Bersih 2.0 rally
Encyclopedia
The Bersih 2.0 rally was a demonstration in Kuala Lumpur
held on 9 July 2011 as a follow-up to the 2007 Bersih rally
. The rally, organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih
), was supported by Pakatan Rakyat
, the coalition of the three largest opposition parties in Malaysia, but was deemed illegal by the government. Bersih, chaired by former president of the Bar Council
Ambiga Sreenevasan
, were pushing the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) to ensure free and fair elections in Malaysia. It demanded that the EC clean up the electoral roll, reform postal voting, use indelible ink, introduce a minimum 21-day campaign period, allow all parties free access to the media, and put an end to electoral fraud.
The police vowed to stop any rallies from taking place on the planned date on the grounds that all public gatherings without police permits are illegal. Having originally planned to march through the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Bersih decided to hold its rally at Merdeka Stadium after consultations with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
, Malaysia's head of state.
Supporters of Bersih claim that demands for electoral reform made during the 2007 demonstration fell on deaf ears. UMNO Youth and Perkasa
planned counter-rallies, dismissing Bersih's demands for electoral reform, but Perkasa called off its counter-rally due to its inability to secure a venue and permit.
Estimates of the turnout ranged between 10,000 to over 20,000. The protestors were unable to congregate at Merdeka Stadium as many were forced to disperse by police who were heavily deployed throughout the city. Police arrested more than 1600 protestors, including Ambiga
and several opposition figures.
(BN), which consists of parties representing the major racial groups in Malaysia, has won every federal election since independence in 1957. Opposition parties and civil society organisations have long claimed that BN has been manipulating elections in its favour.
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) deputy president Mohamad Sabu
said there were many "concerns" about how the next general election
will be conducted. He accused BN of cheating tactics, including registering foreign nationals as BN voters. PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the EC and the National Registration Department (NRD) "were committing abuses," and that there were "rampant media abuses." Democratic Action Party
(DAP) member of parliament Teresa Kok
accused BN of "gerrymandering" and "malapportioning" electoral constituencies. She also pointed out how the opposition parties' share of seats in parliament was a lot less than their share of the popular vote. Leader of the Opposition Anwar Ibrahim
claimed that BN would lose power if elections were free and fair.
Civil society organisation Aliran claimed that there are "severe restrictions on political freedom" on opposition politicians in Malaysia. It highlighted structural problems such as access to the media, short notices of election dates, and short campaign periods. Human rights group SUARAM
also claim abuses by the ruling party such as gerrymandering
constituencies, using public funds for projects to win political support, and the "unscrutinised" counting of postal ballots. Transparency International
's Malaysian branch, criticising both BN and opposition parties, spoke out against financial rewards promised by political parties to voters while campaigning, calling the practice "vote buying" and "corrupt."
Both the Election Commission and BN have denied allegations of abuse.
said he was willing to sacrifice public freedoms in the interest of national stability. Four rallies in 2007 ended with arrests made by police. A protest in 2009 against the Internal Security Act
was also broken up by tear gas and water cannons.
Bersih
, short for the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections , is a coalition of 62 non-governmental organisations founded in November 2006. Since its founding, Bersih has been supported by the three main opposition parties, Parti Keadilan Rakyat
(PKR), PAS, and DAP. Bersih is the Malay word for "clean."
The first Bersih rally
on 10 November 2007 was estimated to have drawn between 30,000 to 50,000 people. It was broken up by police using tear gas and chemical-laced water cannon
s. The rally was said to play a major role in helping the opposition parties make big gains in the 2008 general election
.
Bersih 2.0, as the organisation branded itself for the 2011 rally, is chaired by former Bar Council
president Ambiga Sreenevasan
. Ambiga served as president of the Bar from 2007 to 2009 and is a recipient of the U.S. State Department
's International Women of Courage Awards.
], unhappiness about corruption, [and] unhappiness about the independence of our institutions." She said demands made during the first rally in 2007 have not been addressed, hence the follow-up rally.
The communiqué issued by Bersih issued in 2007 called for reforms to Malaysia's first-past-the-post
electoral system, ensuring the independence of the Election Commission (EC), eliminating electoral practices deemed unfair to opposition candidates, eliminating corrupt campaign practices, equal access to the media for all political parties, and instituting a caretaker government
during election periods, among others in the long term.
The 2011 rally's immediate demands were:
After agreeing to abandon plans for a street demonstration, Bersih also called for a Royal Commission
into election practices.
. After consultations with the King, Bersih decided to hold the rally in a stadium instead. However, their request to use Merdeka Stadium was rejected by police. Bersih accused the government of reneging on a previous offer to let them rally in a stadium instead of the streets.
Bersih insisted on gathering at Merdeka Stadium, despite preventative measures taken by police.
the April 2011 Sarawak election
, Bersih announced in a press release on 26 May that it had decided to organise a gathering on 9 July to press for electoral reform.
spoke out strongly against the rally. On 15 June, Perkasa announced that it had secured the support of over 30 non-governmental organisations and challenged Bersih organisers over who could stage a bigger rally on 9 July. It called on Bersih to cancel its rally, warning that clashes might occur. Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali
warned "[If they proceed] there will be a clash. If that happens, it is for the better."
On 19 June, Perkasa held a gathering to protest the Bersih rally and to launch an opposing coalition of NGOs known as Gerak Aman. During the gathering, images of Ambiga—described by flyers as "a dangerous Hindu woman"—were burned, while Ibrahim warned the Chinese community not to participate in the Bersih rally.
On 8 July, Perkasa announced the cancellation of its counter-rally due to its inability to secure a venue and a police permit.
announced that UMNO Youth will hold another rally on the same day (known as the "Patriot Rally" or Himpunan Patriot) to "strengthen the democratic system" and show that "the voice of the people does not belong only to the opposition." He added that they had "a right to assembly guaranteed by the constitution."
Khairy and Ibrahim became involved in a war of words over the latter's comments on regarding the Chinese community, with each side calling for the other to be investigated under the Sedition Act
. Ibrahim later backtracked from his comments.
UMNO Youth's plan was to gather at Bukit Bintang
and possibly march towards Merdeka Stadium.
to "overthrow the government." In turn, Ambiga criticised the EC's conduct, asking them to remain independent from politics.
On 20 June, the EC extended an offer to Bersih to meet and discuss its demands, on the condition that the rally be called off. He claimed that during a previous meeting with Bersih in 2010, it had agreed that its demands were met. Bersih rejected the EC's offer.
Speaking to reporters while observing the Thai general election in July, Abdul Aziz said the EC was considering allowing international observers to monitor the next Malaysian general election
.
The government also outlawed the wearing and distribution of Bersih's yellow shirts and declared Bersih an illegal organisation under Section 5 of the Societies Act 1966. Bersih countered that as a coalition of groups it need not be registered.
Najib initially offered Bersih the opportunity of holding the rally in a stadium instead of the streets. The government later rejected Bersih's request to hold the rally at Merdeka Stadium, and asked them to use a stadium in Selangor
instead. However, the Sultan of Selangor
had previously condemned demonstrations.
gave the rally his party's full backing. Calling the event the "Walk for Democracy," he asked for 300,000 PAS members to attend the gathering. PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang
ordered all of its members (numbering one million) to join the rally. The Leader of the Opposition, Anwar Ibrahim
, will also take part in the rally. The DAP also pledged support for the rally.
