BERSIH: Leaders must watch their words

 L to R: Saari Sungib, Ronnie, Wan Azizah, Dr Syed Azman and Yap Swee Seng were talking to Aleyasak Hamid, 31. He was pushed, kicked and thrown into the police truck by a uniform police at Jalan Tun Perak (near Dataran Merdeka) on Saturday’s peaceful gathering of 100,000 organised by BERSIH. His left leg was broken badly and he needed at least 3 to 6 minths to recover according to his doctor.

This is a solid proof of police brutalities on “Yellow Walkers” on Saturday.

The IGP and the PM must apologise to Sdr Aleyasak Hamid for the brutalities. BERSIH will get a lawyer to assist Sdr Aleyasak Hamid to bring the culprits to courts.

I told the press this afternoon that that all political leaders and police officers must watch their words in future. I said that PM Abdullah and the KL CPO who uttered harsh words before the peaceful gatherings {such as ” Saya pantang dicabar”( I hate being challenged) ; ” tindakan keras akan diambil (harsh actions will be taken)} would have influenced the police officers in the ground to act violently and therefor they must be held responsible for Aleyasak’s injury.

Before visit Aleyasak in Datuk Keramat, Sivarasa , Dr Syed Azman and I went to the Commercial Crime Department in Bukit Perdana , Jalan Datuk Onn to give our statements on BERSIH. We were called up by the police based on three police reports against BERSIH. Since all three reports were made on the same day i.e. Oct 25, and citing similar grounds( BERSIH is unregistered) , we believe the action was orchestrated by our political foes.

In my statement, I said that BERSIH is a coalition and therefore the question of not registered as a society does not arise. I gave the Coalition for Peace (Aman Malaysia) as an example.

三人同日不同地点举报 净选盟疑有人幕后操纵 ■日期／Nov 15, 2007   ■时间／04:24:14 pm ■新闻／家国风云   ■作者／Merdekareview 曾薛霏 【本刊曾薛霏撰述】干净与公平选举联盟（Bersih，净选盟）的三名代表今天到武吉阿曼警察总部商业罪案调查组录口供，才知道有三名公众人士曾于10月25日在雪州三个不同地点报案，宣称担心11月10日举行的“万人诉求公平选举和平大集会”将引发混乱；不过，净选盟发现三份报案书的内容和语法相近，怀疑慕后有人操纵。 武吉阿曼警察总部商业罪案调查组早前传召净选盟的四名秘书处成员今天录口供，其中三人今天到案时，该组助理警监安然（ACP Amran）向他们出示三份报案书，并说警方是根据这三份报案书调查上周六举行的大集会。 这三份报案书是由两名巫裔、一名印裔于10月25日在雪兰莪州不同地点投报；由于三份报案书不但在同一天报案，而且内容和语法相近，因此怀疑幕后有人操纵报案。 被传召录口供的人民公正党全国副主席西华拉沙（Sivarasa Rasiah，左图）说：“警方出示三份报案书给我们看，令人惊讶的是，报案书的内容和语法很接近，而且都在10月25日同一天投报。” 当记者指出民众报案时，大集会尚未举行，西华拉沙笑说：“是啊，报案书的写法是，担心这场集会将引起混乱。” 由于如今的话题焦点已转移到净选盟的游行上，反而忽略了净选盟的选举改革诉求，西华拉沙一再重申，净选盟号召游行是要行使自由集会的权利及推动公平和干净的选举，不应转移焦点。 民主行动党非政府组织事务秘书刘天球（右图）表示：“净选盟的目标只有一个，就是要干净和公平的选举制度；我们可以从很多例子看到，选举委员会本身并不中立，譬如，选委会最近没有通知怡保东区国会议员林吉祥，就搬进了一万名新选民进入该选区，而且其中三千人是军警。我们知道，怡保东区并没有军营，也没有新的警察局，何来那么多军警投票？” 此外，刘天球也指出，在2004年大选时，选委会临时在雪兰莪州延长两小时投票时间，乃违法决策。 净选盟的四大诉求为：一、采用不褪色油墨；二、废除军警投票，因为缺乏透明度；三、清理选民册；四、公平使用媒体。目前选委会只答应在来届大选采用不褪色油墨。上周六的“万人诉求公平选举和平大集会”，四万至五万人共同步行到国家皇宫，呈交备忘录给国家元首，请求国家元首行使宪法权力，在选制改革完成之前，不解散国会。 调查净选盟是否非法组织 今早10时，净选盟秘书处三位成员人民公正党副主席西华拉沙（Sivarasa Rasiah）、回教党中委赛阿兹曼（Syed Azman）和民主行动党中委刘天球，由各自的代表律师苏廉德兰（N.Surendran）、张国伟及尤斯马迪（Yusmadi Yusoff）陪同，到武吉阿曼警察总部商业罪案调查组录口供，他们分别由该组助理警监安然盘问。安然也告诉他们，警方将援引《1966年社团法令》第42条款调查净选盟是不是合法组织。 《1966年社团法令》（Societies Act 1966）第42条款阐明，任何管理或协助经营非法组织的人，罪成成立可被判监禁不超过五年或罚款不超过一万五千元，或两者兼施。 西华拉沙录口供后，在警察总部外对记者说，他录口供时向警方汇报净选盟的资料和活动，并重申净选盟是合法的。 他说：“净选盟成立以后，其运作都非常具有透明度，如果任何人想要知道净选盟的资讯，都可以通过净选盟的网站查知。指净选盟乃非法联盟的指控并无根据，而且净选盟也不是我国第一个联盟，例如废除内安法令联盟（GMI），还有前首相倡立的‘马来西亚和平联盟’（Malaysians for Peace）。” 净选盟将于本周六推介“黄色星期六”（Yellow Saturday），呼吁人民每周六穿戴黄色，继续支持选举制度改革诉求。

Police quiz Bersih leaders Soon Li Tsin Nov 15, 07 6:53pm Malaysiakini Three Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) leaders were quizzed on the legality of the organisation during their meeting with the Commercial Crimes Department in Kuala Lumpur today.PKR vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah, DAP NGO bureau chief Ronnie Liu and PAS central committee member Dr Syed Azman Nawawi – all of whom are Bersih committee members – were questioned for an hour. Contacted later, Sivarasa said they were asked on the status of the coalition based on several police reports that were lodged on Oct 25. “One of them was by a Rela (volunteer corp) officer who said that the rally organised by Bersih (last Saturday) could endanger the public,” he related. The three Bersih leaders met investigating officer ASP Amran Jusin at about 10.30am after receiving notices from the police two days ago. Another Bersih leader PAS vice-president Mohamad Sabu was not feeling well and did not attend the questioning session. The meeting was the committee’s first after a series of postponements. Just like Peace Malaysia Sivarasa said they were asked to explain what Bersih is about and the police officers had tried to gather more information about the rally. “I told them a coalition is just a body made up of many other organisations and parties. Also, if they wanted more information about Bersih, they can visit the website. “I explained by giving examples like the Peace Malaysia coalition started by (Education Minister) Hishammuddin Hussein. It’s a not about the people in it but the campaign message,” he said. Peace Malaysia is an Umno Youth-led coalition of NGOs, youth bodies, political parties, students, professionals and others with the common goal of pursuing world peace in the wake of the Iraq war.  Bersih – launched in November 2006 – is a coalition of five political parties and 67 civil society groups campaigning for electoral reforms. Sivarasa, Azman and Liu were interrogated by different officers in separate rooms. They were represented by lawyers N Surendran, Jonson Chong and Yusmadi Yusoff. Surendran later told the press that Bersih was being investigated under Section 42 of the Societies Act whereby office-bearers of an unlawful society maybe subjected to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to a fine not exceeding RM15,000 or both. About 30 supporters had gathered at the Commercial Crimes Department located on Bukit Perdana carrying banners and placards. The weekend gathering organised by Bersih saw some 40,000 people taking to the streets. SPECIAL REPORT: Bersih’s Nov 10 mass rally 商業罪案調查組 向淨選盟3成員錄口供 SinChew Daily updated:2007-11-15 18:14:41 MYT （吉隆坡訊）武吉阿曼商業罪案調查組已開始對乾淨與公平選舉聯盟（Bersih）進行調查，並在今日（週四，11月15日）早上傳召3名反對黨領袖錄取口供。 這3人是人民公正黨副主席西華拉沙、民主行動黨全國中委劉天球和回教黨中委賽阿茲曼。他們於早上10時35分在3名律師和支持者陪同下，到拿督翁路的商業罪案調查總部錄取口供，前後約1個小時。 西華拉沙和劉天球過後對記者說，他們受傳召主要是有人曾在10月25日分別向吉隆坡3間警局包括蕉賴警局報案，指乾淨與公平選舉聯盟是一個非法組織，而11月10日主辦的大集會可能會引起混亂，因此，警方已援引社團法令42條文調查。 他們說，他們告訴了查案警官安南助理警監有關乾淨與公平選舉聯盟的地位與角色，乾淨與公平選舉聯盟是在去年11月由70個團體包括政黨和非政府組織組成，所有活動都是公開的。 他們強調，乾淨與公平選舉聯盟是由多個註冊團體和政黨組成的聯盟，沒有招收個人會員，因此無需註冊，只有團體才要註冊。 西華拉沙和劉天球也指出，乾淨與公平選舉聯盟將從這個周六開始，每逢星期六展開“黃色星期六運動”。 （星洲日報•2007.11.15）   Hawker: Police broke my knee during rally

