BERSIH 3.0: No more talks with EC, says Ambiga

[pywong]

No more talks with EC, says Ambiga (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/04/06/no-more-talks-with-ec-says-ambiga/)


Syed Jaymal Zahiid (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/author/zahiid/)
| April 6, 2012
Unless Putrajaya gives a clear promise that reforms will be implemented before the 13th general election, the April 28 Bersih rally will go on.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ambiga-bersih-3.0.jpg (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/04/06/no-more-talks-with-ec-says-ambiga/attachment/ambiga-bersih-3-0/)KUALA LUMPUR: Polls reform group, Bersih’s chief S Ambiga has declared that there will be no more talks with the Election Commission (EC) and that the coalition will proceed with its planned mass “sit in” protest on April 28th.

The former Bar Council president told FMT that “it would be a waste of time” to engage the body after it failed to respond to Bersih’s demand that poll reforms be implemented before the 13th national polls are held.

The group announced on Wednesday that it would hold a nationwide “sit in” after they deemed Putrajaya’s election reform pledges a failure. The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) had issued its report on the matter on Tuesday.

Bersih detractors claimed the planned protest, dubbed “Bersih 3.0″, showed the group’s insincerity. They said the group was never keen on a diplomatic solution but wanted a street protest aimed at overthrowing the government.

Barisan Nasional lawmakers questioned the hasty decision to hold the protest and said its motive was suspect as it gave no timeline for the EC to study the report which is crucial for the recommendations to take place.

Ambiga said the only positive response tolerable would be a clear promise by Putrajaya that the reforms would be implemented by the 13th general election.

“Yes. Unless they make it clear, it is a waste of time. We will not engage the EC anymore,” she said.

Putrajaya’s move to set up a PSC came after the Najib administration grappled with widespread condemnation for its strong arm tactics against Bersih and its supporters at the July rally, forcing the government to consider the group’s demands in a move to contain a potential voter backlash.

No coup

Over 1,600 people were detained as a result, including Ambiga and scores of opposition lawmakers, but the group later declared the event a success based on the number of participants and the publicity it earned in both local and international media.

The July rally, dubbed Bersih 2.0, was the second mass protest held by the group and prior to yesterday’s announcement, talks were rife that the polls watchdog was planning to hold a third.

BN leaders said the rumours strengthened their suspicion that Bersih, backed by the federal opposition bloc Pakatan Rakyat, was planning to hold a series of street demonstrations resembling Egypt’s “Tahrir Square” uprising in a bid to unseat the ruling coalition.

They said Bersih’s complete disregard of EC’s positive response in adopting some of the Bersih-endorsed recommendations made by the PSC proved the allegation that the April 28 demonstration was made even before the report was produced.

But Ambiga said the key motivation behind Bersih 3.0 was not the overthrow of BN.

“We are not the one rushing it (protest). They are the one rushing to hold elections when the mandate only ends in 2013.

“They have all the time to implement the reforms now but they are not doing it,” she said, reiterating that the April 28 sit in will be held as a protest against Putrajaya’s lack of political will to ensure reforms are in place before the coming polls.

She also denied the group had already planned Bersih 3.0 before the PSC report was finalised although there were talks of “what their next course of action would be”.

“I had made it clear that what we do will be subject to what the PSC say”.

Bersih 3.0 will be held at the historic Dataran Merdeka and will go on from 2pm to 4pm

[pywong]

Bersih 3.0 necessary due to ‘haste’ in holding polls, Ambiga tells EC (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bersih-3.0-necessary-due-to-haste-in-holding-polls-ambiga-tells-ec/)

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
April 06, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — Bersih 2.0 has defended its planned April 28 rally, saying it is necessary as the government has not shown any commitment to implement the group’s eight reform demands before the next election.
http://www.tindakmalaysia.com/images/uploads/mugshots/ambiga-sreenevasan-april5.jpgThe election watchdog’s chairman, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan (picture), accused the government of “showing haste” in calling for elections, which she predicted would be soon, and this made Bersih’s rally even more relevant and timely.

“As I said it is the government that is showing haste in holding the elections. No one has said that the reforms Bersih 2.0 has called for will be implemented before the 13th general election. Why is that?

“We have to do this now because the elections seem to be round the corner... I strongly disagree with what Datuk Wira Wan Ahmad Wan Omar had said,” she told The Malaysian Insider.

The Election Commission (EC) deputy chairman had described Bersih’s decision to hold a third rally for free and fair elections as “hasty and rash”.