On 19 June, Anwar reportedly told members of his Parti Keadilan Rakyat
(PKR) that he would ask Ambiga to cancel the rally if the government met Bersih's demands. His statement was rebuffed by Ambiga the following day. Anwar later claimed he was misquoted. This incident was criticised by ruling coalition parties, who have argued that the rally is in fact an opposition tool to gain support.
(Suhakam), Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M), and the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST). The MCCBCHST also backed Perkasa and UMNO Youth's right to hold their rallies.
Amnesty International
called on the government to end the "mass repression" of Bersih activists. Human Rights Watch
urged the government to release all detained activists, return confiscated material, and permit the rally to proceed. Deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said "Governments that elected Malaysia to a second term on the UN Human Rights Council might feel duped."
The Asia-Europe Peoples' Forum (AEPF), consisting of 120 international NGOs, condemned the Malaysian government for the crackdown on activists.
voiced concern about the restriction of freedom of expression in Malaysia and urged the government to release detained Bersih activists.
The grandmaster of the Malaysian Silat Lincah
Organisation (PSSLM) reportedly threatened to "wage war" against Bersih activists. Najib subsequently endorsed silat groups, including PSSLM.
, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, issued a statement on 3 July urging moderation by all parties. He said "street demonstrations bring more bad than good although the original intention is good," and called for Bersih to resolve its differences with the government peacefully. He also expressed confidence in Prime Minister Najib Razak's administration.
Following an audience with the King, Ambiga announced that Bersih accepted the government's offer to hold the rally in a stadium instead of the streets. Despite Bersih's meeting with the King, the government maintained its stance that Bersih is illegal.
Police also investigated allegations that Ambiga received funds from foreign NGOs "to cause chaos in Malaysia."
Police recorded statements from Ambiga, Ibrahim, and opposition politicians ahead of the rally. On 1 July, the police ceased discussions with Bersih, Perkasa and UMNO Youth and promised to prevent any street rallies from taking place.
30 members of Parti Sosialis Malaysia
(PSM) were arrested in Penang
on 26 June on suspicion of spreading communism and conspiring to overthrow the government. Six members, including MP Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj
, remain held under the Emergency Ordinance 1969, which allows indefinite detention without trial.
Police also raided Bersih's office in Petaling Jaya
on 30 June.
One day before the planned rally, police released a list of 91 individuals, including Ambiga, Khairy and Ibrahim, barred from entering Kuala Lumpur's central business district on 9 July.
on Wednesday, 6 July, which led to massive traffic congestion and complaints from the public. They described it as a "preventive" move to stop undesirable elements from "smuggling" weapons into Kuala Lumpur
.
On 8 July, police sealed off Merdeka Square and rolled in water cannon and riot police trucks. At midnight on 9 July, major roads in the city was shut and public transportation suspended.
was described as a "ghost town" on the morning of 9 July. Many offices and shops were closed as police maintained heavy presences in key areas. Crowds began pouring in by noon, where they were met by police who took "extraordinary" security measures, known as "Operation Erase Bersih." Many were arrested and transported to the police training center (Pulapol). The protestors were arrested under Section 27 of the Police Act for planning to participate in illegal rallies, and face several years in prison if convicted.
Independent assessments put the rally numbers at between 10,000 to over 20,000, while Bersih claimed a turnout of 50,000.
Major gathering points included Menara Maybank, Jalan Pudu, and Puduraya where riot police confronted protestors. Thousands tried to reach Merdeka Stadium from various parts of the city, chanting "Hidup rakyat!" ("Long live the people!"). Police responded by firing numerous rounds of tear gas and chemical-laced water, causing the crowds to disperse into nearby buildings.
At 14:00, Bersih and Pakatan Rakyat leaders began their march towards Merdeka Stadium. Shielded by hundreds of supporters, they pushed past three lines of police personnel awaiting them outside KL Sentral. Around 14:30, while walking with supporters in Brickfields
, Ambiga and fellow steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah were arrested. Opposition politicians detained include Abdul Hadi Awang
, Mohamad Sabu
, Salahuddin Ayub
, Mahfuz Omar
, Dzulkefly Ahmad
, Azmin Ali, Tian Chua
, Fuziah Salleh
, Sivarasa Rasiah
, and Ngeh Koo Ham
. Anwar Ibrahim
said he sustained a bruise on his head and a cut leg while escaping when police fired tear gas. PAS MP Khalid Samad was said to have suffered a serious head injury and was admitted to hospital.
UMNO Youth's rally in Bukit Bintang was also stopped by police using tear gas. Its leader Khairy Jamaluddin
was arrested.
Around 1,000 protestors eventually reached Merdeka Stadium, including national laureate A. Samad Said
and PAS's Husam Musa
. At around 16:00, the crowd voluntarily began dispersing. Another group of protestors tried to reach the National Palace, while a third group gathered at Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Park
beneath the Petronas Twin Towers
. Thousands eventually gathered at KLCC but were dispersed by police using tear gas and chemically-laced water.
By 18:40 in the evening, police had confirmed 1,667 arrests, including 167 females and minors. Most of the arrested protestors, including Ambiga, were freed by the end of the day.
One death was reported. Protestor Baharuddin Ahmad fell while running from tear gas fired by police. Police said he died of heart complications.
at Hong Lim Park, Singapore. Further rallies were reported in central Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Sweden, France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the United States.
called the rally a "great success", lauding the multiracial unity among the protestors. Ambiga, speaking after being released, congratulated those who attended the rally, saying "we were not intimidated." The Bersih leadership commended protestors for behaving peacefully and condemned the police for reacting harshly to the demonstration. They said the gathering was "not the end, it is but one more step in the long walk for clean and fair elections in Malaysia."
Leader of the Opposition Anwar Ibrahim
said the rally was a "success" despite "police brutality." DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng
said the "police abuse" was "a big blow to the image of Malaysia."
Prime Minister Najib Razak downplayed the rally, insisting it only represented a minority of the population. He also said the anti-government sentiment among the protestors confirmed the government's fears that Bersih's agenda had been hijacked by the opposition. Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein praised the police for keeping the rally under control and said the rally revealed itself to be an opposition plot.
The United States expressed concern over the crackdown. State Department
spokesman Mark Toner said "We stand for... the right for people to freely express their democratic aspirations and express their views freely."
Amnesty International released a statement saying: "This brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters is undermining Malaysia’s claim to be a moderate democracy. Mr. Najib’s government has chosen the path of repression, not reform." Lawyers for Liberty released a statement saying that the police deliberately shot gas canisters against the protestors.
In his Malaysia Day
2011 address in September, Najib announced the government's intentions to repeal the Internal Security Act
, Emergency Ordinance, remove the annual renewal of press and publication permits, and review Section 27 of the Police Act
. In November 2011, the government tabled the Peaceful Assembly Act
to replace Section 27 of the Police Act.
, which stipulates they can only publish with a license granted by the Ministry of Home Affairs
. A news website has alleged that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission
instructed radio and television stations to omit coverage of police violence and focus on the damage done by rally participants.
