Apakah yang ditakutkan sangat kepada tuntutan BERSIH sehingga ada yang dituduh bahawa BERSIH mengancam keselamatan Negara, sehingga ada yang dituduh menjadi komunis, sehingga ada yang dituduh menjadi dalang kepada kuasa asing, sehingga dituduh bahawa ia menjadi alat oleh parti-parti pembangkang, sehingga dituduh bahawa ada agenda yang terselindung?
BERSIH adalah gabungan dari badan-badan NGO yang kesemuanya berdaftar dibawah Pendaftar Pertubuhan dan kesemuanya adalah badan bukan Kerajaan yang halal dan sah disisi undang-undang dan kesemuanya didaftarkan mengikut kehendak Perlembagaan Malaysia.
Badan-badan NGO ini telah membuat kajian yang teliti dan mendapati bahawa perjalanan Pilihanraya di Negara ini boleh diperbaiki jika pihak SPR dapat memperbaiki sistem dan prosedur Pilihanraya yang Pilihanraya menjadi adil, telus, bersih dan lebih demokratik.
Pemerhatian mereka bahawa senarai pengundi-pengundi mengandungi senarai yang diragukan dan mereka telah menunjukkan bukti-bukti yang jelas.
Undi pos yang dijalankan terbukti melanggar prinsip-prinsip demokrasi apabila berlaku bahawa hanya seorang berdua sahaja daripada pegawai-pegawai tentera yang mengundikan untuk pengundi-pengundi tentera dan tidak ada seorang pun polling agent ditempatkan di tempat mengundi tersebut, dan ada juga bukti-bukti bahawa sesetengah pengundi pos mempunyai ruang mengundi lebih dari sekali kerana disamping nama mereka disenaraikan sebagai pengundi pos, mereka juga tersenarai di senarai bukan pengundi pos, khususnya kepada mereka yang sudah bersara dari tentera, dan siapakah yang mengundikan bagi mereka untuk undi pos tersebut?
Untuk mengelakkan seseorang pengundi itu daripada mengundi lebih dari satu kali dan lebih dari satu kawasan mengundi, maka amat perlu ada mekanisme yang menetapkan mereka hanya keluar mengundi sekali sahaja.
Semasa pilihanraya, media nasional semuanya dikuasai oleh UMNO dan Barisan Nasional sehingga digambarkan seolah-olah hanya UMNO dan BN sahaja yang bertanding, kalau pun ada berita tentang parti-parti pembangkang, semuanya berita yang negatif terhadap mereka.
Oleh kerana UMNO/BN dapat menggunakan segala kemudahan kerajaan dan media, maka mereka tidak perlu kepada tempoh masa berkempen yang panjang, tetapi untuk parti-parti pembangkang yang dinafikan hak kemudahan tersebut, jangka masa 8 hingga 10 hari untuk berkempen adalah terlalu singkat.
Jelas didalam semua Pilihanraya sebelum ini pihak Parti yang memerintah (UMNO/BN) telah menyalahgunakan institusi awam untuk faedah mereka, dan segala peruntukan awam disalahgunakan untuk tujuan kempen UMNO/BN sedangkan kemudahan itu adalah kemudahan rakyat yang sepatutnya menjadi haram digunakan oleh parti yang memerintah.
Rasuah politik semasa Pilihanraya amat ketara sekali. Rasuah itu bukan sahaja berbentuk pemberian wang ringgit kepada pengundi-pengundi tetapi janji pemberian projek-projek jika rakyat mengundi parti yang memerintah dan janji-janji itu melibatkan kemudahan dan pembiayaan dari institusi awam serta kementerian-kementerian.
Politik ugut, fitnah, dan menakut-nakutkan adalah permainan biasa bagi UMNO/BN, dan kesemua taktik ini adalah bertentangan dengan perjalanan demokrasi yang tulen dan dengan politik kotor inilah UMNO/BN meraih undi.
