose role was clearly not to secure our safety.

I saw men, armed only with shouted slogans, beaten with batons and shields and thrown to the ground. I saw an old woman in a wheelchair halted by a barricade of troops, wielding a deafening siren at her ears. I saw a child clinging to his mother’s shoulders being crushed back and back. He looked terrified and rightly so.

This was at Jalan Mahameru, not Masjid Jamek where in spite of what IGP Musa Hassan described as police “restraint” (Sunday Star, Nov 11), unarmed marchers including journalists were beaten, tear-gassed and bombarded by chemical-laced water cannons. At Jalan Mahameru, we faced two rows of riot police smashing batons against their shields. I saw and photographed people dropping to the ground around me.

This should be the journalist’s privilege; to be allowed to witness and report the uncensored fruits of that act of witnessing. But in this country, the journalists and their editors are not even afforded this or any other kind of professional privileges and protection in order to carry out their jobs according to the journalists’ Code of Ethics. That is, among other things, to pursue factual accuracy and report objectively, without fear or favour.

Instead, journalism in Malaysia seems to be ruled by a Code of Fear and Favour. Here, our mainstream journalists and editors are directly or indirectly on the state’s payroll and are therefore accountable to the state. Those who aren’t are kept on a tight leash of precarious licences and legislation designed to pit self-censorship against financial ruin. Which the bosses will prioritise is a no-brainer.

It seems to me that our media professionals do their best to navigate these treacherous waters, getting by in terms of professional pride through little acts of bravery, defiance and subterfuge. The travesty of it is that, in a true democracy, they shouldn’t have to.

Our journalists and editors should not have to find themselves in the pitiful position of being cowed mouthpieces of the state, obediently failing to report once a news blackout is ordered or “reporting” factual inaccuracies of an astounding magnitude.

Like most of your state controlled media, Prime Minister Abdullah, Sunday Star reported only the IGP’s version of Saturday’s events. Journalism 101 requires a range of eyewitnesses to describe an event objectively. And yet only your ministers were allowed air-time; only aggrieved shopkeepers were interviewed and photos of traffic jams published to support our deputy PM’s lament that the march only served to disrupt traffic, create loss of business and “mar the general perception others have of our society.”

The police were depicted as being “forced” to use their batons, boots, shields, helmets, trucks, water cannons and helicopters against unarmed men, women and children (New Sunday Times, Nov 11).

This reconstruction of reality is one that I and 40,000 other marchers do not recognise. In spite of what we saw and experienced, we are told that we were only 4,000 in number and that 245 of us were detained as opposed to the 24 I later saw released at IPK (police contingent headquarters) in Kuala Lumpur. It was later reported in the NST (Nov 12) that the majority of detentions were pre-emptive, taking place outside Kuala Lumpur the day before. The reasons for arrest included being in possession of yellow T-shirts and bandanas.

Yes, there were massive traffic jams in KL that day and yes, I saw shopkeepers hurriedly pull down their shutters but only when the FRU and police amassed in battle formations at Central Market. However, logic tells us that the traffic jams were caused by numerous police roadblocks and other hindrances to public transport as much as by our march which was marshalled and orderly.

We were constantly told to keep to the pavements, not to throw rubbish, not to disrupt public property and even not to trample on plants along our way. Many people stuck in jams wound down their windows as we passed, smiling and shaking our hands. Others looked annoyed, of course.

I am sitting at my local late night kopitiam as I write this. It is filled with college students chatting and watching football with their teh tarik and cigarettes. I can see how successful your media machinery is, Prime Minister, from what they say. They use the word “riots” to talk about the march, when even a police spokesman described the event as, for the most part, peaceful (RTM2 news, Nov 10).

This is no surprise given the propaganda clips that have been running as a part of news bulletins on RTM1 and RTM2 for the past few months, intercutting flag-burning with demonstrators getting their heads bashed. These, as any advertising professional will confirm, effectively equates demonstrations of any sort with escalating acts of violence on both sides. “Ini bukan budaya kita” are the stern words of warning.