State news agency Bernama
quoted several political analysts saying that the rally will tarnish Malaysia's image abroad and is a distraction from Anwar Ibrahim
's ongoing sodomy trials
. It claimed the 1998 demonstrations against Anwar's arrest and the 2007 Bersih rally caused "inconvenience to the public and damage to public property, attracting bad publicity from the international media." One analyst said elections are "already fair as fair can be." Bernama also reported analysts saying that Ambiga has a history of provoking Muslims and working against interests of the Malay community.
, a newspaper owned by the United Malays National Organisation
(UMNO), a governing party, criticised the rally as "dirty" on a 12 June editorial. In particular, it made reference to Anwar's sodomy trial and sex video allegations, calling him a hypocrite and urging Malaysians to protest against the opposition leader instead. It also warned against disunity among Malay
s, and claimed that the DAP, backed strongly by Chinese constituents, would stand to benefit most from the rally. Utusan reported that out of 1000 who attended the Bersih 2.0 pre-launch on 19 June, 70 percent were non-Malay. The newspaper has also portrayed the rally as anti-Islam. They quoted pro-UMNO political analysts attacking Ambiga for "angering Muslims and Malays," as well as reported that foreign Christian organisations are funding the rally.
Tay Tian Yan wrote in the Sin Chew Daily, the highest circulated daily in Malaysia, that the rally is a repeat scenario of the 2007 protest, where the opposition cashed in on public discontent over rising prices and staged the rally to generate momentum ahead of the general election. He also noted that the counter-rally by UMNO Youth is a ploy by BN to mitigate the Bersih rally's momentum, as opposed to suppressing the rally outright, which he said would swing public opinion against BN. Lim Sue Goan noted the involvement of Pakatan Rakyat and UMNO in opposite rallies, and said the event has grown from becoming a mere march to demand free elections to a political showdown between the government and opposition.
In a 22 June editorial, The Star
, owned by the Malaysian Chinese Association
(MCA), also a governing party, said opposition parties are colluding with the rally's organisers to discredit the authorities in an attempt to gain support ahead of the elections. It accused Bersih of "[creating] cynical distrust in the authorities to give [themselves] and their political ringleaders a psychological advantage."
Johan Jaaffar, chairman of Media Prima (owned by UMNO), the parent company of the New Straits Times
, wrote in the paper: "The government of the day is not perfect. So, too, the system... we don't solve problems on the streets. That's not us, nor our way."
M Faqih, writing in the PAS organ Harakah Daily, compared the planned rally to the September 1998 protests in Kuala Lumpur against then-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim
's sacking and detention on sodomy and corruption charges, which he described as peaceful unlike the revolutions in Tunisia
and Egypt
. He called on the opposition to seize the initiative with public discontent over government policies and use the rally as a stepping stone to victory in next general election.
questioned the law requiring protest organisers to obtain permits, saying the freedom of speech and right to assembly are guaranteed by the Constitution. He also criticised the government's record of cracking down civil rights campaigners and political activists and the mainstream media's demonisation of the Bersih rally. Fellow columnists Mariam Mokhtar and Dean Johns criticised the government's crackdown on Bersih.
News website The Malaysian Insider
called the government's tough stand against the Bersih rally "double standards," deriding the government's non-action against Ibrahim Ali, who had earlier called for jihad
against Christians. It also blamed the police for the chaos that occurred during the 2007 rally and dismissed the government's concern for national security and threat to tourism as self-caused. The website reported analysts saying the rally will help PAS cement the growing support the party has gained among the Malay community.
Free Malaysia Today, another news website, argued in favour of the rally, saying that concerns that it will serve as a "spring offensive" to overthrow the government are exaggerated. It lamented what it perceived as Malaysia's flawed democracy, saying "[there] are two ways to punish political perverts who have raped democracy: vote them out or take to the streets." It also criticised the government for threatening to clamp down on protestors, saying that the ruling coalition is using public order as an excuse to preserve its stay in power. In another editorial the day before the rally, FMT was highly critical of the government, asking the people to "decide the course of history" and defy a "harsh and repressive" state.
, former U.S. ambassador to Malaysia John R. Malott said Najib's UMNO is "running scared" of losing power and is waging a campaign of intimidation against Bersih. He called the protest "a brave step" towards the country's transition to full democracy.
Professor Clive Kessler of the University of New South Wales in an interview with ABC Radio stated that the Agong's intervention was a rebuke to Umno and the government and an acknowledgement of Bersih’s legitimacy.
called the police operation to foil the illegal rally a success. The Star
remarked in an editorial the following day: "If every complaint made one or the other party take to the streets, bringing a city to a standstill, people would not be getting much work done." It said Bersih achieved the publicity it sought, and that everyone should move on. The New Straits Times
said there was "no winner in this madness" as many were hurt, and "Berish's intentions were hijacked by the opposition coalition." NST's 10 July front page featured a photo of a protestor throwing an object with the headline "Peaceful?"
The Malaysian Insider
s Debra Chong said Najib's administration "took a massive punch to its gut," as accounts of police personnel using tear gas and water cannons against unarmed civilians were reported by international media. She said the rally showed the willingness of the middle class and civil society to stand up to the government. TMI's Sheridan Mahavera said the rally was a display of racial unity. Jeswan Kaur of Free Malaysia Today said Najib and the police were to blame for the chaotic scenes.
Ibrahim Suffian, head of the Merdeka Center, an independent think tank, said the actions of Bersih and the government polarised Malaysians of opposite political opinions. "For Pakatan Rakyat supporters, it has just increased their scepticism of the [BN-ruled] government. For those who are pro-government, it has hardened their belief that the PR is out to cause trouble." One analyst accused Barisan Nasional of abusing public institutions to protect its power, while another added that "the police lost more credibility than the protesters."
International reaction was unanimously critical of the government. The Singapore Straits Times
added that Malaysian society has been polarised by the country’s divisive politics as clearly demonstrated when thousands braved a security lockdown of Kuala Lumpur. In an editorial, the Jakarta Post
described Malaysia as a "rich but not free" country, with its leaders still "laboring under an old paradigm" and refusing to allow its people to exercise their rights to free speech by invoking racial tension. Al Jazeera English's Teymoor Nabili
said the government acted out of fear of an Egypt-style revolution. Bloomberg
columnist William Pesek calls the rally a part of the "rising call for political change in Asia" that play a decisive role in foreign investment to Asian countries. The Asian Sentinel stated that although Najib Tun Razak appears to have won the battle by closing down Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and arresting 1,667 mostly peaceful marchers and would-be marchers, the consensus seems to be that Malaysia has suffered a blow to its international reputation as a moderate, democratic country.
The Guardian
s Simon Tisdall slammed Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's harsh treatment towards the peaceful rally participants, noting that the British Prime Minister David Cameron
should tell Najib that "strong-arm tactics against protesters are unacceptable" and that "Malaysia's leaders should wake up and smell the coffee". The United States also expressed concern for the government crackdown, stating that the US "stand for... the right for people to freely express their democratic aspirations and express their views freely".
s coverage of the rally was partially censored by the government. Four lines in the article titled "Taken to the cleaners — an overzealous government response to an opposition rally" was inked out. Najib later admitted that censoring parts of the article was a mistake which generated negative publicity.