Fauwaz Abdul Aziz Nov 15, 07 12:27pm Malaysiakini

Aleyasak Hamid Ali Hassan, a pisang goreng seller, offers incontrovertible proof that police had used excessive force in dispersing the Bersih rally for electoral reform in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday. A bystander whose curiosity got the better of him, his left knee was broken and crushed “by police officers” in the crackdown on protesters gathering in the vicinity of Masjid Jamek.”I just wanted to see – to observe – this rally that people had been talking about. I wasn’t wearing yellow that day, I was wearing black, and it never even crossed my mind to participate in the rally,” said Aleyasak, 31, who lives in Kajang, Selangor.”I also never imagined I would end up with a knee smashed by those who are supposed to be protecting the people against violence.” Bersih – a polls watchdog coalition of 67 NGOs and five political parties – organised the rally and march to the national palace to submit a memorandum to the King’s representative. Some 40,000 people took part despite prior threats of action by both the police and cabinet ministers. Aleyasak, – who disclaims any membership or affiliation to NGOs and political parties – was among dozens who took the brunt of a crackdown on what the police described as an illegal assembly after refusing to approve the organisers’ application for a permit. He spoke to Malaysiakini yesterday, barely an hour after being discharged from Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL). Grimacing in pain with every movement of his leg, Aleyasak related his ordeal while his wife, Maryam Jameela Megat Mohd Yusof, sat by his side. “I had read about the Bersih gathering a month ago in the newspapers. As my mother-in-law was holding a Hari Raya open house on Saturday evening, we decided to drive around as a family to see what was going on,” he said. “While caught in a traffic jam, we saw that the people demonstrating at Masjid Jamek were peaceful – they had nothing in their hands. So, I decided to get down from the car at about 3.30pm at the corner of Jalan Tun Perak and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman to watch them from afar.” Popping sound Barely 10 minutes after his wife drove off to her mother’s house in nearby Kampung Baru, riot police took over the area in front of Masjid Jamek. “A group of protestors near Masjid Jamek ran towards City Hall (in Jalan Raja Laut). I saw a number of police officers chasing then. They were all running towards where I happened to be standing. “People were yelling ‘Run! Run!’ so I got scared and turned to run as well.” Aleyasak did not get very far. After a few metres, he lost his footing on the slippery rain-washed pavement and fell face forward on the pedestrian walkway. Seconds later, he was set upon by four to six uniformed police officers. While several police held his head to the ground, another officer stepped on Aleyasak’s left leg which had folded at the knee behind him. “He was applying his full weight on it. I heard my knee cracking, then, I head a ‘pop’ sound. I knew right away it was broken,” said Aleyasak. Ordered to stand up, he told the police officers that his leg was broken. Instead of being carried, he was subjected to foul language and told to walk unaided towards a police truck waiting nearby. He said: “I was told ‘Why should we carry you? Are you so special to receive that kind of treatment? You’re just a nuisance!’. “One officer – I don’t remember any of the names or numbers on their uniforms – kicked my injured leg and it slammed against part of the truck. Another detainee already in the truck felt sorry for me and helped me to get into the vehicle.” About a dozen detainees were taken to the police contingent headquarters. Almost immediately on arrival, Aleyasak said a St John’s ambulance took him to HKL where he was admitted. Following surgery on Monday, Aleyasak was told it would take three to six months for his knee to heal. However, he will have to wait a full year before doing any sports activities or exercises. “I won’t be able to work for the next few months in my condition,” he said, appearing resigned to the situation. ‘Do something’ On the advice of friends, Aleyasak filed a police report at the HKL police beat-base, providing details of the incident. He wants at least an apology from those responsible for the injury, and has not ruled out legal action against the police or government. “I haven’t done anything wrong. I do not want to cause any trouble. I am not a member of any political party. I’m not against the police. We need to them to maintain security,” he said. “But I want something done. Anything… but something. At this point, even just an apology from the police officers who did this to me would be good.” Echoing this, Maryam, 29, said her husband’s injury has jeopardised their livelihood and meager earnings. A tuition teacher, she said she was shocked and incredulous when she found out what Aleyasak had gone through. “We are ordinary people. We have nothing to do with politics. Why was he treated that way? Even if the police were cracking down on protestors – my husband was just a spectator – there must be some limit to what they can do,” she said. She said their children – aged six and two – have been curious about why their father has been injured. “We don’t want them confused by telling them that the police were the ones that did this to their father,” said Maryam. She was also incensed by those who had denied that any violence or excessive force had been used by police. “I feel sad and angry. We want justice done. You can’t do this to people,” she said.

BERSIH Four to meet CCD of PDRM tomorrow

BERSIH was indeed the organiser for the NOV 10 Peaceful People’s March. But that’ our right under the Federal Constitution. No one, incl the PDRM and the PM, have no right to deny our right of assembly. And the RAKYAT have proven beyond any doubt that we can march in peace despite of the huge turnout. Even provocations and attacks from certain bad elements of the police force have failed to stop us. We were very proud of everyone who has taken part in the long march. Also tomorrow, we will be paying visit to Sdr Alyesak Hamid who was injured by the police. His left leg was broken as a result of a push by an FRU member. The Unit Amal from PAS (some 2,000 of them) did a fantastic job in maintaining order and peace throughout the event.We were deeply impressed by their performance.    We in BERSIH have done no wrong and BERSIH is not a commercial entity. Why direct the Commercial Crime Department to summon us for question, Mr AAB? We in BERSIH see this as a harassment. Anyway, we will see them at Bukit Perdana, Jalan Onn at 10 am and see what they have got to say. The police should be neutral and they should not be used by the BN politicians for their political agenda. Their job is to maintain law and order in this country. They should stay away from partisan politics. BERSIH will certainly move on to pressure for true electoral reforms until we succeed. Police summon Bersih leaders to meeting

Soon Li Tsin Nov 14, 07 1:26pm Malaysiakini

Four Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) leaders have been told to report to the Commercial Crimes Department in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning over a police report made against them. PKR vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah, DAP’s NGO bureau chief Ronnie Liu, and PAS vice-president Mohamad Sabu and party central committee member Dr Syed Azman Nawawi – all of whom are Bersih committee members – received their summons yesterday. Liu, when contacted, confirmed receiving the summons under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows a police officer to require the attendance of witnesses. “Yes, we will be going there at 10am. The letter that we got yesterday did not state what they will ask, but we’ll see,” he said. According to Bersih secretariat member Medaline Chang, eight of the organisation’s committee members have received calls and letters from the police but only four have been hauled up under Section 111. “Under Section 111, they are compelled to appear before the police. The other letters did not cite that section so we believe it’s not necessary for them to turn up for questioning,” she said when contacted. She claimed that no such legal obligation was attached to the letters sent to PKR information chief Tian Chua (left), Khairul Annuar Zainuddin and Johari Abdul, as well as DAP parliamentarian Teresa Kok (right). The meeting will be the committee’s first after a series of postponements prior to, and after, the massive rally for electoral reform, held last Saturday. On Nov 3, eight committee members were contacted for questioning by ASP Amran Jusin over a police report lodged by an individual in Setapak about the organisation’s status as an illegal entity. Some were issued notices to attend a meeting on Nov 9. However, the committee members unanimously declined to show up as they were busy preparing for the rally the next day. A consensus was then reached for the Bersih leaders to be available for questioning after the rally on Nov 12, but the meeting was postponed again. Bersih – launched in November 2006 – is a coalition of five political parties and 67 civil society groups campaigning for electoral reform. About 40,000 people massed outside Istana Negara in defiance of a government ban on the rally calling for clean and fair elections. Hundreds of police personnel were deployed in and around Kuala Lumpur, as traffic ground to a standstill. A memorandum was handed to a palace official by a delegation led by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, before the crowd dispersed peacefully.