Maka, badan-badan NGO yang sedar dan insaf ini merasakan bahawa Pilihanraya mestilah dijalankan mengikut sistem yang profesional, adil, telus dan demokratik dan untuk itu mereka menuntut suatu pembaharuan kepada sistem Pilihanraya agar semua pihak yang menyertai Pilihanraya itu boleh "bermain diatas padang yang sama dan peraturan yang sama".
Untuk itu, mereka menubuhkan BERSIH yang memperjuangkan 8 perkara untuk diterima-pakai oleh Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya iaitu:
1. Pembersihan senarai undi;
2. reformasi undi pos;
3. penggunaan dakwat kekal;
4. akses media yang bebas dan adil;
5. temph berkempen minima 21 hari;
6. kukuhkan institusi awam;
7. hentikan rasuah;
8. hentikan politik kotor.
Adakah tuntutan ini bertentangan dengan dasar pilihanraya yang adil? Adakah tuntutan ini mengancam keselamat negara? Adakah tuntutan ini bertentangan dengan demokrasi?
Maka, hanya mereka yang tidak mahu melihat demokrasi telus dan bersih sahaja yang tidak mahu melihat pembaharuan pilihanraya di Negara ini. Hanya mereka yang berfikiran sempit dan kolot sahaja yang menentang tuntutan ini.
Weeks of rising tensions in Malaysia boiled over Saturday as police fired tear gas and water cannons on activists in downtown Kuala Lumpur and arrested more than a thousand people at the country’s largest political rally in several years.
Thousands of protesters seeking reforms to Malaysia’s electoral system descended upon central Kuala Lumpur by mid-afternoon, despite stern warnings from the government, which sealed off roads and shut down train stations to try to keep people away. Federal police said they had detained 1,667 people. Ambiga Sreenevasan, one of the main organizers of the rally, had been detained but was later released.
Authorities fired their water cannons and tear gas to scatter the crowds as they tried to mass near the city’s famous Merdeka Stadium, while helicopters buzzed overhead. Witnesses said police charged on demonstrators with batons, while other protesters shouted “Reform!” and “Long live the people!”
There were no immediate reports of serious injuries. Authorities estimated the total number of protesters at 5,000, though supporters of the activists said they believed the number was as high as 50,000.
Police use tear gas on demonstrators in Malaysia as opposition leader is among those injured. Video courtesy of Reuters.
The rally – and the government’s response – could dent Malaysia’s reputation as one of Asia’s most stable and predictable countries. Although the predominantly-Muslim nation is often held up as a model in the Muslim world for its successful economy and modern infrastructure, it has become increasingly fractured along racial lines in recent years as ethnic Chinese, Indian and other residents demand reforms to boost their standing compared with the country’s powerful Malay majority.
Activists organized Saturday’s rally to publicize their demands for changes to Malaysia’s electoral system, including equal media coverage for all election candidates and stronger measures to curb fraud, including the past practice of people voting multiple times. Although fresh elections aren’t required under Malaysian law until spring 2013, many analysts expect Prime Minister Najib Razak – whose ruling coalition has long dominated the country – to call them much earlier.
Authorities have argued that the group behind the rally – known as Bersih, or “clean”— is outlawed because it is not formally registered, and that its real intent is to boost opposition parties ahead of any planned vote and threaten public order. Bersih leaders contend their group is a coalition of existing registered organizations and therefore valid.
A government spokesman said Saturday afternoon that the protesters ignored efforts by authorities to steer them to a sanctioned rally site and that officials therefore had no choice but to take actions to protect ordinary citizens. Officials also noted that at least two well-known pro-government protesters were detained after clashing with police.
Mr. Najib said Saturday that the protesters only represent a minority of Malaysians and that he still enjoys the support of most people. “If there are people who want to hold the illegal rally, there are even more who are against their plan,” he said, according to the national news agency, Bernama.