Prime minister Najib said claims that elections are unfair "did not make sense," adding that the opposition are using instability to their political advantage. He challenged them to take on the government in the polls instead. The Home Minister, Hishamuddin, responding to early reports announcing the rally, criticised public demonstrations in particular. He slammed Bersih for trying to "instill hatred" and "show the world that our country is chaotic." Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin
said the planned rally is "undemocratic" and claimed that it is supported only by a small segment of the population. He also warned of foreign powers taking advantage of instability in Malaysia.
said that the event might risk damaging the economy and national security. UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin said Anwar's attempts to exert influence over the rally on 19 June was proof that Bersih was "compromised" by the opposition. UMNO Youth executive council member Tengku Azman Tengku Zainol Abidin said public rallies should not be held on the streets and that the 2007 Bersih rally "achieved nothing."
Anwar's former political secretary Senator
Ezam Mohd Noor called Anwar a hypocrite, saying that Anwar's own PKR party election in 2010 was rife with allegations of manipulation.
and Libya
. Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali
also threw his support behind the EC, arguing that they had already answered demands for free and fair elections.
questioned the need for the rally, claiming that democracy was already "alive," citing the result of the previous election as an example. Fellow independent MP Wee Choo Keong
hinted that Bersih's cause is "politically motivated," and advised Ambiga to join a political party instead of "hiding behind a non-governmental organisation."
UMNO encouraged business operators and taxi drivers to sue Bersih for any losses that may be caused by the rally.
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
held on 9 July 2011 as a follow-up to the 2007 Bersih rally
2007 Bersih rally
The 2007 Bersih Rally was a rally held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 10, 2007. The aim of this walk was to campaign for electoral reform...
. The rally, organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih
Bersih
The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections or Bersih is a coalition of non-governmental organisations with the aim of revising the current electoral system to ensure fair elections in Malaysia.-2007 Bersih rally:...
), was supported by Pakatan Rakyat
Pakatan Rakyat
Pakatan Rakyat or PR is an informal Malaysian political coalition. It currently controls four state governments while in opposition to the ruling Barisan Nasional at the federal level....
, the coalition of the three largest opposition parties in Malaysia, but was deemed illegal by the government. Bersih, chaired by former president of the Bar Council
Malaysian Bar
The Malaysian Bar is a professional body which regulates the profession of lawyers in peninsular Malaysia. In Malaysia, there is no distinction between a barrister and a solicitor, in that, it is a fused profession. Membership into the bar is automatic and mandatory. The bar was created under the...
Ambiga Sreenevasan
Ambiga Sreenevasan
Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan is a Malaysian lawyer who served as the President of the Malaysian Bar Council from 2007 to 2009. She is a former student of Convent Bukit Nanas and served as the Head Prefect in 1975....
, were pushing the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) to ensure free and fair elections in Malaysia. It demanded that the EC clean up the electoral roll, reform postal voting, use indelible ink, introduce a minimum 21-day campaign period, allow all parties free access to the media, and put an end to electoral fraud.
The police vowed to stop any rallies from taking place on the planned date on the grounds that all public gatherings without police permits are illegal. Having originally planned to march through the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Bersih decided to hold its rally at Merdeka Stadium after consultations with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence....
, Malaysia's head of state.
Supporters of Bersih claim that demands for electoral reform made during the 2007 demonstration fell on deaf ears. UMNO Youth and Perkasa
Perkasa
Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia or Perkasa is a non-governmental Malay Supremacy organization that was formed by Ibrahim Ali in the aftermath of the Malaysian general elections in 2008...
planned counter-rallies, dismissing Bersih's demands for electoral reform, but Perkasa called off its counter-rally due to its inability to secure a venue and permit.
Estimates of the turnout ranged between 10,000 to over 20,000. The protestors were unable to congregate at Merdeka Stadium as many were forced to disperse by police who were heavily deployed throughout the city. Police arrested more than 1600 protestors, including Ambiga
Ambiga Sreenevasan
Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan is a Malaysian lawyer who served as the President of the Malaysian Bar Council from 2007 to 2009. She is a former student of Convent Bukit Nanas and served as the Head Prefect in 1975....
and several opposition figures.
Background
The ruling coalition in Malaysia, Barisan NasionalBarisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
(BN), which consists of parties representing the major racial groups in Malaysia, has won every federal election since independence in 1957. Opposition parties and civil society organisations have long claimed that BN has been manipulating elections in its favour.
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) deputy president Mohamad Sabu
Mohamad Sabu
Mohamad Sabu, commonly known as Mat Sabu, is a Malaysian politician, currently serving as the Deputy President of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. He was elected to the post in 2011, running on a moderate platform against the conservative incumbent Nasharudin Mat Isa. He had previously...
said there were many "concerns" about how the next general election
Next Malaysian general election
The 13th Malaysian general election must be held in 2013 or before 2013. The constitutional parliamentary term in Malaysia is five years, after which the parliament must be dissolved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister as pertained in the Malaysian laws for national...
will be conducted. He accused BN of cheating tactics, including registering foreign nationals as BN voters. PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the EC and the National Registration Department (NRD) "were committing abuses," and that there were "rampant media abuses." Democratic Action Party
Democratic Action Party
The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...
(DAP) member of parliament Teresa Kok
Teresa Kok
Teresa Kok Suh Sim is a Malaysian Member of Parliament from the Democratic Action Party .-Background:Born and bred in Kuala Lumpur, Teresa is a second-generation Malaysian of Chinese descent. Kok is a member of the Hakka dialect group and her ancestors were from Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China....
accused BN of "gerrymandering" and "malapportioning" electoral constituencies. She also pointed out how the opposition parties' share of seats in parliament was a lot less than their share of the popular vote. Leader of the Opposition Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
claimed that BN would lose power if elections were free and fair.
Civil society organisation Aliran claimed that there are "severe restrictions on political freedom" on opposition politicians in Malaysia. It highlighted structural problems such as access to the media, short notices of election dates, and short campaign periods. Human rights group SUARAM
Suaram
SUARAM, or Suara Rakyat Malaysia, is a human rights organization in Malaysia created in 1987 after Operation Lalang, when 106 opposition, unions, activist leaders were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act...
also claim abuses by the ruling party such as gerrymandering
Gerrymandering
In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts...
constituencies, using public funds for projects to win political support, and the "unscrutinised" counting of postal ballots. Transparency International
Transparency International
Transparency International is a non-governmental organization that monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in international development. It publishes an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, a comparative listing of corruption worldwide...
's Malaysian branch, criticising both BN and opposition parties, spoke out against financial rewards promised by political parties to voters while campaigning, calling the practice "vote buying" and "corrupt."
Both the Election Commission and BN have denied allegations of abuse.
Protests in Malaysia
Street demonstrations are rare in Malaysia, but the public has become more vocal with the rise of alternative media and a resurgent opposition. Gatherings in Malaysia of five or more people must receive a police permit, which is rarely granted. The government has used heavy police presence to block rallies as well as arrest protest leaders to stop illegal public protests. Former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad BadawiAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...
said he was willing to sacrifice public freedoms in the interest of national stability. Four rallies in 2007 ended with arrests made by police. A protest in 2009 against the Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Malaysia)
The Internal Security Act 1960 is a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances...
was also broken up by tear gas and water cannons.