On TraxxFM, I have heard an oddly outstanding song about democracy being played frequently, a lullaby, sung in a soothing paternal voice, about how taking democracy to the streets leads to a loss of self-respect and violence which is not our way. This song is in stark contrast to the ones TraxxFM’s hip and humourous DJs usually play.

This psychological embedding seems odd, Prime Minister, in the year that we celebrate our 50 years of independence which was won by our forefathers who took their struggle for freedom, equality and justice to the streets, media and the discussion tables. They did so peacefully then, as we did so last Saturday.

Prime Minister Abdullah, one of the reasons we marchers; men, women, children, and even incapacitated old folks, braved confrontation in the streets of Kuala Lumpur last Saturday was to call for “equal access to the media” as part of Bersih’s push for electoral reforms. Other proposed changes include the use of indelible ink, clean electoral rolls and the abolition of untraceable postal votes.

I did not wear yellow on the march because even though I’m a sympathiser with the struggle for electoral reform, I am also a witness to both sides of the story. I wore my yellow ribbon of “press freedom” proudly, even though I am not a journalist. I am still wearing it now with the poignant realisation that I can only write this letter, without fear or favour, precisely because I am not a mainstream Malaysian journalist. Of course, whether any of your editors will publish it or not is entirely a different matter.

That little scrap of ribbon, like the seemingly frail ribbon of marchers patiently weaving their way from all over the city to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s palace last Saturday, is symbolic of something far larger and far more important than our aching legs, bruises or shivers caused by sitting uncomplainingly in the rain while the Bersih leaders delivered our memorandum to the King.

It symbolises what you have repeatedly encouraged us to celebrate and embrace: our “Merdeka Spirit” that causes the rakyat to come out in spite of fear and intimidation, to show their grave concern when the state of things seems very wrong indeed. This is, despite attempts at historical revisionism, a part of our Malaysian culture.

With all due respect, Prime Minister, your admonition on the eve of the march, “Saya pantang dicabar”, is a rather odd thing for the leader of a democratic nation to say, given that the basic rule of democracy is the right of all citizens to challenge and to defend. Everyone is entitled to this right, whether in their living rooms or in Parliament.

Challenges and debates also constantly take place in the media whose fundamental role is to provide factual information and objective viewpoints by journalists and editors, as well as to allow equal access to publication and broadcast by proponents from either side of any argument. Only in this way can we, ordinary citizens, partake in democracy. Only then can we weigh up differing statements and opinions against accountable facts. We may be allowed to vote, yes, but how can we choose effectively without freedom of media access and information?

When this integral pillar of any democratic system is obstructed and belittled as it is in Malaysia, we cannot claim to live in a democracy. Our mainstream media then becomes merely a tool of the state used to hoodwink, brainwash and intimidate the people it should rightly be serving. Instead, we, the people, are spoon-fed, led and expected to go quietly like sheep to any foregone conclusion.

If we beg to differ, offer alternative information and viewpoints or even protest, we are called beruk (monkey). I rather think it preferable to be a monkey; curious, inventive and mischievous, than a sheep trotting meekly to my pen or to the slaughterhouse, nose pointed to the ground.

Prime Minister, we are indeed not Pakistan or Myanmar, as your Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin blustered on Al Jazeera (Nov 10) accusing them of presenting a contrary view to what has appeared on our Malaysian news and of only talking to the opposition, not government representatives - even as they were interviewing him.

This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black since almost no opposition figures are allowed to speak in our mainstream media although their images are used in conjunction with images of street violence, for example, to influence viewers’ opinions about them.

“Malaysia… is a democratic country,” Zainuddin fumed. But based on your state’s handling of the rakyat’s peaceful march last Saturday, Prime Minister, and your own media coverage prior to and about the actual event, it is hard to entirely agree.

Unfortunately for Malaysia, this is the perception that will be further broadcast internationally by journalists and editors who are, fortunately, less muzzled than their mainstream Malaysian colleagues.

Therefore, Prime Minister Abdullah, I sincerely urge you and your government, as our democratically elected leaders, to ‘Walk the talk’ and unmuzzle our journalists, editors and broadcasters. I entreat you to fully and fairly endorse and practice democracy in our country. That is, democracy for everyone, not just a powerful few.