Authorities arrested more than 200 activists in the days leading up to the protest, leading to a rare intervention by Malaysia’s constitutional monarch, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, who issued a statement asking both sides to step back from the brink of a broader conflict. The tensions appeared to ease for a while, as protest organizers negotiated with authorities to schedule a sanctioned rally at a site approved by the government.
But the talks broke down by week’s end, and government officials began warning residents it would tolerate no public demonstration at all.
The last time Bersih held a protest in Kuala Lumpur, in 2007, a similar script played out, with tens of thousands of people appearing and authorities resorting to water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowds. A few months later, the ruling National Front coalition lost its two-thirds majority in Malaysia’s Parliament for the first time in decades.
Since then, Mr. Najib has had some success in calming matters and reasserting his backers’ control. He took over the premiership in 2009 with a goal of halting the opposition’s momentum and backed modest economic reforms that helped win back some support for the ruling United Malays National Front. He also launched a “1Malaysia” campaign aimed at celebrating the country’s racial diversity and bridging some of its ethnic divides.
He benefited, too, from the ongoing troubles for Malaysia’s charismatic opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, who authorities put on trial for allegedly breaking Malaysia’s strict sodomy laws, which he denies. Mr. Anwar said on Twitter Saturday that he sustained a “minor injury” at the rally when his group was hit by tear gas, the Associated Press said, though immediate details on his condition were not available. A press aide for Mr. Anwar said he was leaving a Kuala Lumpur hotel when he was hit with the tear gas.
Some analysts believe the opposition will be emboldened by the rally, and the government’s difficulty in containing it, and may take other steps in the months ahead.
The protest “will have long-term consequences for Najib because there will be a blowback – a lot of people thought we were past authoritarian methods,” said James Chin, a political science professor at the Malaysian campus of Australia’s Monash University, speaking before the demonstrations kicked off. If the authorities had allowed the protest to go ahead without interference, it likely would have passed without major incident, he said. “It is a stupid thing they overreacted” and tried to block it, he said.
Protesters on the scene, meanwhile, said they were heartened by the turnout despite official efforts to keep the number of participants low.
“The system must change,” said one protester from the northern state of Kedah, Akashnan Ahmad, whose glasses were smashed in a confrontation with police. “Look around, see the young faces – they want clean elections.”
“We have proven a point despite all the attacks on the people,” said another protester, S. Arutchelvan, who is Secretary General of the Socialist Party of Malaysia.
Police in Malaysia have fired tear gas and arrested hundreds of protesters in the biggest opposition-backed rally in years.
More than 20,000 demonstrators massed across Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, demanding electoral reforms, activists said.
The federal police force have arrested 1,400 people in a clampdown called Operation Erase Bersih, referring to the Bersih coalition, the group that organised the rally.
Those arrested included several senior opposition officials.
“The public is reminded not to be involved in any demonstration,” the federal police force said in a statement and warned of “stern action … against those who disobey”.
Witnesses said riot police armed with batons charged at some protesters and dragged them into trucks.
Numerous restaurants and stores were closed because of the transportation disruptions and fears of violence.
The government had declared the demonstration illegal, and police had sealed off parts of the capital in advance.
Strict security measures
Authorities took extraordinary security measures to deter the rally by closing train stations and deploying lorries mounted with water cannons near the Independence Stadium in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, where activists sought to gather.
Nevertheless, thousands tried to reach the stadium from various parts of the capital, chanting “Long live the people” and carrying yellow balloons and flowers as they marched.
Police fired numerous rounds of tear gas and chemical-laced water in repeated attempts to disperse the crowds, causing demonstrators to scatter into nearby buildings.
Helicopters flew overhead as a brief downpour failed to deter the protesters.
Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader, said on Twitter that he sustained a “minor injury” when his group was hit by tear gas.
Government officials accuse Anwar’s three-party alliance of endorsing the rally to cause chaos on the streets and undermine the National Front, the federal ruling coalition.