Bersih
Bersih
The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections or Bersih is a coalition of non-governmental organisations with the aim of revising the current electoral system to ensure fair elections in Malaysia.-2007 Bersih rally:...
, short for the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections , is a coalition of 62 non-governmental organisations founded in November 2006. Since its founding, Bersih has been supported by the three main opposition parties, Parti Keadilan Rakyat
Parti Keadilan Rakyat
The People's Justice Party , often known simply as KeADILan) is a centrist political party in Malaysia formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party...
(PKR), PAS, and DAP. Bersih is the Malay word for "clean."
The first Bersih rally
2007 Bersih rally
The 2007 Bersih Rally was a rally held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 10, 2007. The aim of this walk was to campaign for electoral reform...
on 10 November 2007 was estimated to have drawn between 30,000 to 50,000 people. It was broken up by police using tear gas and chemical-laced water cannon
Water cannon
A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-pressure stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of metres / hundreds of feet. They are used in firefighting and riot control. Most water cannon fall under the category of a fire...
s. The rally was said to play a major role in helping the opposition parties make big gains in the 2008 general election
Malaysian general election, 2008
The 12th Malaysian general election was held on March 8, 2008, in accordance with Malaysian laws for national elections, which states that a general election must be held no later than five years subsequent to the previous elections; the previous general election was held in 2004...
.
Bersih 2.0, as the organisation branded itself for the 2011 rally, is chaired by former Bar Council
Malaysian Bar
The Malaysian Bar is a professional body which regulates the profession of lawyers in peninsular Malaysia. In Malaysia, there is no distinction between a barrister and a solicitor, in that, it is a fused profession. Membership into the bar is automatic and mandatory. The bar was created under the...
president Ambiga Sreenevasan
Ambiga Sreenevasan
Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan is a Malaysian lawyer who served as the President of the Malaysian Bar Council from 2007 to 2009. She is a former student of Convent Bukit Nanas and served as the Head Prefect in 1975....
. Ambiga served as president of the Bar from 2007 to 2009 and is a recipient of the U.S. State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
's International Women of Courage Awards.
Demands
Ambiga has summed up the main issues raised by the organisation she leads as "unhappiness... in the Sarawak [electionSarawak state election, 2011
The tenth Sarawak state election was held on April 16, 2011 after nomination for candidates on April 6. The purpose of the election was to elect 71 representatives to the Sarawak State Assembly...
], unhappiness about corruption, [and] unhappiness about the independence of our institutions." She said demands made during the first rally in 2007 have not been addressed, hence the follow-up rally.
The communiqué issued by Bersih issued in 2007 called for reforms to Malaysia's first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post
First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...
electoral system, ensuring the independence of the Election Commission (EC), eliminating electoral practices deemed unfair to opposition candidates, eliminating corrupt campaign practices, equal access to the media for all political parties, and instituting a caretaker government
Caretaker government
Caretaker government is a type of government that rules temporarily. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government...
during election periods, among others in the long term.
The 2011 rally's immediate demands were:
- Clean the electoral roll
- Reform postal votingPostal votingPostal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
- Use of indelible ink
- A minimum campaignPolitical campaignA political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
period of 21 days - Free and fair access to mainstream mediaMedia of MalaysiaThe media of Malaysia include television, radio, newspapers, and web-based media such as bloggers. Many media outlets are either owned directly by the government of Malaysia or owned by component parties of the Barisan Nasional coalition government The media of Malaysia include television, radio,...
- Strengthen public institutions
- Stop corruption
- Stop dirty politics
After agreeing to abandon plans for a street demonstration, Bersih also called for a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
into election practices.
Plans
The rally's original plan was to have protestors gather at the KL Sogo shopping center, Kuala Lumpur City Hall building, and the Kampung Baru Mosque before marching to the Istana Negara to deliver a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan AgongYang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence....
. After consultations with the King, Bersih decided to hold the rally in a stadium instead. However, their request to use Merdeka Stadium was rejected by police. Bersih accused the government of reneging on a previous offer to let them rally in a stadium instead of the streets.
Bersih insisted on gathering at Merdeka Stadium, despite preventative measures taken by police.
Abroad
Simultaneous rallies in support of Bersih were planned by Malaysian citizens in more than 30 cities in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Egypt, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, the United States and Cambodia.Announcement
After frustration at by being shut out of observingElection monitoring
Election monitoring is the observation of an election by one or more independent parties, typically from another country or a non-governmental organization , primarily to assess the conduct of an election process on the basis of national legislation and international standards. There are national...
the April 2011 Sarawak election
Sarawak state election, 2011
The tenth Sarawak state election was held on April 16, 2011 after nomination for candidates on April 6. The purpose of the election was to elect 71 representatives to the Sarawak State Assembly...
, Bersih announced in a press release on 26 May that it had decided to organise a gathering on 9 July to press for electoral reform.
Perkasa
Malay nationalist movement PerkasaPerkasa
Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia or Perkasa is a non-governmental Malay Supremacy organization that was formed by Ibrahim Ali in the aftermath of the Malaysian general elections in 2008...
spoke out strongly against the rally. On 15 June, Perkasa announced that it had secured the support of over 30 non-governmental organisations and challenged Bersih organisers over who could stage a bigger rally on 9 July. It called on Bersih to cancel its rally, warning that clashes might occur. Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali
Ibrahim Ali (Malaysia)
Dato' Ibrahim bin Ali is a Malaysian politician and is currently the member of parliament for Pasir Mas. He is also the founder and president of Malay rights group Perkasa.-Political career:...
warned "[If they proceed] there will be a clash. If that happens, it is for the better."
On 19 June, Perkasa held a gathering to protest the Bersih rally and to launch an opposing coalition of NGOs known as Gerak Aman. During the gathering, images of Ambiga—described by flyers as "a dangerous Hindu woman"—were burned, while Ibrahim warned the Chinese community not to participate in the Bersih rally.
On 8 July, Perkasa announced the cancellation of its counter-rally due to its inability to secure a venue and a police permit.
UMNO Youth
UMNO Youth leader Khairy JamaluddinKhairy Jamaluddin
Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar is a Malaysian politician, and the son-in-law of former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Since 2008, Khairy has been a member of the Malaysian Parliament representing the constituency of Rembau...
announced that UMNO Youth will hold another rally on the same day (known as the "Patriot Rally" or Himpunan Patriot) to "strengthen the democratic system" and show that "the voice of the people does not belong only to the opposition." He added that they had "a right to assembly guaranteed by the constitution."
Khairy and Ibrahim became involved in a war of words over the latter's comments on regarding the Chinese community, with each side calling for the other to be investigated under the Sedition Act
Sedition Act (Malaysia)
The Sedition Act in Malaysia is a law prohibiting discourse deemed as seditious. The act was originally enacted by the colonial authorities of British Malaya in 1948...
. Ibrahim later backtracked from his comments.
UMNO Youth's plan was to gather at Bukit Bintang
Bukit Bintang
Bukit Bintang is the name of the shopping and entertainment district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It encompasses Jalan Bukit Bintang and its immediate surrounding areas...
and possibly march towards Merdeka Stadium.