PROTEST IN MALAYSIA:
Emboldened protest organisers warn of more mass street rallies to come

By Chow Kum Hor, Malaysia Correspondent
The Straits Times

FRESH from holding a rare massive rally on Saturday, Malaysia’s opposition is now emboldened to organise more protests.

Saturday’s protest, the largest in a decade, took place despite earlier threats of a government crackdown. It was organised by opposition parties and civil groups.

‘Saturday’s rally was only the beginning,’ Mr Ronnie Liu, a senior leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), told The Straits Times.

The demonstrators were trying to march to the palace to hand a petition to the King asking him to press the government for electoral reforms.

Except for a skirmish between riot police who fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters at one of the rally’s meeting points, the 10,000strong march was generally peaceful.

Those gathered at other meeting points were not stopped by the police as traffic in the city came to a halt. Hundreds of riot police stood watch in front of the palace gates as protesters filled up the three-lane highway some 50m away.

Such scenes are rare in Malaysia, which has not seen public protests on such a scale since Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s treasurer, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, told reporters on Saturday that he was satisfied with the turnout and vowed to hold more rallies in the future.

In September, about 1,000 lawyers and activists marched from a court complex in Putrajaya to the nearby Prime Minister’s Office demanding a royal inquiry into a video clip showing a prominent lawyer attempting to fix the appointment of top judges.

Since taking over in 2003, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has pledged to grant more civil liberties to the people, including easing strict government control on the media.

Commenting on the rally, Datuk Seri Abdullah yesterday expressed regret that the opposition had tried to drag the royalty into politics.

‘I believe the King is mature and the royalty will not be trapped in their politics,’ he said.

The Malaysian King and nine other hereditary Malay rulers, widely respected by the people, are deemed to be above politics in the country.

While more opposition- backed rallies may be on the cards, the move may not necessarily be good for the opposition, a political analyst says.

‘In the past, we have seen how large-scale public protests led to violence. Malaysians are just not ready for violence,’ said Professor Mohammad Agus Yusoff, a political scientist with the National University of Malaysia.

Street rallies after Datuk Seri Anwar’s sacking saw protesters vandalising public amenities such as telephone booths. Many businesses were shut during the chaos while tourist arrivals dipped.

Prof Mohammad Agus told The Straits Times that the Chinese, who control the business sector in the country, would be worst-hit if public demonstrations spiralled out of control.

‘Considering that the Chinese are most unhappy with the government now, the opposition must be careful not to turn away the people who would have otherwise voted for them,’ he added.

BERSIH: Siva not fit as Suhakam commissioner

Bersih wants Siva out of Suhakam

Yoges Palaniappan & Syed Jaymal Zahiid Nov 13, 07 5:04pm Malaysiakini

Elections watchdog Bersih today called for the resignation of Suhakam commissioner N Siva Subramaniam for defending the violation of human rights by the police force at a mass gathering last Saturday.In a press conference held in the parliament lobby today, Bersih committee members said that Siva acted out of his duty as a human rights commissioner by justifying the police action in subduing protesters at the rally.DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok, reading out from a media statement, said that not only the commissioner has failed to defend the right of citizens to peacefully assemble, but had also told the press that the police only moved to quell the protest when the crowd got rowdy. “More shocking is that Siva had told New Straits Times yesterday that the police did not use violence to control the crowd and that they have acted professionally on the matter,” said Kok. “Siva is either completely incompetent or utterly dishonest to make such a statement. He has brought further shame to Suhakam which has failed to investigate the police shooting in the gathering at Batu Buruk in Terengganu.” Kok also rebutted claims that the gathering was illegal. She cited the federal constitution which allowed for every citizen to peacefully assemble without arms. The Bersih-organised rally saw some 40,000 people taking to the streets and the submission of a memorandum to the King calling for electoral reform. Shocking and disappointing Meanwhile, Suaram executive director Yap Swee Seng said that Siva’s statement was shocking and disappointing. “There is abundance of evidence documented by the international media, which showed the violence committed by the police on that day. I don’t know how Siva can say that the police did not commit violence in handling the crowd,” he said at the same press conference. “His statement has also deviated from the mandate of Suhakam to protect and promote human rights. In that sense, Siva should resign from his position as a Suhakam commissioner,” he added. Yap said that Siva should visit the victims hospitalised to see for himself if the police had used excessive violence. When contacted from comment, Siva refused to say anything further on the matter, saying that the commissioners’ meeting have decided that all matters pertaining to the rally must be spoken through Suhakam chairperson Abu Talib Othman. Suhakam deputy chairperson Simon Sipaun, when contacted, however said that the statement made by Siva was on an individual basis and did not represent the rights body’s view. Abu Talib was unavailable for comments. Police statement tomorrow At the same press conference today, commenting on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s statement that the opposition was dragging the royalty into opposition politics, PAS central committee member Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad said the members of the public has every right to complaint to the king as he is the ruler of the country. “We don’t intend to drag the royalty into this, but if the Election Commission and the police refused to listen to our qualms, where else can we go?” asked Syed Azman. Syed Azman also said that Bersih’s steering committee has declared Saturdays to be its ‘yellow wave day’. Meanwhile opposition leaders and Bersih committee members Ronnie Liu, Salahuddin Ayub, R Sivarasa and Syed Azman will be meeting an officer from the Bukit Aman’s commercial crime department on Thursday to give their statement over a police report lodged against Bersih. On Nov 3, the committee members received a call informing them that a police report had been lodged by an individual in Setapak about Bersih’s status as an illegal organisation. They were supposed to have meet the police officer yesterday but the meeting was cancelled. SPECIAL REPORT: Bersih mass protest 净选盟周四将录口供 促民众逢周六穿黄衣 ■日期／Nov 13, 2007   ■时间／06:50:45 pm ■新闻／家国风云   ■作者／merdekareview 曾薛霏 【本刊曾薛霏撰述】武吉阿曼警察总部商业罪案调查组传召干净与公平选举联盟（Bersih，净选盟）的四名秘书处成员后天到该组录口供，不过，警方并没有说明调查详情。此外，净选盟决定将周六定为“黄潮日”（Hari Gelombang Kuning），呼吁公众今后每逢周六穿黄衣，继续争取干净与公平的选举制度。 净选盟今午在国会走廊召开记者会，透露净选盟秘书处的四名成员――回教党副主席莫哈末沙布（Mohd Sabu）、中委赛阿兹曼（Syed Azman）、民主行动党非政府组织事务秘书刘天球及人民公正党副主席西华拉沙（Sivarasa Rasiah）已接到警察总部商业犯罪组助理警监安然（ACP Amran）通知，要他们为上周六的“万人诉求公平选举和平大集会”录口供。 赛阿兹曼表示：“我们很乐意和警方合作，并打算在星期四去录口供。这场集会完全依照警方建议的程序申请准证，当警方拒绝发出准证后，我们还上诉，直到最后一分钟。”净选盟透露，吉隆坡金马警区主任莫哈末朱加乃因（Mohamad Zulkarnain）曾于10月29日致函邀请净选盟申请准证，而净选盟后来也申请准证。 巫统自游行诞生 当一众记者讶异为何由商业罪案调查组负责录口供时，净选盟秘书处成员法沙慕斯达化（Faisal Mustaffa，右图）表示：“警方可能认为净选盟是个非法组织。” 此外，净选盟表示，他们将争取晋见国家元首和各州统治者，传达净选盟的诉求；不过，净选盟尚未决定短期内是否还要再召集游行。 民主行动党全国宣传秘书、吉隆坡士布爹区国会议员郭素沁宣读净选盟文告，反驳首相兼国安部长阿都拉巴达威宣称示威不是我国的文化；她说，巫统也是诞生自1946年的游行。 她说：“1946年马来人反对马来亚联合邦（Malayan Union），催生了巫统，而巫统这些年来也一直举行大规模游行，其中一次游行是在美国国务卿赖斯访问我国期间举行，并由巫青团副团长凯里（Khairy Jamaluddin）带领。”凯里也是阿都拉巴达威的女婿。 郭素沁说，倘若巫统坚持游行不符马来西亚的文化，那巫统的精神也是非马来西亚（un-Malaysian）的；因此巫统“不要成为伪君子，该党应该自行解散。” 元首同意接收备忘录 净选盟也反驳阿都拉巴达威指摘净选盟意图使国家元首卷入政治的说法，郭素沁表示，净选盟呈交备忘录给国家元首，是因为陛下有宪赋义务维护我国的民主。 “在我国奉行的西敏寺（Westminster）制度中，国家元首是国会的三个组成部分之一，另两部分是上议院和下议院；因此，当人民对政府失去信心且无处申诉时，可向国家元首表达人民的意愿。” 净选盟表示，根据《联邦宪法》第40（2）条款，国家元首有权拒绝解散国会，直到选举委员会落实净选盟要求的四项选制改革为止。 回教党青年团团长沙拉胡丁（Salahudin Ayub，左图）补充道：“集会前一周，净选盟致函国家元首要求呈交备忘录，国家元首回信表示准备接受备忘录。如果国家元首认为净选盟的诉求是琐碎且不值一提的话，陛下定当拒绝接受备忘录。集会当天，也由国家元首的私人秘书亲自接领备忘录。” 警方滥用暴力对付群众 面对政府、警方和媒体将“万人诉求公平选举和平大集会”定调为非法集会，净选盟坚持这场大集会不是非法集会，反之警方设法阻止游行才是违宪的举措，因为《联邦宪法》第10（1）（b）条款阐明人民有和平集会的权利。 净选盟表示：“巫统主席阿都拉骄傲地说他‘忌讳受到挑战’，净选盟的劝告是，他不应该挑战人民。” 净选盟也认为，警方才是导致上周六吉隆坡交通大瘫痪的祸首，而非出席集会的人群。全国总警长慕沙哈山（Musa Hassan）上周六说，警方派出四千名警察控制大集会，但净选盟认为警方无需这么做，如果警察体现宪法和专业精神，就应该发出集会准证。 沙拉胡丁更表示，警方派出四千名警察控制和平集会是浪费警力，如果善用这四千名警察打击罪案，可收更大成效。 净选盟也批评警方发表不正确数据，例如指仅四千人参加大集会、245人被捕及无人受伤等。净选盟透露，参加大集会的人数多达四万至五万人，但仅34人被捕；不过，在示威期间有六人受伤，其中阿利亚撒（Aleyasak Hamid，31岁）遭联邦后备队踏伤、拖曳后，复被抛上卡车，以致腿断而被迫动手术。 净选盟成员马来西亚人民之声（SUARAM）记录了六人遭警方殴打，另外五人受伤，包括莫哈末阿尔法罗（Mohd al-Farook）宣称双手被反铐跌倒在地时，警方踢他的头部。另外四名受害者姆莫哈末阿斯里（Mohd Asri Ahmad）、阿都哈密（Haji Abdul Hamid Baharuddin）、凯鲁沙里（Khairul Salleh Ahmad）及纳斯鲁拉（Nasrullah Ahmad ）也因警察暴力而瘀伤。六名受害者已向警方投报。 人权委员会说法不实 人民之声执行主任叶瑞生（右图）在记者会上谴责马来西亚人权委员会委员西华苏巴马廉（Siva Subramaniam）昨天对媒体表示，警方没有使用暴力的说法。叶瑞生认为西华的说法与事实不符，且违背了人权委员会捍卫人权的立场。 西华昨天对英文《星报》（The Star）说：“警察只在人群不受控制时才镇压”，以及对《新海峡时报》（New Straits Times）说：“我认为警察根本没有使用木棍驱散人群，因此，任何指警方使用暴力的指控并不确实。” 叶瑞生表示：“人权委员会今年公布去年5月28日‘血腥星期天’的调查报告时，曾指出人民集会无需准证，如今西华这么说，违反了人权委员会捍卫和保护人权的立场。如果西华认为他已不愿意捍卫人权，就应该辞掉人权委员会委员一职。” 叶瑞生也呼吁西华与净选盟一同探望伤者，以了解警方是否使用暴力，并调查此事。 出席记者会的净选盟成员包括妇女发展组织（WDC）的玛丽亚陈亚都拉（Maria Chin Abdullah）、动力青年召集人李凯伦及民主行动党全国副主席古拉（M. Kula Segaran）等。