Electoral reforms
The rally organisers called for reforms following accusations that the Malaysian election commission is biased towards the ruling coalition, which has been in power since independence from Britain in 1957. The commission denies the charge.
The government insists the current electoral policies are evenhanded.
Over the past two weeks, more than 200 other activists have been arrested nationwide for trying to promote the rally.
Earlier, speaking to Al Jazeera over phone from Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, Edmund Bon, a human-rights lawyer, said: “It’s an extraordinary clampdown on the whole [city] and we are not allowed to go anywhere.
“People are getting arrested on the streets and about 250 to 300 people have been arrested so far in connection with the rally."
The activists’ demands include an overhaul of voter registration lists, tougher measures to curb fraud and fairer opportunities for opposition politicians to campaign in government-linked media.
A general election is not due until 2013 but Najib Razak, the prime minister, has not ruled out early polls, after economic growth accelerated to a 10-year high in 2010.
Major street demonstrations are rare in this Southeast Asian country, but the rise of alternative media channels and a growing opposition voice are gradually creating a more vocal Malaysian public.
Speaking from his hospital bed with a neck brace, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim vowed the fight for electoral reform will continue, beyond today's Bersih 2.0 rally.
The opposition leader, who spoke to reporters at the Pantai Hospital here, suffered minor head and leg injuries sustained during the rally and will be staying the night in hospital for further observation.
"We did discuss prior to this, with many of our friends including Ambiga, Uztaz Hadi, being arrested, that this has to go on. This is not the end of our demand," Anwar (picture) said.
It was reported that about 50,000 supporters showed up for today's rally although the police said only 6,000 turned up.
There were 1,401 arrests made, and police said everyone would be released by tonight.
"What is clear is that the Umno-led government refused to acknowledge the fact that more Malaysians are ready to exercise their right to vote in a clean and fair election.
"Not withstanding this, you can see the will of the people, with resolve, their commitment and we have seen many demonstrations in the past but we have never seen, for example, the Malays, Chinese, Indians in large numbers. So the attempt by Umno to try and create this as a racial or anti-Malay expression or anti-Muslim, or whatever, I think falls flat," he said.
Anwar also accused the police of using "high-handed tactics, brutal measures".
"The whole city was basically under curfew from last night and that shows the level of desperation on the part of the authorities.
"I am very optimistic with the outcome but not too optimistic with the fact that Umno would respond to these demands kindly despite the fact that Tuanku Agong has called for negotiations and to take the heat off the legitimate expressions and concerns," he said.
Bersih chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who was released by police at 6.30 this evening, also declared that Malaysians had shown courage in the face of government intimidation.
She said the "amazing" turnout was a sign that "we do not want to be bullied anymore. Rough intimidation does not work anymore."
The government had declared the movement illegal less than 10 days before today's march.
It also told the coalition of 62 NGOs on Thursday to move its gathering outside Kuala Lumpur despite Bersih already accepting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's offer to move its street rally to a stadium.
Ketika polis mengawal ketat Kuala Lumpur, rakyat Malaysia di seluruh dunia mengadakan perhimpunan masing-masing menyokong tuntutan BERSIH untuk pilihan raya yang bebas dan adil.
Perhimpunan itu dilaporkan berlangsung di 30 bandaraya.
Di Melbourne, Australia, peserta perhimpunan di Federal Square mencecah 750 orang, lapor tweet terkini Bersih Oz Twitter.
Perhimpunan itu bermula kira-kira jam 9 pagi waktu tempatan dengan kira-kira 30 orang membawa plakad menyokong pilihan raya bebas dan adil serta menyanyikan lagu ‘Negara Ku’.
Menjelang tengah hari, semakin ramai menyertai perhimpunan tersebut, dengan topeng Ambiga diedarkan untuk dipakai oleh para peserta.