Election Commission reaction
Bersih's demands were repeatedly dismissed by the Election Commission (EC), who sought to tie the organisation to the opposition's agenda. EC deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar claimed Bersih was working with Pakatan RakyatPakatan Rakyat
Pakatan Rakyat or PR is an informal Malaysian political coalition. It currently controls four state governments while in opposition to the ruling Barisan Nasional at the federal level....
to "overthrow the government." In turn, Ambiga criticised the EC's conduct, asking them to remain independent from politics.
On 20 June, the EC extended an offer to Bersih to meet and discuss its demands, on the condition that the rally be called off. He claimed that during a previous meeting with Bersih in 2010, it had agreed that its demands were met. Bersih rejected the EC's offer.
Speaking to reporters while observing the Thai general election in July, Abdul Aziz said the EC was considering allowing international observers to monitor the next Malaysian general election
Next Malaysian general election
The 13th Malaysian general election must be held in 2013 or before 2013. The constitutional parliamentary term in Malaysia is five years, after which the parliament must be dissolved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister as pertained in the Malaysian laws for national...
.
Government reaction
Prime minister Najib Razak warned that Bersih would be responsible if chaos ensued from the rally. Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein warned against the rally, fearing the chaos that might ensue. He affirmed on 7 June that the rally was "illegal," and urged the organisers to call it off. He promised to clamp down on demonstrators if they threatened national security. On 22 June, he confirmed that none of the three rallies would receive police permits to hold gatherings on 9 July.The government also outlawed the wearing and distribution of Bersih's yellow shirts and declared Bersih an illegal organisation under Section 5 of the Societies Act 1966. Bersih countered that as a coalition of groups it need not be registered.
Najib initially offered Bersih the opportunity of holding the rally in a stadium instead of the streets. The government later rejected Bersih's request to hold the rally at Merdeka Stadium, and asked them to use a stadium in Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
instead. However, the Sultan of Selangor
Sharafuddin of Selangor
Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah is the ninth and current Sultan of the Malaysian state of Selangor. He ascended the throne in 2001, succeeding his father, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah.-Early life and education:...
had previously condemned demonstrations.
Opposition reaction
PAS deputy president Mohamad SabuMohamad Sabu
Mohamad Sabu, commonly known as Mat Sabu, is a Malaysian politician, currently serving as the Deputy President of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. He was elected to the post in 2011, running on a moderate platform against the conservative incumbent Nasharudin Mat Isa. He had previously...
gave the rally his party's full backing. Calling the event the "Walk for Democracy," he asked for 300,000 PAS members to attend the gathering. PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang
Abdul Hadi Awang
Dato' Seri Haji Abdul Hadi bin Awang is the current President of the Parti Islam SeMalaysia, an Islamist political party in Malaysia...
ordered all of its members (numbering one million) to join the rally. The Leader of the Opposition, Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
, will also take part in the rally. The DAP also pledged support for the rally.
On 19 June, Anwar reportedly told members of his Parti Keadilan Rakyat
Parti Keadilan Rakyat
The People's Justice Party , often known simply as KeADILan) is a centrist political party in Malaysia formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party...
(PKR) that he would ask Ambiga to cancel the rally if the government met Bersih's demands. His statement was rebuffed by Ambiga the following day. Anwar later claimed he was misquoted. This incident was criticised by ruling coalition parties, who have argued that the rally is in fact an opposition tool to gain support.
Non-governmental organisations
The Bersih rally was backed by the Human Rights Commission of MalaysiaHuman Rights Commission of Malaysia
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia better known locally as Suhakam is a national human rights institution in Malaysia. It was established by the Malaysian Parliament using the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999, Act 597, with a mandate to promote human rights education, advise on...
(Suhakam), Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M), and the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST). The MCCBCHST also backed Perkasa and UMNO Youth's right to hold their rallies.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
called on the government to end the "mass repression" of Bersih activists. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
urged the government to release all detained activists, return confiscated material, and permit the rally to proceed. Deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said "Governments that elected Malaysia to a second term on the UN Human Rights Council might feel duped."
The Asia-Europe Peoples' Forum (AEPF), consisting of 120 international NGOs, condemned the Malaysian government for the crackdown on activists.
International response
On 5 July, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human RightsOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is a United Nations agency that works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948...
voiced concern about the restriction of freedom of expression in Malaysia and urged the government to release detained Bersih activists.
Threats of violence
On 23 June, Ambiga received a death threat via text message. She remained defiant, saying "nothing has changed" and the rally will go on.The grandmaster of the Malaysian Silat Lincah
Silat
Silat Melayu is a blanket term for the types of silat created in peninsular Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and Singapore. The silat tradition has deep roots in Malay culture and can trace its origin to the dawn of Malay civilization, 2000 years ago...
Organisation (PSSLM) reportedly threatened to "wage war" against Bersih activists. Najib subsequently endorsed silat groups, including PSSLM.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong's intervention
Malaysia's head of state, the Yang di-Pertuan AgongYang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence....
, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, issued a statement on 3 July urging moderation by all parties. He said "street demonstrations bring more bad than good although the original intention is good," and called for Bersih to resolve its differences with the government peacefully. He also expressed confidence in Prime Minister Najib Razak's administration.
Following an audience with the King, Ambiga announced that Bersih accepted the government's offer to hold the rally in a stadium instead of the streets. Despite Bersih's meeting with the King, the government maintained its stance that Bersih is illegal.
Police reports and reaction
At least 2,136 police reports, from business operators, travel agencies, and UMNO Youth, were filed against Bersih since the rally's announcement. On 15 June, the police announced that permits would not be issued for any rally, saying that the rallies would "disturb the peace" and "cause traffic chaos." Bersih remained defiant despite not receiving the permit, and promised to cooperate with police during the gathering.Police also investigated allegations that Ambiga received funds from foreign NGOs "to cause chaos in Malaysia."
Police recorded statements from Ambiga, Ibrahim, and opposition politicians ahead of the rally. On 1 July, the police ceased discussions with Bersih, Perkasa and UMNO Youth and promised to prevent any street rallies from taking place.
Pre-rally arrests and raids
More than 150 people were arrested before 9 July for Bersih-related activities, including distributing leaflets. Most were released after several hours of questioning.30 members of Parti Sosialis Malaysia
Parti Sosialis Malaysia
Parti Sosialis Malaysia , is a socialist political party in Malaysia and an offshoot of Parti Rakyat Malaysia, which originally upheld the same ideology. In its first ten years following its founding in 1998, the party was denied registration as a political party by the Federal Government of Malaysia...
(PSM) were arrested in Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
on 26 June on suspicion of spreading communism and conspiring to overthrow the government. Six members, including MP Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj
Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj
Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj is a Malaysian politician and is the current Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Sungai Siput constituency in Perak....
, remain held under the Emergency Ordinance 1969, which allows indefinite detention without trial.
Police also raided Bersih's office in Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya is a Malaysian city originally developed as a satellite township for Kuala Lumpur comprising mostly residential and some industrial areas. It is located in the Petaling district of Selangor with an area of approximately 97.2 km². On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted a...
on 30 June.
One day before the planned rally, police released a list of 91 individuals, including Ambiga, Khairy and Ibrahim, barred from entering Kuala Lumpur's central business district on 9 July.