Yellow Saturdays from this Saturday

Yes, BERSIH will be lauching a campaign to encourage every Malaysian who cares for a truely democratic, free and just Malaysia to wear YELLOW every Saturday. We have decided to make Yellow the ‘colour of people power’. It can be a Yellow shirt, Yellow T-shirt, Yellow Baju Kurung, Yellow Kebaya, Yellow tie, Yellow ribbon, Yellow scarf, Yellow headband, Yellow wristband, Yellow caps… anything that’s Yellow. Let’s do it all over the country until real reforms on electoral system were being implemented. Wear yellow every Saturday, urge rally organisers

Nov 13, 07 9:46am Malaysiakini

Malaysians were urged to wear yellow every Saturday in a protest against the government, after a rally calling for election reform was suppressed with water cannons and tear gas. The organisers of last Saturday’s rally, which despite heavy rain and a government ban drew 40,000 people in the biggest turnout in a decade, selected yellow as the colour of “people power”. “We are asking everyone nationwide to wear yellow on every Saturday. It can be a yellow cap, a yellow shirt, a yellow ribbon … just anything yellow,” said Syed Azman Syed Nawawi from the opposition Islamic party PAS. The protest movement, a coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups known as Bersih, is pushing for reforms including a clean-up of the electoral roll and an end to postal votes. They handed a protest memorandum to the king during the rally and said Tuesday they would also meet the country’s nine state sultans to press for reforms. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is expected to call snap polls early next year, has denounced the protesters for involving the king who is highly respected but has a largely ceremonial role and usually stays out of politics. “We do not want to drag in the king and the sultans but who else can we appeal to,” Syed Azman said at a press conference along with other opposition leaders. Gov’t has turned deaf ear “The government and the election commission have turned a deaf ear. So we turn to the king who is the protector of the people and the constitution,” he said. Syed Azman said that four Bersih leaders have been summoned to report to police headquarters on Thursday. Police have said that 245 people were detained during the protests, although organisers and rights groups say that is an exaggeration and only 36 people were arrested. Reports said today that the parents of 18 children detained at the rally will be charged with engdangering their children. “It was an irresponsible act and wrong of the adults to bring children to the rally,” police chief Musa Hassan said according to the New Straits Times. – AFP

The Custodian of the Constitution

 

The Custodian of the Constitution  

By Yellow Walker  

The PM and his super cronies after 50 years, had failed to realise that the question that to “drag the King into politics does not arise”. When the King our Supreme Sovereign Head does not get himself in daily politics or a member of the executive, it does not mean that his Majesty is totally above politics and is just a fiqure head of the country. 

In a democratic country with a constitutional monarchy like Malaysia, we have the Monarchy, Executive, Judiciary and Legislature. Each is independent of the other. If everything runs smoothly, the Royalty stays at his Palace, and is happy that his subjects are happy. The economy turns, majority of his Royal subjects has a job and  development is in full swing. The job of the King is to oversee that the country is running in proper order. His Majesty has the constitutional right to intervene today because everything is wrong today.  

The King is the people’s TRUSTEE. The Trustee has to act constitutionally today before the country go to the rocks! His Majesty need not take sides. The Royalty must see that there is fair play. The King is there to PROTECT the Constitution from being abused. He is the CUSTODIAN of the Constitution. Please don’t insult the King!  

The level of the playing field is tilted in favour of the powers that be. They even shift the position of the goalpost to whatever position they like! 

Everything is wrong today! One cannot even be safe inside our house. 300,000 graduates are jobless, Parliament leaks, a former railway gatekeeper’s house is bigger than a Division One Officer, the police is divided, Team A accusing Team B, we a net exporter of gas and petroleum  yet we have to pay more for gas and petroleum instead of paying less when the prices rises, the top cronies are enjoying themselves as  patrons of Petronas Philhamonic Orchestra, patients suffering unnecessarily instead of getting cured by the hospitals, everywhere you walk you see foreigners as much as you see your fellow citizens, government purchases having a free for all, no tenders being called as cronies lined up to secure projects at exorbitant prices, a 4.6 billion free trade zone as a white elephant collecting dusts, a congested bus terminal built 33 years ago and its next door – a dilapidated half constructed building, breeding anopheles and aedes mosquitoes, prices of houses and cars beyond the reach of  the mid income family, electricity prices increase by Tenaga although they make billions, buying screwdrivers at exorbitant prices, banks of a certain race taken over by another bunch of cronies in the pretence of having less banks but bigger banks to compete overseas, companies are asked to employ their staff in relation to the country’s population ratio but their own GLCs, universities full of their cronies such that they reflect the superpower of the cronies and pages and pages to be filled—-endless.