“Topeng Ambiga kini diedarkan, kita semua Ambiga!” tulis satu tweet.
Semasa di Perth, Australia, 150 rakyat Malaysia dilaporkan berkumpul di hadapan menyanyi konsulat Malaysia, manakala 300 lagi berhimpun di Dewan Bandaran Sydney sekitar jam 2 petang.
Di Adelaide, kira-kira 150 orang menyertai perhimpunan menyokong BERSIH di bandar tersebut.
Sementara itu di New Zealand, perhimpunan dilaporkan bermula di Christchurch, di Universiti Canterbury sekitar jam 10.30 pagi waktu tempatan.
Di Seoul, kira-kira 30 rakyat Malaysia mengadakan perhimpunan itu serentak dengan di Malaysia yang berdepan dengan tembakan gas pemedih mata dan meriam air.
“Kami menuntut pilihan raya yang bebas dan adil. Bebaskan semua tahanan,” laung peserta perhimpunan itu di persimpangan Gwanghwamun di tengah-tengah bandaraya Seoul (kiri).
Memakai baju-T kuning, mereka – kebanyakannya pelajar Malaysia dan pekerja yang tinggal di ibu negara Korea Selatan itu – membawa kain rentang dan bergilir-gilir menyampaikan ucapan menuntut pembaharuan pilihan raya di Malaysia.
Seorang peserta Bersih, Baharuddin Ahmad, 59 meninggal dunia setelah terjatuh di perkarangan KLCC pada perhimpunan aman yang dianjurkan hari ini.
Allahyarham merupakan suami kepada Ketua Wanita KEADILAN Setiawangsa, Rusni Malan.
Beliau dikatakan rebah akibat sesak nafas, ketika hambatan pasukan polis yang melepaskan semburan gas pemedih mata ke arah peserta Bersih yang berhimpun di kawasan itu.
Timbalan Pengerusi KEADILAN Wilayah, Zahir Husin berkata allahyarham kemudian dikejar ke Hospital Kuala Lumpur sebelum disahkan meninggal dunia.
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim suffered a bruise on his head and a cut on his leg Saturday after police fired tear gas on protesters demanding poll reform ahead of general elections.
Anwar was brought to the Pantai Hospital in an ambulance along with his bodyguard who was also injured, an aide told AFP.
A. Xavier Jayakumar, a legislator allied with Anwar’s party, said he and other opposition leaders together with hundreds of protesters were gathered at a train station in the capital Kuala Lumpur when police fired tear gas.
“There was panic… Anwar fell down and hit his head against the concrete pavement,” Jayakumar said at the hospital.
“People also stepped on his leg. He sustained a bruise to his head and a cut on his left leg,” he added.
“Anwar is very shaken up because of the fall and because of the gas.”
Malaysia’s national police chief Ismail Omar said 1,401 people had been arrested, although Anwar was not one of them.
Jayakumar said Anwar was “OK” although doctors want him to stay overnight so that they can monitor his condition.
The injured bodyguard however had to undergo minor surgery after he was hit in the left eye by a tear gas canister, another Anwar supporter said.
Malaysian police fired tear gas and water cannon and made almost 1,000 arrests on Saturday during clashes with protesters who defied government warnings to rally in the capital for electoral reform.
Leaders of opposition parties were among those detained during a massive security operation but it failed to thwart the outlawed demonstration which saw 50,000 citizens take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur, according to organisers.
Protesters faced baton-wielding riot officers in front of a downtown bus station, retreating at times and regrouping to push back police lines in a cat-and-mouse confrontation that took place in a downpour.
Some of the demonstrators fought back by picking up tear gas canisters which they lobbed at police, reporters said.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was injured during the protest when he fell onto the pavement after a tear gas attack and was taken to a hospital as he was feeling unwell, an aide said.
The protesters dissolved into three main groups, and by late afternoon all were trying to force their way through a tight police cordon to a stadium and then to the king’s palace to hand over a memorandum detailing their demands.