Lockdown
Police began imposing roadblocks in the Klang ValleyKlang Valley
Klang Valley is an area in Malaysia comprising Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs, and adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. An alternative reference to this would be Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area or Greater Kuala Lumpur. It is geographically delineated by Titiwangsa Mountains to the...
on Wednesday, 6 July, which led to massive traffic congestion and complaints from the public. They described it as a "preventive" move to stop undesirable elements from "smuggling" weapons into Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
.
On 8 July, police sealed off Merdeka Square and rolled in water cannon and riot police trucks. At midnight on 9 July, major roads in the city was shut and public transportation suspended.
Protests
Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
was described as a "ghost town" on the morning of 9 July. Many offices and shops were closed as police maintained heavy presences in key areas. Crowds began pouring in by noon, where they were met by police who took "extraordinary" security measures, known as "Operation Erase Bersih." Many were arrested and transported to the police training center (Pulapol). The protestors were arrested under Section 27 of the Police Act for planning to participate in illegal rallies, and face several years in prison if convicted.
Independent assessments put the rally numbers at between 10,000 to over 20,000, while Bersih claimed a turnout of 50,000.
Major gathering points included Menara Maybank, Jalan Pudu, and Puduraya where riot police confronted protestors. Thousands tried to reach Merdeka Stadium from various parts of the city, chanting "Hidup rakyat!" ("Long live the people!"). Police responded by firing numerous rounds of tear gas and chemical-laced water, causing the crowds to disperse into nearby buildings.
At 14:00, Bersih and Pakatan Rakyat leaders began their march towards Merdeka Stadium. Shielded by hundreds of supporters, they pushed past three lines of police personnel awaiting them outside KL Sentral. Around 14:30, while walking with supporters in Brickfields
Brickfields
Brickfields is a small to medium-sized town and residential neighbourhood located just outside central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is known as Kuala Lumpur's Little India due to the high percentage of Indian residents and businesses.- History :In 1881, a flood swept through Kuala Lumpur following...
, Ambiga and fellow steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah were arrested. Opposition politicians detained include Abdul Hadi Awang
Abdul Hadi Awang
Dato' Seri Haji Abdul Hadi bin Awang is the current President of the Parti Islam SeMalaysia, an Islamist political party in Malaysia...
, Mohamad Sabu
Mohamad Sabu
Mohamad Sabu, commonly known as Mat Sabu, is a Malaysian politician, currently serving as the Deputy President of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. He was elected to the post in 2011, running on a moderate platform against the conservative incumbent Nasharudin Mat Isa. He had previously...
, Salahuddin Ayub
Salahuddin Ayub
Salahuddin Ayub is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Kubang Kerian constituency in Kelantan. He is a member of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party in the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition...
, Mahfuz Omar
Mahfuz Omar
Dato' Mahfuz Omar is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Pokok Sena constituency in Kedah, Malaysia...
, Dzulkefly Ahmad
Dzulkefly Ahmad
Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Kuala Selangor constituency in Selangor...
, Azmin Ali, Tian Chua
Tian Chua
Chua Tian Chang, or better known as Tian Chua , is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Member of Parliament for the Batu constituency in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is also information chief of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the largest opposition party in the Parliament of Malaysia...
, Fuziah Salleh
Fuziah Salleh
Fuziah Salleh , born on 13th July 1959, is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Member of Parliament for Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia...
, Sivarasa Rasiah
Sivarasa Rasiah
Sivarasa Rasiah ,or also known as R.Sivarasa is a prominent Malaysian politician, lawyer and human rights activist. He is co-founder of Suara Rakyat Malaysia or Suaram and vice-president of the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat...
, and Ngeh Koo Ham
Ngeh Koo Ham
Yang Berhormat Dato' Ngeh Koo Ham , born in 1961, is a native of Ayer Tawar, Perak, Malaysia. He is a member of the Democratic Action Party in Malaysia, which is a member of Socialist International...
. Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
said he sustained a bruise on his head and a cut leg while escaping when police fired tear gas. PAS MP Khalid Samad was said to have suffered a serious head injury and was admitted to hospital.
UMNO Youth's rally in Bukit Bintang was also stopped by police using tear gas. Its leader Khairy Jamaluddin
Khairy Jamaluddin
Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar is a Malaysian politician, and the son-in-law of former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Since 2008, Khairy has been a member of the Malaysian Parliament representing the constituency of Rembau...
was arrested.
Around 1,000 protestors eventually reached Merdeka Stadium, including national laureate A. Samad Said
A. Samad Said
Abdul Samad bin Muhammad Said, pen name A. Samad Said is a Malaysian poet and novelist who, in May 1976, was named by Malay literature communities and many of the country's linguists as the Pejuang Sastera [Literary Exponent] receiving, within the following decade, the 1979 Southeast Asia Write...
and PAS's Husam Musa
Husam Musa
Dato' Paduka Haji Husam Musa is one of the current three PAS Vice Presidents. He was born at Kampung Kota, Kota Bharu, in the state of Kelantan, Malaysia. Husam is a state assemblyman for electorate of N.17 Salor...
. At around 16:00, the crowd voluntarily began dispersing. Another group of protestors tried to reach the National Palace, while a third group gathered at Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Park
KLCC Park
KLCC Park is a public park located in the vicinity of Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The park has been designed to provide greenery to Petronas Twin Towers and the areas surrounding it.-Design:...
beneath the Petronas Twin Towers
Petronas Twin Towers
The Petronas Towers are skyscrapers and twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
. Thousands eventually gathered at KLCC but were dispersed by police using tear gas and chemically-laced water.
By 18:40 in the evening, police had confirmed 1,667 arrests, including 167 females and minors. Most of the arrested protestors, including Ambiga, were freed by the end of the day.
One death was reported. Protestor Baharuddin Ahmad fell while running from tear gas fired by police. Police said he died of heart complications.
International protests
Bersih rallies also commenced in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra, Australia, attracting around 750 people, 300 people, 200 people, 150 people, 50 people and 30 people respectively. Rallies were also reported in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, New Zealand, as well as in London, England. A gathering of about 120 people was reported at the Speaker's CornerSpeakers' Corner, Singapore
Singapore Speakers' Corner is a local version of London's Speakers' Corner, where members of the public can give speeches and engage public debates...
at Hong Lim Park, Singapore. Further rallies were reported in central Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Sweden, France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the United States.
Aftermath
National laureate A. Samad SaidA. Samad Said
Abdul Samad bin Muhammad Said, pen name A. Samad Said is a Malaysian poet and novelist who, in May 1976, was named by Malay literature communities and many of the country's linguists as the Pejuang Sastera [Literary Exponent] receiving, within the following decade, the 1979 Southeast Asia Write...
called the rally a "great success", lauding the multiracial unity among the protestors. Ambiga, speaking after being released, congratulated those who attended the rally, saying "we were not intimidated." The Bersih leadership commended protestors for behaving peacefully and condemned the police for reacting harshly to the demonstration. They said the gathering was "not the end, it is but one more step in the long walk for clean and fair elections in Malaysia."
Leader of the Opposition Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
said the rally was a "success" despite "police brutality." DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng
Lim Guan Eng
Lim Guan Eng is the 4th Chief Minister of the State of Penang and Secretary-General of the Malaysian Democratic Action Party . He is the son of Lim Kit Siang, Leader of the Opposition in the Dewan Rakyat from 1973 to 1999 and 2004 to 2008....
said the "police abuse" was "a big blow to the image of Malaysia."