(The writer is author of prize-winning novel, 'The Crocodile Fury', which has been translated and published in several languages.)

(Taken fom Malaysiakini- letter to the Editor.)

Malaysians Want Their Country Back

Malaysia saw its biggest anti-government rally in nearly a decade at the weekend, suggesting that the government of Abdullah Badawi could face a tougher time at the next general election than its landslide victory in 2004.

The opposition coalition wants an overhaul of what it says are unreliable voter lists and biased media coverage that favours the government.

The demonstration in the country’s capital was the latest challenge to PM Abdullah's government, which has been criticised for failing to tackle corruption and promoting the interests of the country's ethnic Malay majority at the expense of the Chinese and Indian minorities.

Analysts believe that the government will fail to achieve the same level of support that it received in the 2004 elections, when it gained more than 90 per cent of the parliamentary seats.

An election setback could weaken support within the ruling United Malays National Organisation for Abdullah's economic reforms, including the restructuring of state companies and the creation of special economic zones that repeal many of the affirmative action provisions for ethnic Malays.

The protesters at the weekend demonstration wore yellow, the colour of royalty, in a plea for the royal aristocracy to reassert its influence on politics. Several royal family members have called for a relaxation of the autocratic rule that was established by Mahathir Mohamad,Abdullah's predecessor.

The Prime Minister said the illegal gathering of thousands of people that ended with a memorandum being handed over to an Istana Negara official was an attempt by the opposition to “trap” the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“I believe the King is more mature. The royalty understands and will not be trapped by their (the opposition’s) politics,” he said after opening the Parti Bersatu Sabah 22nd congress yesterday.

Insults were rained on the opposition in the Dewan Rakyat today over the massive rally held in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend. The minister goes ballistic over the mammoth weekend rally. Apart from calling the opposition 'wimps', he also says that the 'wires in their heads are severed' according to Malaysiakini.


A Wake-Up Call for the Government: Malaysians Want Their Country Back

That elections should be free, fair and transparent is perhaps one of the most basic requirements of any working democracy, and to demand that elections should be free, fair and transparent is perhaps one of the most fundamental rights of any society. When citizens demand such things it can and should be seen as an act of civic responsibility and they should be commended for it. Indeed, it ought to be seen as a test of civic participation and citizenship that all citizens should demand that their state works and functions properly and accountably, to serve the interest of the nation as a whole and not a select coterie of landed elites and entrenched class interests.

That was exactly what happened in the streets of Kuala Lumpur on 10th November and for that reason alone Malaysians should be proud to say that they are in the process of reclaiming the state and demanding their country back. As in the cases of Pakistan and Burma – as well as the pro-democracy movements that swept across Southeast Asia in the 1980s and 1990s which led to the fall of dictators like Ferdinand Marcos and General Suharto – what happened in Malaysia was, in many ways, a landmark moment in the country’s postcolonial history.

Yet ironically elements in the Malaysian government – the very same elements that ostensibly supported the recent pro-democracy campaign in Burma – were at the forefront of demonising their fellow citizens and doing their utmost to prevent the demonstration in Kuala Lumpur from taking place. Leaders of the ruling UMNO party issues a continuous stream of warnings to the general public, warning them not to take to the streets. UMNO leaders and members who were willing to join in the rallies calling for democratic reform in Burma were suddenly taking the opposite side when the very same demands were being articulated in Malaysia by their fellow Malaysians. Malaysians were told that they would be arrested if they attended the rally; that the demonstrators were a nuisance and a security threat; that the demonstration would deter foreign investment into Malaysia. Yet the mind boggles at the logic of such arguments, when it should be clear that what is deterring investment into the country is not public demonstrations but rather mismanagement of the economy, allegations of corruption and abuse of power by the elite instead....more

- Written by Farish A. Noor

RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: Rally Defies Police Ban to Demand Poll Reforms

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (IPS) - Tens of thousands of people defied riot police, water cannon and pouring rain to march through the capital city, on Saturday, to demand electoral and other reforms and deliver a strong rebuff to Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

On Friday Badawi had issued a stern warning that he would brook no challenge to his rule and officials said anybody around Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square), the planned venue of the protest gathering, would be arrested.