The police line, however, held firm.
“Why is the government trying to intimidate citizens?” said Mohamad Manij Abdullah, 50, a businessman who joined the rally.
“We are only trying to reform elections and have a free and fair government,” he said.
An official police Facebook page said 924 people were detained and they included Ambiga Sreenivasan and Maria Chin Abdullah, the two top leaders of Bersih, the broad coalition that organised the protest.
“Ambiga and myself have been arrested,” Maria Chin told this news agency as she was being transported in a police van to an unknown location.
Abdul Hadi Awang, president of the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), the country’s largest Islamic opposition grouping, was also arrested.
The protesters rallied in several areas of the city but later began to disperse, said Subramaniam Pillay, one of the organisers, who described the day as “a great success”.
Student Chew Ai Nee, 30, said: “We have to take to the streets because we have not been given any opportunity to express our demands for change… the government cannot silence us when we march.”
Many of the protesters were shouting “Reformasi!” (Reforms), “God is great” and “Long Live the People.”
However, Mukhriz Mahathir, a leading member of the powerful United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), said the government had to act to prevent anarchy.
“We cannot allow a minority group to protest and stir trouble in the country,” he said, accusing protesters of provoking the police into firing tear gas “so that they can accuse the government of being heavy handed.”
UMNO is the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition led by Prime Minister Najib Razak.
New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced the arrests.
“This is a maelstrom of the Malaysian authorities’ own making,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director for HRW’s Asia Division.
Downtown Kuala Lumpur, normally a hive of activity on weekends, was deserted as major roads into the commercial and tourist district were sealed off.
Meanwhile, about 30 Malaysians living in South Korea rallied in Seoul in support, with another 80 marching through central Hong Kong.
Organisers had called for solidarity walks and demonstrations in countries including Australia, Cambodia, Japan, the United States and Taiwan.
The demonstrators want reforms, including the eradication of vote buying and the prevention of irregularities such as people illegally voting several times during elections.
Bersih wants to see the use of indelible ink to prevent multiple voting, equal access to the media for all parties and the cleaning-up of electoral rolls.
Malaysia’s opposition made major gains in 2008 elections against the ruling coalition but said they could have won more if voting rules were fair.
The country’s next elections are widely expected to be called early next year, with the opposition aiming to end Barisan’s half century rule.
JAWAPAN BAGI PERTANYAAN LISAN PADA 23 JUN 2011 SOALAN: TUAN GWO-BURNE LOH [Kelana Jaya] minta MENTERI PENERANGAN, KOMUNIKASI DAN KEBUDAYAAN menyatakan tindakan yang diambil ke atas TV3 yang didapati menayangkan iklan Hari Raya pada tahun 2010 tanpa permit FINAS. JAWAPAN: Tuan Yang di-Pertua, Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (SKMM) sentiasa mengambil langkah-langkah tegas terhadap stesen-stesen TV dan radio swasta sekiranya [...]
The Times Of India Malaysian police fired tear gas and water cannon and made almost 1,000 arrests on Saturday during clashes with protesters who defied government warnings to rally in the capital for electoral reform. Leaders of opposition parties were among those detained during a massive security operation but it failed to thwart the outlawed [...]
Channel News Asia Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim suffered a bruise on his head and a cut on his leg Saturday after police fired tear gas on protesters demanding poll reform ahead of general elections. Anwar was brought to the Pantai Hospital in an ambulance along with his bodyguard who was also injured, an aide [...]
Perhimpunan itu dilaporkan berlangsung di 30 bandaraya.
“Topeng Ambiga kini diedarkan, kita semua Ambiga!” tulis satu tweet.
“Kami menuntut pilihan raya yang bebas dan adil. Bebaskan semua tahanan,” laung peserta perhimpunan itu di persimpangan Gwanghwamun di tengah-tengah bandaraya Seoul (kiri).
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