The King must step in to stop the rot! Enough is enough. 50 years of mismanagement is sufficient! The most important underhand tactic is the Election Commission reporting to the BN. Overnight they increase the Ipoh Timor Constituency by 8500 voters and then claim that it is their absolute right! Before the election you will already know who the winner MP is. Bukit Bintang has no army camp but got postal voters by the army. Therefore the Election Commission must report to an independent body and NOT to the BN! The Election Commission keeps the BN in perpetual power!    

The march by BERSIH is NOT a demonstration. During Prophet Mohamed Birthday the Muslims march. During Wesak the Buddhists march. During Deepavali the Indians march. During Saint Anne Festival the Christians march. All religions and groupings march. So why can’t BERSIH march? The powers that be, make it illegal. Gambling is illegal. But gambling at the Genting Highlands is LEGAL. Buying 4 digits is illegal. But buying 4 digit from Magnum, 3D and Toto is LEGAL. We want to tell AAB that we are not born yesterday! The shops at Masjid Jamek and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman were doing a roaring business. Without provocation water cannons and teargas were fired. Hell broke loose. The shops have to close. So who is to blame? Buses were turned back at the highways. The commuter trains stop running. Road blocks were set up. The police were not looking for weapons. They were looking for YELLOW shirts! What is wrong with yellow shirts? Are yellow shirts  weapons? Why don’t the police stop the Buddhist monks from wearing YELLOW. SO WHO’S THE CULPRITS OF THE TRAFFIC JAMS? It is a deliberate attempt by the police to stop the march!  

BERSIH has declared that yellow is the colour of protest; it’s also the colour of press freedom. Wearing yellow also shows our love for the Rulers. The police has insulted the Royalties.  What is wrong if the people want to hand his Majesty a memorandum? You mean we have to send by the unreliable post office? It is just a memorandum on the demand for a clean and fair electoral system! What is the big fuss?

BERSIH: Why Commercial Crime Department?

Bersih, police meet postponed again

Soon Li Tsin Nov 12, 07 3:35pm Malaysiakini

A meeting slated to be held today between committee members of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) and the police’s commercial crimes department has been postponed again. Eight Bersih committee members were initially slotted to meet with ASP Amran Jusin on Nov 9, a day before the opposition-backed coalition held a massive rally in Kuala Lumpur. The eight included PKR vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah, PKR information chief Tian Chua, Khairul Annuar Zainuddin (Jonah), Mohamad Sabu, Johari Abdul and DAP’s Ronnie Liu and Teresa Kok. The meeting was postponed to today. However, Sivarasa (left) said when he contacted Amran yesterday, he was told that the meeting has been postponed again. “ASP Amran and I spoke yesterday and he said it has been postponed. He said he will let me know the date later,” he told malaysiakini. On Nov 3, the committee members received a call informing them that a police report had been lodged by an individual in Setapak about Bersih’s status as an illegal organisation. Some of them were issued notices asking them to be present at the Nov 9 meeting. However, the committee members unanimously declined to show up as they were busy preparing for the rally. A consensus was then reached for the committee members to be available for questioning after the rally that is today. Why commercial crimes dept? Liu, when contacted, was puzzled by the commercial crimes department’s involvement in this matter. “It is very strange that this investigation is coming from the commercial crimes department because Bersih is not a commercial entity and we’ve done no crime,” he said. “We are not sure what they really want. I don’t think they are in a hurry to deal with us either,” the DAP NGO bureau chief added. On Saturday, over 40,000 of protesters massed outside Istana Negara in defiance of a government ban on the rally calling for clean and fair elections. A memorandum was handed to a palace official by a delegation led by de facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim before the crowd dispersed peacefully. The demonstrations brought traffic in the capital to a standstill under the watchful eyes of hundreds of police officers and personnel. Meanwhile, Amran when contacted confirmed the postponement. He said it was made upon the request of Sivarasa. “The date was initially set for today but one of them requested for another date so we complied. We have not set a new date yet but I will discuss the matter with him soon,” he said. Bersih – launched in November 2006 – is a coalition of five political parties and 67 civil society groups campaigning for electoral reforms.

How about wearing Yellow every Saturday? 黄色星期六？

Great men think alike!

Many ‘Yellow Walkers’ have suggested to me that we should be wearing yellow once a week, everyday or on a certain day of the month to mark the huge success of the Yellow Wave on Saturday.

I am more inclined to adopt Yellow Saturday every week. I will raise the idea in the coming BERSIH’s meeting.

What do you think, my dear Yellow Walkers and readers of colour-blind?