That made the turnout of over 50,000 people, sloshing through muddy grass verges by the highway, all the more impressive as they engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with police armed with water cannons and batons.

Demonstrators have been streaming into the city over the past two days in cars and buses despite police roadblocks. It was the biggest demonstration Kuala Lumpur has seen since an impromptu highway protest in 2000, at the height of the reformasi (pro-reform) movement.

This time, a few of the old familiar faces were there in the crowd -- along with younger Malaysians. But the chants were a little different: ‘‘Bersih, bersih (Clean up, clean up)!’’; ‘‘Daulat Tuanku (Long live the King)!’’; ‘‘Hidup Rakyat (Long live the people)!’’ -- apart from the original battle cry, ‘‘Reformasi!’’

Quick-witted organisers outfoxed the police. When the police cordons and water cannons made the original venue and four alternative nearby venues difficult to reach, organisers decided to lead the crowd straight to the palace to submit a memorandum. Along the highway, however, riot police blocked the route to the palace. But tens of thousands of demonstrators took over the entire highway, blocking traffic and sitting down on the road in an hour-long standoff with riot police perched atop their red trucks.

Overhead the clatter from two helicopters drowned out parts of the opposition leaders’ speeches. After some negotiations, several opposition party leaders were allowed to walk through riot police lines to submit a joint memorandum to a palace official representing the Yang Di Pertuan Agong (Malaysia’s paramount constitutional monarch).

For days, police and ruling coalition officials had warned the public not to take part in the demonstrations, which they deemed illegal because a permit that the organisers had applied for had been denied. The rally was organised by Bersih (Clean), a coalition of 60 civil society organisations supported by five opposition parties demanding electoral reforms.

Internet websites and blogs such as Malaysia Today played a major role in publicising the event. Bersih is demanding the use of indelible ink to mark voters who have already cast their ballots, a clean up of the electoral rolls, an end to postal votes (used mainly by police and military personnel and often favouring the ruling coalition), and fair access to the media for all parties during election campaigns. The Election Commission had earlier conceded to the demand for indelible ink.

Opposition politicians and activists have complained in the past of phantom voters, vote-buying, unfair redrawing of constituency boundaries, unfair media coverage, and transfers of voters from one area to another.

It was difficult to estimate the actual turnout as thousands were gathered in spots all over central Kuala Lumpur trying to join the main crowd. Many entered the city by light rail trains as roads to the city were jammed due to roadblocks and checkpoints. About half of them were clad in yellow T shirts, representing the colour of press freedom -- and also the colour of Malaysia’s royalty. The demonstrators were good natured and peaceful. They waved at sullen-faced riot police armed with machine guns and batons in passing trucks and they waved defiantly at the two helicopters buzzing overhead.

‘‘What,10,000? 20,000? 50,000? 100,000 or more? It doesn't matter. The point is, we made our point,’’ said Atsanee, a visitor who left a comment on the Malaysia Today website-cum-blog. "And we saw the Police and FRU (riot police) manning all the entry points to the city. They actually paralysed the city because of their own fear.’’ And what was the point? ‘‘The demonstrators have sent the strongest message (to the Abdullah administration) that we need free and fair elections,’’ human rights campaigner Latheefa Koya told IPS outside the National Mosque, where the crowd later converged.

Apart from the tear-gassing by the police, the rally was peaceful, well-organised and attended by people from all walks of life, she observed. Over 20 people were arrested although a few were reportedly released shortly after. But it was not just about electoral reforms, as people turned up for a host of pent-up grievances. ‘‘It’s a show of strength about the unhappiness about the state of governance... the racialism, the corruption, the state of the judiciary and the threats to arrest people,’’ said women’s rights activist Cecilia Ng.

Many are also finding the rising cost of living, including higher food and fuel prices, tough to bear. ‘‘It is because the Barisan Nasional (ruling coalition) government does not want the people of Malaysia to witness how upset and unhappy many Malaysians are … that is the sole reason that they had brought in their mighty strength represented by the police and the FRU with the sole purpose of disrupting the gathering,’’ said P. Ramakrishnan, president of the country’s oldest human rights group, ‘Aliran’.