He said Bersih should have instead accepted the 22-point recommendations presented by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reforms and allowed the commission to study the recommendations first.

He questioned Bersih’s rationale in having a third rally, and pointed out that the EC itself has yet to issue a response to the PSC’s findings.

But Wan Ahmad’s remarks appeared to have irritated Ambiga, who repeatedly asked why the EC as well as the government could not “commit” to implement all key reform demands before the next general election.

“We are of the view that the key recommendations can be implemented before the 13th GE. We have even offered the help of civil society. This is a call we have been making for months.
“How can this be hasty when it appears the elections may be round the corner? That (snap polls) is hasty. If it seems like we are rushing it is because it seems they are rushing to elections without the reforms,” she stressed.

Bersih’s third rally for free and fair elections is set to go on from 2pm to 4pm at Dataran Merdeka here.

But this time, the gathering will also be joined by simultaneous events across the country, likely adding pressure to the government to accede to the group’s demand for a total reform to the country’s election processes.

Bersih’s previous rally on July 9, 2011 turned chaotic when the authorities employed huge teams of riot police, armed with water cannons and tear gas launchers, to disperse the crowd of thousands.

How can this be hasty when it appears the elections may be round the corner? That (snap polls) is hasty. If it seems like we are rushing it is because it seems they are rushing to elections without the reforms. — Ambiga Sreenevasan
The crowd had converged on the streets of the capital from the early hours of July 9, defying earlier warnings that their participation could result in arrests.

Over 1,600 people were detained as a result, including Ambiga and scores of opposition lawmakers, but Bersih 2.0 later declared the event a success based on the number of participants and the publicity it had earned in both local and international media.

The government moved quickly to enact the Peaceful Assembly Act after the event and formed the PSC on electoral reforms, but Bersih 2.0 maintains that these moves were insufficient.

Ambiga has pointed out that the PSC’s 22 recommendations had failed to deal with specific discrepancies in the electoral roll.

These include duplicate voters, overly large numbers of voters registered to a single address, the existence of deceased voters, and a suspicious spike in the number of civilian and postal voters, among many other similar irregularities.

The former Bar Council chairman also noted that the PSC had not only failed to address issues surrounding election offences and dirty politics, but also did not expressly direct the EC to implement all 22 reform recommendations in time for the 13th general election.

She said it was Bersih’s hope that national polls are not called anytime soon in order to give the government enough time to implement the reforms.

Bersih’s first rally in 2007, also for free and fair elections, has been widely credited for the 2008 political tsunami that saw Barisan Nasional (BN) lose its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority.

The ruling coalition faced a stunning defeat in five states, and the historic event led to the formation of Pakatan Rakyat (PR), a loose pact comprising the DAP, PKR and PAS.

[pywong]

Bersih to meet cops soon over rally plans (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bersih-to-meet-cops-soon-over-rally-plans/)

By Clara Chooi
April 06, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — Bersih 2.0 will seek a meeting with the police next week, its co-chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said today, expressing hope that they would offer security assistance for the coming rally.

She told The Malaysian Insider that the police have yet to contact her or any of Bersih 2.0’s leaders since the rally date was announced on Wednesday.

“But we are planning to (meet with them), very shortly, some time next week, we will.
“They have not asked to see us,” she said when contacted.
http://www.tindakmalaysia.com/images/uploads/mugshots/ambiga1-nov4.jpgAmbiga (picture), who last year was in a stand-off with the police and was even arrested over Bersih 2.0’s second such rally, repeated that the group would not compromise on the venue for this year’s protest.

“Nope. We have no alternative locations. But we are still hoping that the police will work with us to ensure that it turns out to be a peaceful event,” she said.
She stressed that Bersih 2.0’s plan was only to conduct the sit-in protest (Duduk Bantah) for two hours from 2pm to 4pm at Dataran Merdeka.

“We do not want it to go past the stipulated two-hour time frame,” she said.

Last year’s rally saw the election watchdog clash with the authorities and resulted in over 1,600 arrests both before and during the event.
The police and Home Ministry had at the time ref
used to allow Bersih 2.0 to use Merdeka Stadium for the rally, and had suggested instead that the group relocate its plans to a location outside the capital.
But Bersih 2.0 had pressed on, and despite the attempts by
the authorities on July 9 to stop participants from entering the city, the event still drew thousands to the streets.

Huge teams of riot police were then deployed to disperse protestors with tear gas and chemical-laced water but shortly after the event ended, Bersih leaders declared the rally a success