The yellow wave and its durian effect

Azly Rahman Nov 12, 07 11:25am Malaysiakini

DR AZLY RAHMAN is a transcultural philosopher rooted in the tradition of Critical and Chaos Theory. Born in Singapore, raised in Johor Baru, he was a child of Malaysia’s experiment in humanistic education: Maktab Rendah Sains MARA Kuantan.A member of The International Honor Society in Education, Azly holds a Doctorate in International Education Development from Columbia University, New York City, and Masters in four areas: International Affairs, Education, Communication, and Peace Studies.He has taught in Malaysia and the United States in a multitude of settings and in diverse fields such as Politics/International Relations, Education, American Studies, Philosophy/ Humanities/Cultural Studies, and History/Foundations of Civilizations.His interest lies in deconstructing ‘hegemony and totalitarianism’ and to explore the possibilities of creating one’s personal republic that will challenge and transform the postmodern state.He can be reached at: aar26@columbia.edu “Bersih, Cekap, Amanah” – old political slogan “Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang” – new political slogan “B.e.r.s.i.h” – slogan to get from the new slogan to the old. I quote the first few paragraphs of the 1776 American Declaration of Independence: “… When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. … We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” Those are the words penned primarily by Thomas Jefferson, philosopher and statesman; words that became the document of American democracy that is still evolving. Evolve we must Evolve we must as a nation of multicultural poor yearning to break free from the shackles of poverty, alienation, massive corruption, and the tiredness of seeing power being abused and absolute power being abused absolutely. Evolve we must by way of the slogans that have been fed to us religiously. By “we” we mean both the ruler and the ruled, the governor and the governed, the rakyat and the kerajaan (government). Essentially the process of “cleaning up” our act is both the desire of the ruling party and those who are protesting against it. We are a nation in need of therapy. We are one, essentially – our subjectivity and objectivity is being deconstructed and destroyed. If we are to live with the truth and the power of the slogans we create, we must surrender to the will of the people who put us into power and wishes to see justice being served and a clean, transparent, and trustworthy government being put in place. We have arrived at a juncture in our own brand of Civil Rights movement. We now need our own Magna Carta to teach our citizens the inalienable rights we have vis-a-vis the aristocrats; those that transformed themselves from the commoners to power-elites – through the huge machinery of money, media, and mental maneuverings and meanderings of the messages we created as the medium. We are made to live in a world of “managed perception”. Don’t Pakistanize ourselves Let us pray that we shall not have to Pakistanize ourselves in our struggle to exercise free speech and freedom of assembly. Unless we are like a nation at war with itself with us plunged as characters in the epic movie Lord of The Rings in which Humanity battles Humanoids in the war for natural justice set in antiquity. The events that led to the declaration of emergency in Islamabad may as well foreshadow the nature and shape of things to come by the time campaigning and Election Day arrives. Will the yellow fever, like the River HuangHe does, bring sorrow to the current regime? Is the nation seeing the seeds of destruction germinating? Will the Krakatau of the Malaysian rumbling and grumbling finally erupt? I don’t know. You and I can only make informed guesses. Man proposes, God disposes. We can only predict and plan for the translation of theory into practice. That’s what praxis is – the marriage of idealism and action to produce “cultural action for freedom”, as Latin liberation theologians such as Gustavo Gutierrez, Denis Goulet, and Paulo Freire would say. Or like what the brave heart Che Guevara would embody. Being a student of social revolutions in which I have closely looked at the anatomy of peaceful and violent revolutions such as those of The American, The French, Cuban, Iranian, Nicaraguan, Indonesian and also the Computer and the Internet, I believe there are interesting elements one can extract from the Nov 10 march. Unlike the French Revolution, the march did not begin in a tennis court but from many angles but denied the final congregation in front of Freedom/Independence/Merdeka Square. Nor it deposed a grandson of the Sun King, but rather seeks refuge in the Malay Supreme Ruler. Unlike the Cuban Revolution in which a law doctoral graduate Fidel Castro had to use extra-legal means to gain power and return it to the people, the November march began with a legal application that was denied and was preceded by the Lawyer’s Walk that sent memorandum to stop a judiciary rot. Unlike the Iranian Revolution in which a million people waited for Imam Khomeini, the Nov 10 march was a freedom march whose leadership is collaborative in nature. Unlike the Nicaraguan Revolution in which Daniel Ortega had to go underground to fight a guerilla war, Nov 10 saw not a single shot being fired nor Mat Rempits being hired. Unlike the American Revolution in which the French was General Washington’s ally, Nov 10 was purely a people’s protest devoid of outside influence. Unlike the most Indonesian Revolution in which Jakarta was burning, Nov 10 saw instead alleged chemical laced- water being sprayed on a rainy day. Parallels and non-parallels there are. But like the Computer Revolution that spread like wildfire and transformed millions into informed citizens Nov 10 was preceded by a good sense of informational war, with Malaysia-Today and a few other blogs hacked – the power of the Internet reigns supreme in spreading the yellow fever. There is a durian dimension to the Nov 10 march of grievance. The durian effect The durian is a yellow fruit – an exquisite and truly “world-class” Malaysian fruit. It has a Marxist contradiction built in. It is pungent, banned in hotels and airplanes, tastes like vomit to some, feels like eating ice-cream in a Malaysian toilet to many, yet is has one of the most heavenly taste that even the most glorious of Malaysian statesmen and Supreme Rulers would not resist it over a pot of thick Malaccan coffee. In the yellowness of it lies heaven and hell. In it lies the joys and sorrow of tasting. It is a bitter fruit of freedom. Like the fruit in the song “Strange Fruit” rendered beautifully by the grand diva of jazz, Nina Simone; a fruit that tells America the story of lynching down South. The yellowness of the durian is a metaphor of the yellow wave of change. It’s only the beginning of a peaceful revolt against the might of the machine. Indeed the next wave will be met with even more machines from the regime. Like in the movie Lord of the Rings. Like in the movie the Matrix in which things will multiply as Humanity battles with Humanoids conditioned by totalitarianism. The photos of the rally tell us a lot about the nature of our peaceful marches – thanks to the leaders and the marshals. Thanks to the wisdom of the leaders who are in tune and in syn with the gentleness of the people. But the faces of the protesters read like Chairil Anwar’s poems and WS Rendra’s plays. We have evolved into brave souls with brave hearts. But with finesse and patience must we revolt. If we can have the masses to continue to wear yellow (like the Irish with their St. Patrick greens) as a memory of Nov 10, we will continue with the message right till Election Day. Revolutions need martyrs, reformations need signs and symbols and significations – etched in the memory of even the little child near Pasar Seni pepper-sprayed by the Mighty Machine trying with paranoia to crush those voices no longer in the wilderness. This is why we have the yellow fever. Clean, Efficient, Trustworthy – a good old slogan to arrive at. But clean up we must. With lots of shower. Not with ones with chemically-laced water though. We must evolve – collectively.

国会反对党领袖兼民主行动党怡保东区国会议员林吉祥於2007年11月11日（星期一）

在国会发表的记者会声明：

阿都拉对乾净与公平选举联盟在11月10日向国家元首提呈选举改革备忘录的万人

大集会之回应，已经严峻的考验他是否已经撕毁其4年来的听真话承诺，而暴露出

他充耳不闻人民心声的真面目。

乾净与公平选举联盟（公选盟－BERSIH）在周六举行万人大集会向国家元首提呈选举改革的备忘录，以确保选举在乾净、自由与公平情况下举行，而政府领袖们作出的消极与不负责任回应，虽然不出乎意料，却令人大失所望。

首相拿督斯里阿都拉说，公选盟的集会与请愿”形同将皇室及国家元首卷入政治”。

这是亳无根据的指责，完全不应出自一名首相之口，因为它不符事实。

国家元首是大马公正泉源的象徵，而且失去所有争取公正管道的大马人民，可以要求国家元首施予援手是符合宪法精神的，首相及内阁有义务严正考虑这种向国家元首提呈的请愿，而非以极为嚣张、傲慢与不民主的态度加以否定。

向国家元首请愿的个案尤其重要，因为政府对改革选举，确保所有竞选者具有平等的平台，使大马的选举在乾净、自由与公平的情况下举行之广泛与正当性呼声充耳不闻。

因此，我在国会问答时间指政府应维护国家元首为公正泉源的象徵，而正视上述的备忘录，否则政府将对君主立宪制度不公。

周三的内阁会议应优先关注上述的请愿，并主动的成立一个机制，确保来届大选能真正的
乾净、自由与公平。

其实，它还涉及更大的得失攸关。阿都拉对公选盟在11月10日向国家元首提呈选举改革备忘录的万人大集会之回应，也已经严峻的考验他是否已经撕毁其4年来的听真话承诺，而暴露出他充耳不闻人民心声的真面目。

不幸的是，实际情况的确如此，我今早在国会提出附加询问，想知道政府是否将对上述的请愿作出积极的反应时，首相署部长拿督斯里纳兹里以粗野的口吻作答。纳兹里不理性的回答询问，而展开狂暴的政治攻击。

国阵政府泥足深陷入否认症候群令人非常的遗憾，如政府不承认周六的大集会是阿都拉掌权4年来规模最大的，而且显示出人民热爱和平与致力争取民主。

可悲的是，官方的数据从全国总警长在周六指的4000人，很勉强的增加至副首相拿督斯里纳吉昨天讲的1万人，而所有的目击者、照片及录像可以证明，指参与集会人数高达4至5万人并不夸张。

如果阿都拉能在联合国发言时提到缅甸在9月间由僧侣发动的”袈裟起义”，以及在我国的缅甸籍工人能公开集会，以示支持袈裟起义，大马的首相至少应承认公选盟和平集会表达心声的正常性，并严加考虑改革选举的呼吁，尤其是这项数万人的大集会尽管遭到挑衅及警方过度使用暴力，包括完全不必要地发射摧泪弹及水炮，却仍在和平与秩序井然下举行。

林吉祥

Media Conference Statement by Parliamentary Opposition Leader and DAP MP for Ipoh Timur Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on November 12, 2007:

Abdullah’s response to mammoth peaceful BERSIH gathering on Nov. 10 petitioning Yang di Pertuan Agong for electoral reforms has become the acid test whether it marks the burial of his four-year pledge to hear the truth showing his true colours of refusing to hear and heed the voice of the rakyat

The negative and irresponsible responses of the government and its leaders to Saturday’s mammoth peaceful BERSIH gathering petitioning the Yang di Pertuan Agong for electoral reforms to ensure clean, free and fair elections is most disappointing though not unexpected.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the BERSIH gathering and petition were “tantamount to dragging the institution of the monarchy, and the king, into politics”.

This is a baseless allegation completely unworthy of the Prime Minister as nothing could be further from the truth.

The Yang di Pertuan Agong symbolizes the fountain of justice in Malaysia, and it is completely within constitutional norms for Malaysians who are shut out from all avenues of redress to seek justice to appeal to the Yang di Pertuan Agong for intervention – and it will be beholden on the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to give such petitions to the Yang di Pertuan Agong serious consideration and not to dismiss them in a most arrogant, cavalier and undemocratic manner.

In this particular case, the mass petition to the Yang di Pertuan Agong is all the more pertinent as the government has turned a deaf ear to widespread and legitimate calls for electoral reforms to ensure that there is a level playing field for all contestants so that clean, free and fair elections could be held in Malaysia.

This is why I said during question time that the government should uphold the important symbol of the King as the fountain of justice by giving serious and positive consideration to the petition to the Yang di Pertuan Agong supported by the mammoth and peaceful BERSIH gathering on Saturday or the government will be doing an injustice to the system of monarchy.