‘‘What took place today was a peaceful, democratic and legitimate exercise undertaken by concerned Malaysians to seek a remedy for our tainted, lopsided elections.’’ The truth is that there has never been equal opportunity to fight clean and fair in the general elections, which the ruling United Malays National Organisation has always won since Independence, he pointed out. ‘‘It has been always tilted in favour of the Barisan Nasional, which abuses state facilities and state coffers to entice the electorate -- and that must be seen by any impartial observer as clearly constituting corruption.’’

By Anil Netto

(Click on images for related news stories)

BERSIH Rally: A Waste of Our Taxes, why ?

Tear gas fired at Malaysia rally

clipped from english.aljazeera.net Tear gas fired at Malaysia rally Malaysian police have fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of activists at an opposition-backed rally in the capital Kuala Lumpur. The rally on Saturday was organised by activists demanding changes to the electoral system ahead of general elections expected early next year. Thousands of demonstrators in the city centre were stopped by a police cordon as they tried to march to the Merdeka [Independence] Square, the planned location of the rally.

Roadblocks and barricades were placed around the city on Saturday. A permit for the rally was refused by police.

"We will not hesitate to take action against those who defied our orders," Zul Hasnan Najib, Kuala Lumpur's police chief, said on Saturday.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the prime minister, said on Friday that the government would not tolerate street demonstrations.

"They are challenging the patience of the people who want the country to be peaceful and stable. That is what they are challenging, not me," he said at his ruling party meeting.

The protesters, organised by Bersih (Clean), a loose coalition of 26 opposition parties and non-governmental organisations, have said they would hold the rally despite the police ban.

Opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim, who was jailed for participation in the 1998 protest, was expected to lead the rally.

The opposition says that the electoral process disproportionately favours Abdullah's ruling coalition.
(Source: Al Jazeera and agencies)

Malaysia police turn water cannon on protesters
By Sayed Salahuddin, Reuter

Excerpt :

"Hundreds of policemen, including riot police with shields and batons, guarded Kuala Lumpur's landmark Merdeka (Freedom) Square, where tens of thousands of people had planned to gather in one of Malaysia's biggest anti-government rallies since 1998.

"Police sprayed water cannons twice to disperse a crowd of about 500 protesters chanting slogans," said a Reuters witness who watched the incident outside a mosque guarded by about 50 riot police, while helicopters hovered overhead."

"Nearby, another group of around 500 protesters, chiefly teenagers wearing yellow T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Bersih", or "Clean" in Malay, marched in heavy rain towards the city's colonial-era railway station.

They chanted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) and "Reformasi", a reform demand that was the war chant of 1998 opposition protests, while waving banners reading "Save Malaysia" and "Election Commission, stop your tricks"."

"Opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim said he was happy with the turnout, despite the government's condemnation of the protest.

"It is a good signal that Malaysians want freedom and democracy and want free and fair elections," the former deputy prime minister told reporters.

"Now we have no option but to appeal to his majesty," Anwar said after he and several opposition colleagues, including Hadi Awang of the hardline Islamist Parti Islam-se Malaysia and Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party, submitted their list."

"Police detained about a dozen protesters and effectively shut down the city centre, using barricades on main roads to halt cars and turn away protesters, witnesses said.

"We will not hesitate to take action against those who defied our orders," state news agency Bernama quoted city police chief Zul Hasnan Najib as saying before the demonstration began.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Friday the government would not tolerate street protests. "They are challenging the patience of the people who want the country to be peaceful and stable," he said."

Global human rights group slammed Malaysia for banning rally on free elections

Police yesterday issued a final warning against the proposed illegal assembly at Dataran Merdeka tomorrow.

City police chief Datuk Zul Hasnan Najib Baharudin yesterday told a press conference: "We will act if it goes on."

For the past week, police had held three meetings with the organiser of the rally which, according to reports, will attract almost 100,000 demonstrators.

The organiser, Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih), plans to gather the crowd at Dataran Merdeka at 3pm after which they will make their way to Istana Negara to hand in a memorandum to the king.

They are calling for a "free and clean elections". The demonstrators have been told to wear yellow on that day.


A global human rights group slammed the Malaysian government Friday for banning an opposition-backed rally that organizers say will attract tens of thousands of activists calling for free elections.

Malaysian law bans public gatherings of more than five people without a permit. National police chief Musa Hassan has denied permission for Saturday's planned rally, saying it would "jeopardize public order." Police have also said the rally would inconvenience motorists.

"The grounds for refusing the rally are nonsense," Brad Adams, Asia director at the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

"If Malaysia wants to count itself a democracy, it can begin by upholding constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly. The way the system works now, only the ruling coalition can get its messages out," he said.

Activists say elections in Malaysia are generally tilted in favor of the ruling National Front coalition because of gerrymandering, or redrawing of constituencies that weeds out known opposition supporters. There are also frequent allegations of vote buying and other irregularities, including the use of public resources by the ruling parties and bias by the Election Commission.

The National Front, a coalition of various parties representing Malaysia's different races — the majority Malays and minority Chinese, Indians and others — has been in power since independence in 1952.


Bersih can take police to court

1. On the police’s rejection of the application to hold the Bersih assembly and procession on the grounds that “certain groups would take the opportunity to foment trouble” and that the “demonstration will create public disorder”:

This matter falls under the section 27 (2) of the Police Act; but it must be read in conjunction with Article 10 of the Federal Constitution and section 141 of the Penal Code:

i) The officer-in-charge pursuant to Article 10 of the Constitution has to approve applications by citizens to assemble peaceably without arms.

ii) However, he may withhold or withdraw the approval, pursuant to section 27(2), if and only if, pursuant to section 141 Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), “the common object of the persons composing that assembly is to overawe by criminal force, or show of criminal force, the Legislative or Executive Government of Malaysia; or to resist the execution of any law, or of any legal process; or to commit any mischief or criminal trespass, or other offence.”

iii) As the organisers have given ample assurances to the police as to the order and safety of the assembly, they have therefore provided all reasonable evidence for the KL police chief in order for him to be “satisfied that the assembly, meeting or procession is not likely to be prejudicial to the interest of the security … or to excite a disturbance of the peace” [section 27(2)], therefore this ground for rejecting permit put forth by the police is without legal basis.

In light of the above, it is submitted that disapproving the issuance of a permit would be ultra vires Article 10 of the Constitution and derogating from section 27 (2) of the Police Act and section 141 of the CPC.

2. On the grounds that Bersih is an unregistered body, and therefore contravening section 27(2D):

i) Bersih comprises members from the political parties (PKR, DAP and PAS), as well as representatives from the following NGOs - Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), Women’s Development Collective (WDC) and Writers Alliance for Media Independence (Wami) - all registered bodies pursuant of section 4-8 of the Societies Act 1966 (revised 1987).

Therefore, it is submitted that, if the appeal submitted by PKR, one of the registered bodies who are also members of Bersih, is rejected by the commissioner of police, he would be acting ultra vires Article 10 of the Constitution and further cannot invoke section 27(2D) of the Police Act.

3. On the grounds that the assembly will cause inconvenience to road users:

i) According to section 21(1) of the Police Act; “It shall be the duty of police officers -

a) to regulate, control and divert any traffic;

b) to keep order on public roads, streets, thoroughfares … to which the public have access; and

c) to prevent obstruction on the occasions of assemblies and processions on public roads and streets, and in any case, when any road, street, thoroughfare … may be thronged or liable to be obstructed.”

Therefore, it is submitted that, the police, in stating the above grounds for rejection of application, are in derogation of section 21(1) (a-c).

Conclusion: If the appeal on the application to hold a peaceful assembly is rejected, the aggrieved party can and should file a writ of certioriari seeking judicial review by the High Court.

This would be a ‘test case’ and should the court find in favour of Bersih, it would thereby set a new precedent on the right to peaceful assembly and thus pave the way for future peaceful assemblies to be held without interference from the executive or its authorities.

Taken from Malaysiakini 'Letters to the Editor', written by Aneel David Kannabhiran.