The Cabinet meeting on Wednesday should give top priority to the BERSIH petition to the Yang di Pertuan Agong on electoral reforms and take the initiative to establish a mechanism to ensure that the next general election can be truly clean, free and fair.

In fact, much more is at stake. Abdullah’s response to the mammoth peaceful BERSIH gathering on Nov. 10 petitioning Yang di Pertuan Agong for electoral reforms has also become the acid test whether it marks the burial of his four-year pledge to hear the truth showing and we have the Prime Minister showing his true colours of refusing to hear and heed the voice of the rakyat.

This, unfortunately, appears to be the case, with the truculent reply by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz during question time this morning when I posed the supplementary question whether the government would give a positive response to the BERSIH petition to the Yang di Pertuan Agong for electoral reforms. Instead of a rational reply, Nazri went into a political rampage!

It is most regrettable that the Barisan Nasional government is suffering from a very serious case of denial syndrome, as evidenced by its refusal to concede that Saturday’s mammoth peaceful gathering was the biggest in the four-year premiership of Abdullah and evidence of the people’s love for peace and commitment to democracy.

It is pathetic to see the official figure for the mammoth peaceful BERSIH gathering grudgingly increase from 4,000, according to the Inspector-General of Police on Saturday, to 10,000 according to Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday, when from all eye-witness, photographic and video accounts, the gathering could be numbered without exaggeration as between 40,000 to 50,000.

If Abdullah can speak in the United Nations to commend the “saffron revolution” of the Burmese monks in Myanmar in September, and Burmese workers in the country could assemble publicly to organize public protests in support of the “saffron revolution”, the least the a responsible Prime Minister of Malaysia  should do is to acknowledge the legitimacy of the grievances of the mammoth peaceful BERSIH gathering and the exemplary conduct of the 40,000 – 50,000 people who conducted themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner despite unnecessary provocations and excessive force by the police in certain instances – including the uncalled-for firing of tear gas and water cannons – and give serious consideration to the calls for electoral reforms.

    Lim Kit Siang

“Saya pantang dicabar!” Sekarang nak balas dendam?

 

You Have Been Challenged, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi!
M. Bakri Musa
 
 
“Saya pantang dicabar!” (lit:  “I am allergic to challenges;” fig. “Don’t challenge me!”) declared Prime Minister Abdullah in an uncharacteristically bold assertion to the media on the eve of BERSIH’s massive street demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday, November 10, 2007.
            You have now been challenged, Mr. Prime Minister, openly and publicly by your own citizens, and you have emerged impotent!  That huge street rally may be illegal to you, but the King had consented to receiving its leaders and their petition.  In effect, the King too has challenged you, Abdullah!  In case you did not get the message, you had just been served a very public royal rebuff.
I too, challenge you, Abdullah!  Instead of arresting those ordinary citizen demonstrators, I dare you to arrest their leaders, Anwar Ibrahim, Hadi Awang, Lim Kit Siang, and Raja Petra Kamarudin.  Those ordinary folks were merely exercising their basic rights as citizens of a democracy:  the right to free assembly and to petition the authorities.
            As per the refrain of the Ghostbusters theme song, “Who are you gonna call now!” Mr. Prime Minister?  Your fabulous Fourth Floor boys?  Your son-in-law who is using you as his “protection?”  Imagine being considered as such by your son-in-law!
            Khairy Jamaluddin obviously had not heard of your “demonstrations are not part of our Malay culture” bit.  Either that or Khairy had blissfully ignored it as when he led that pathetic street demonstration against your official guest, US State Secretary Rice.
            In a speech earlier in the week, Khairy demanded that the authorities “come down hard” on the BERSIH demonstrators.  While there were some water cannons and tear gas canisters unloaded, the demonstrations went ahead smoothly and successfully to the palace.  The police even released most of those arrested.  Your son-in-law challenged you to be tough on the demonstrators, and you came out lembik (limp).
 
 
Dim Wit Understanding of Democracy
 
In denying the BERSIH demonstrators their police permit, Abdullah demonstrated only a dim wit understanding of democracy, akin to that held by Saddam Hussein and Pervez Musharraf.  Both were voted in with over 98 percent of the votes, and they took that to mean they could ride roughshod over their country and citizens.  Never mind that their elections were anything but fair and free.
            Democracy means rule of the people, but it does not mean mob rule legitimized through the ballot box.  Electoral victory is not a license for tyranny of the majority.  As Fareed Zakaria wrote so eloquently in his book, The Future of Freedom, democracy is more than just elections.  Even if elections were fair and free (far from the reality in Malaysia, hence the demonstrations!), obsession with or sole reliance on them would threaten the other far more important aspects like the rule of law, private property rights, separation of powers, and the right to free speech and to assemble freely.
            Elections regular or otherwise, honest or rigged, do not guarantee these; only independent and impartial judges could.  An independent judiciary is thus the hallmark as well as the guarantor of democracy and freedom, certainly much more than universal adult suffrage.
            As for the state of the Malaysian judiciary, the Lingam tapes painfully showed what a sorry mess it is in.  Even if BERSIH were completely successful with its petition and the Elections Commission completely overhauled, there is still the monumental task of cleaning up the judiciary and restoring its long lost integrity.
            These points are elementary and obvious to all, save the dim witted.
 
 
Time to Deliver The Next Lesson
 
There is another feature of the dim witted; they are slow learners.  It is unlikely for them to have learned a lesson from Bersih’s successful rally, or if they did it may not have stuck.
            Since the only lesson that would register on their thick skulls is election returns, my friend Din Merican had started a campaign to register voters.  The next step would be to ensure that they will vote against the Barisan coalition.
            It would encourage voters to do that if there were to be substantial and effective co-ordination among the opposition parties to ensure that there would only be a one-on-one battle with the Barisan in every constituency.  The objective here is rather modest, to inflict enough damage to the Barisan coalition such that it would precipitate internal squabbling especially within UMNO to trigger its implosion.
            Selecting the best candidate, meaning one who would most likely defeat the Barisan’s nominee, involves studying the demographics of the constituency as well as the Barisan’s candidate.  Since race is never far from voters’ considerations, the best avenue to neutralize this crucial factor would be to field candidates of the same race as the Barisan’s nominees.  This was the clear lesson from the recent Ijok by-elections.  Thus the opposition must be ready to change candidates on nomination day depending on who would represent Barisan.
            For example, if Barisan were to re-nominate the current MCA candidate but at the last minute the seat were to go to UMNO, then the opposition must be ready to substitute a Malay candidate.  If that party (like DAP for instance) cannot come up with a Malay nominee, then it should be willing to give the slot to a Malay from one of the other parties.
            BERSIH’s victory should embolden the citizens to impart to the Barisan government the other equally important lesson:  cleaning out the rot in the judiciary.  No less than a full Royal Commission with full powers to subpoena witnesses and grant them immunity should be the objective.  As Fareed Zakaria noted, an impartial and independent judiciary is the best guarantor of our freedoms and democracy.  We must keep drumming these lessons lest they forget easily.
            We must keep mencabar (challenging) Abdullah until he comes to his senses and realizes the obvious:  the job of being a Prime Minister of our great nation is way above his head.  If he does not, others either within or outside his party should be emboldened enough to tell him so.
 

BERSIH March: Experience of a ‘Yellow Walker’

  This is the full-colour leaflet distributed in mosques in the Klang valley to influence the Muslims not to take part in the peaceful Nov 10 rally. This leaflet bears no publisher and printer.Pengecut!

sharing my personal experience on the bersih gathering/march…from a brave Yellow Walker…
“people should not be afraid of their governments, the governemts should be afraid of their people”…

precisely!…

when i got up approx 1100 hours on 10th october 2007, i know i will be part of the history in malaysia!…

just want to briefly share what i experienced in the bersih gathering/march which i attended with much enthusiasm!…

as most of you already know there are 4 meeting points for meet-up before we marched to dataran merdeka before we proceed to the palace to submit the memorandum to the king on asking for a massize reformation to the electoral roll…. i went to the sogo meeting point…

expecting the massive traffic out there… i took the public transport… i boarded the ktm komuter in kl sentral at approx 1145 hours… waited for at least 30 mins before the train actually moved an inch… apparently they have some ‘technical problems’ at the station in front… but, there was about 3 trains opposite the coach am in passed us by from the station in front of us!… ‘technical problems’ eh?!?… want to delay/deny us, say so lah… we understand the fear and uncertainties of certain people… 🙂 …

reached sogo approx 1245 hours, not before going though tens of police personnel staring at you as if you are a criminal, took my lunch and walked around and more and more people can be seen… i knew this is gonna be huge, really huge!… police personnel were all over the place inside and outside sogo then and helicopter right above us drowning the noise of the people… a real low way of doing things eh?!?…

joined my group opposite sogo, which was only about 10 of us… had a drink with them.. changed into my xxxl yellow bersih t-shirt and voila… we marched towards the main entrance of sogo and greeted by roars and claps by hundreds of others, which was mainly pas supporters… made way for the 10 of us to be placed right in the middle of the group…. right after we arrived, one guy took over the meet-up with a prayer… at that particular time, the muhibbah thing struck me really hard… needless to say, the irritating helicopter which was flying really low ‘drown’ the prayers…

after the prayers, we started our march at approx 1400 hours with very gloomy looking sky above us!… minutes into our march just before the dbkl building on our right, it started pouring… came well prepared with plastic bags and a backpack to keep my stuffs dry…. 🙂 … fru set-up a barricade infront of us, they practically set up barricades surrounding the whole of dataran merdeka!… we then marched towards the main entrance of royal selangor club greeted by many others who was having their lunch there and the motorists opposite us and that basically kept us moving further in the heavy downpour!… we passed the masjid negara opposite us minutes later…. thousands of them came over to join us, if am not mistaken including some heavy weights too fm that meeting point, at that time the crowd grew to easily to at least 400 meters long…

basically the ‘chanting’ of “daulat tuanku”… “hidup rakyat”… “hancur kezaliman”… hancur rasuah”… the takbir… etc…. heard even louder then…

at that particular time, i knew very much we are not heading to dataran merdeka, instead we will be marching towards the palace directly!…

as we were passing the chinese assembly hall, another group join us… as this particular time, the crowd grew to at least 600 meters long!… a sea of yellow can be seen when i looked back… at that time, the rain start slowing down…

as we were passing by public bank on our right and nearing the palace… thousands more joined the line… it was at this time i spotted a guy in crutches with a leg amputated, all soaked up, marching his way to the palace… this stunned me for a while thinking how can a person with one leg do this!.. shame one me when the first i heard about this bersih gathering/march, i was actually thinking and contemplating whether to go for it or not!… shame on me!… i have the utmost respect for that guy!… God bless him, whoever he is!…

we reached at the main entrance of the palace at approx 1500 hours… some heavy weights gave some short speeches… at approx 1530 hours or so, the memorandum were submitted to the king’s special assistant or to someone along that line… still drizzling at that time… met my eldest brother there who were also drenched in the rain, am surprised he actually came for it tho!… 🙂 … i thought it was a joke when he told me he is coming!… my second nephew could not make it, although my eldest brother and myself very much want him to come and be exposed to all these things and to all the crap we are going through!…. he came by lrt… walked all the way fm central market.. understand fm him that particular trip he took was the last trip that the lrt goona stop in central market station… talk about ‘manipulation’ eh?!?… 🙂 … he was stunned when he was fm the lrt he is in, looking down and saw seas of yellow marching.. as he put it… “it was a very nice sight”!… i would get goosebumps when i see that!… btw, understand from my brother that my eldest nephew’s friend stopped by police twice, when he was on his way for some frisbee competition/training, because he wore a yellow shirt!.. wtf?!?…

the whole things finished by approx 1600 hours… it was another long walk for both of us to get a cab home…

understand that there was approx 80 people arrested (probably for ‘formalities’) in masjid jamek meeting point… mainly pas supporters/unit amal people… water cannon, tear gas and chemical were sprayed/released!… until now (2245 hours on 10th november 2007) no concrete confirmation on this… we shall wait for the official reports/news in the next couple of days…

things i learnt fm this bersih gathering/march… in no particular order…

1) if you have the same vision and mission for a particular… race and religion does not matter, both this 2 issues won’t play a part in it…

2) this bersih gathering/march is indeed a very loud voice to the current ruling bn/umno rotten to the core government!…

3) there are people who are actually very afraid when they read about the news saying no permit given, fear of certain things, etc… but, they want things to be changed!…

4) no matter whatever ways they may be using to stop us fm attending this bersih gathering/march.. NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING can stop us!…

5) it’s very nice and comforting to see malaysia still have hope!…

6) it’s very nice and comforting to see people march arms in arms regardless who you may be!…

7) unit amal is very professional in handling things!…

8) there are people who love malaysia to bits!…

9) my love for the country went a step deeper!…

10) it’s good to expose yr kids to all these things!…

11) my parents and my immediate family members are very supportive of all these things, as they believe in wat the current rulling bn/umno rotten to the core government is doing is very wrong and one sided!…

12) the police created the extremely massive traffic jams all over the klang valley, not the people!…

13) the irritating/annoying sound of helicopters can work better than police car siren!…

14) kyros kebab in sogo is yummilicious!… 🙂 …

15) it was nice to walk around sogo after such a long time, sogo used to be one of my favourite places to hang out after school!…

16) always have the interest in politics since primary school… if not for monetary issues for now, i WILL take the plunge into politics full time, of course with my parents’s blessings, which i think they will give me tho!… 🙂 …

17) every little tiny help fm everyone, do make a different!…

18) this bersih gathering/march is not a political gathering/march.. no party flags, t-shirts, logo, etc… should be seen… we see nothing political in this bersih gathering/march… people can be very well discipline if it make sense to them tho!…

19) if am aab, i better have the biggest headache now tho!…

20) the chinese and indians in particular must be pro-active in making the country a better, cleaner, fairer and colour blind to live in!… i respect the malays in being very pro-active in these kinda gathering/march… nope, am not talking about those people fm the rotten to the core umno!…

21) kj is really no one.. he is just some dude fm kuwait, some datuk and datin’s son… graduated fm a well-known university, hooked up with aab’s daughter and voila… he is ‘someone’ now… also, he can certainly get along very well with power and money now tho!…

22) nazri may say… “this is not the majority, we have 27 million rakyat, only 40,000 turned up”!…

23) it will be interesting to hear mm’s point of view on this bersih gathering/march!…

24) general election may not be so soon after all…

25) i still get goosebumps when watching this video, after countless of times… (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4ycaduE_D4 )!…

26) this is just the beginning to many more things to come, we must continue the struggle… pls do your part!…
 
 
 

reports fm al jazeera…

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzqSddWkxGs)
 
 
 
 
more videos in malaysiakini…

(http://www.malaysiakini.tv/)…
 
 
 

pix galore!…

(http://www.malaysia-today.net/nuc2006/report07.php?itemid=208)

( http://www.malaysia-today.net/nuc2006/report07.php?itemid=216)

(http://malaysianunplug.blogspot.com/2007/11/damn-this-umno-led-government-for-tear.html )…

(http://picasaweb.google.com/pemudawp/BersihRally)…

( http://www.flickr.com/photos/19725396@N07/)…

(http://jahilgoblog.net/gambaq/main.php)…

( http://www.meshio.com/index.php/2007/11/photos-from-10th-november-bersih-rally/)..
 
 
 
 
spot the difference…

between this…

(http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/11/11/nation/19443759&sec=nation )…

and this…

(http://www.suaram.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=778&Itemid=1 )…

well, i dun blame the repoters fm the star tho… it’s perhaps another component party of barisan nasional…

34 instead of 245… bigger number to ‘create fear’ in the rakyat?!?… they must be thinking the rakyat are some stupid uneducated fellas eh!…
p/s ; any difference between detained and arrested?!?..
 

BERSIH: PM worried about Agong’s intervention

  Bringing the people’s memo to the King on behalf of BERSIH

PM Abdullah blamed the Opposition for dragging the monarchy into politics. He spoke as if HRH Agong has no mind of his own.

Come on, AAB. Please learn to respect our King. Our monarchy is not mere rubber stamp. Under the Federal Constitution, they have the rights to right the wrong in the administration. And it’s only natural for the rakyat to turn to the King for help when the BN government is failing all Malaysians in every aspect of its administration. 

It was also wrong for AAB to claim that the rakyat were angry with the Opposition for organising the protest rally. In fact, more and more people now understand the importance of a clean and fair electoral system. What is so important about causing traffic jam compared to the demand of a clean and fair electoral system? To be fair to BERSIH, the traffic jams were created by the police. They should not have set up so many road blocks in the first place. The traffic jam has very little to do with BERSIH.