Prime Minister Najib Razak downplayed the rally, insisting it only represented a minority of the population. He also said the anti-government sentiment among the protestors confirmed the government's fears that Bersih's agenda had been hijacked by the opposition. Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein praised the police for keeping the rally under control and said the rally revealed itself to be an opposition plot.
The United States expressed concern over the crackdown. State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
spokesman Mark Toner said "We stand for... the right for people to freely express their democratic aspirations and express their views freely."
Amnesty International released a statement saying: "This brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters is undermining Malaysia’s claim to be a moderate democracy. Mr. Najib’s government has chosen the path of repression, not reform." Lawyers for Liberty released a statement saying that the police deliberately shot gas canisters against the protestors.
Reform proposals
On 15 August 2011, Najib announced that a parliamentary select committee will be formed to examine the electoral system. He said the committee will consist of members of parliament from both the government and opposition coalition who will discuss electoral reform issues "so that a mutual agreement can be reached."In his Malaysia Day
Malaysia Day
Malaysia Day is held on September 16 every year to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation on the same date in 1963. It marked the joining together of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia...
2011 address in September, Najib announced the government's intentions to repeal the Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Malaysia)
The Internal Security Act 1960 is a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances...
, Emergency Ordinance, remove the annual renewal of press and publication permits, and review Section 27 of the Police Act
Police (Malaysia) Act 1967
The Police Act 1967 of Malaysia is the Act of Parliament governing which governs the constitution, control, employment, recruitment, funds, discipline, duties, and powers of the Royal Police of Malaysia including Royal Malaysia Police Reserve and the Royal Malaysia Police cadet Corps. It was...
. In November 2011, the government tabled the Peaceful Assembly Act
Peaceful Assembly Act
The Peaceful Assembly Act 2011 is the law which regulates public protests in Malaysia. According to the Barisan Nasional government, the Act allows citizens to organise and participate in assemblies peaceably and without arms, subject to restrictions deemed necessary and in the interest of public...
to replace Section 27 of the Police Act.
Pre-rally
The lead-up to the rally has received polarising coverage in Malaysia's print and internet news media. Malaysia's print media are subject to the Printing Presses and Publications ActPrinting Presses and Publications Act
The Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 is a Malaysian statute governing publishing and the usage of printing presses in Malaysia. It replaced the Printing Presses Act 1948 and the Control of Imported Publications Act 1958...
, which stipulates they can only publish with a license granted by the Ministry of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs (Malaysia)
Ministry of Home Affairs in Malaysia is a Malaysian government ministry in charge of domestic affairs such as public safety, civil defence and immigration.- British colony :...
. A news website has alleged that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission or Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia is the regulator for the converging communications and multimedia industry in Malaysia...
instructed radio and television stations to omit coverage of police violence and focus on the damage done by rally participants.
State news agency Bernama
BERNAMA
BERNAMA is a news agency of the government of Malaysia. It is an autonomous body placed under the Information, Culture and Communications Ministry. It was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1967 and started work on 26 May 1968....
quoted several political analysts saying that the rally will tarnish Malaysia's image abroad and is a distraction from Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
's ongoing sodomy trials
Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trials
The Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trials are a source of considerable political controversy in Malaysia. The first trial was held in 1998, and resulted in former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim being convicted, and given a nine-year prison sentence. This verdict was overturned in 2004, resulting in...
. It claimed the 1998 demonstrations against Anwar's arrest and the 2007 Bersih rally caused "inconvenience to the public and damage to public property, attracting bad publicity from the international media." One analyst said elections are "already fair as fair can be." Bernama also reported analysts saying that Ambiga has a history of provoking Muslims and working against interests of the Malay community.
Print media
Utusan MalaysiaUtusan Malaysia
Utusan Malaysia is a Malay language pro-government newspaper in Malaysia. First published in Jawi, the newspaper is now published in romanised letters...
, a newspaper owned by the United Malays National Organisation
United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence....
(UMNO), a governing party, criticised the rally as "dirty" on a 12 June editorial. In particular, it made reference to Anwar's sodomy trial and sex video allegations, calling him a hypocrite and urging Malaysians to protest against the opposition leader instead. It also warned against disunity among Malay
Malay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
s, and claimed that the DAP, backed strongly by Chinese constituents, would stand to benefit most from the rally. Utusan reported that out of 1000 who attended the Bersih 2.0 pre-launch on 19 June, 70 percent were non-Malay. The newspaper has also portrayed the rally as anti-Islam. They quoted pro-UMNO political analysts attacking Ambiga for "angering Muslims and Malays," as well as reported that foreign Christian organisations are funding the rally.
Tay Tian Yan wrote in the Sin Chew Daily, the highest circulated daily in Malaysia, that the rally is a repeat scenario of the 2007 protest, where the opposition cashed in on public discontent over rising prices and staged the rally to generate momentum ahead of the general election. He also noted that the counter-rally by UMNO Youth is a ploy by BN to mitigate the Bersih rally's momentum, as opposed to suppressing the rally outright, which he said would swing public opinion against BN. Lim Sue Goan noted the involvement of Pakatan Rakyat and UMNO in opposite rallies, and said the event has grown from becoming a mere march to demand free elections to a political showdown between the government and opposition.
In a 22 June editorial, The Star
The Star (Malaysia)
The Star is an English-language, tabloid-format newspaper in Malaysia. It is the largest in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the . It has a daily circulation of between 290,000 to 300,000...
, owned by the Malaysian Chinese Association
Malaysian Chinese Association
Malaysian Chinese Association is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that represents the Malaysian Chinese ethnicity; it is one of the three major component parties of the ruling coalition in Malaysia called the Barisan Nasional in Malay, or National Front in English.Along with the largest...
(MCA), also a governing party, said opposition parties are colluding with the rally's organisers to discredit the authorities in an attempt to gain support ahead of the elections. It accused Bersih of "[creating] cynical distrust in the authorities to give [themselves] and their political ringleaders a psychological advantage."
Johan Jaaffar, chairman of Media Prima (owned by UMNO), the parent company of the New Straits Times
New Straits Times
The New Straits Times is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print , having been founded as The Straits Times in 1845, and was reestablished as the "New Straits Times" in 1965. The paper served as Malaysia's only broadsheet format English...
, wrote in the paper: "The government of the day is not perfect. So, too, the system... we don't solve problems on the streets. That's not us, nor our way."
M Faqih, writing in the PAS organ Harakah Daily, compared the planned rally to the September 1998 protests in Kuala Lumpur against then-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
's sacking and detention on sodomy and corruption charges, which he described as peaceful unlike the revolutions in Tunisia
Tunisian revolution
The Tunisian Revolution is an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations taking place in Tunisia. The events began in December 2010 and led to the ousting of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011...
and Egypt
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
. He called on the opposition to seize the initiative with public discontent over government policies and use the rally as a stepping stone to victory in next general election.
Internet news
Josh Hong of MalaysiakiniMalaysiakini
Malaysiakini is a political news website published in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. Since its launch on November 20, 1999, it has been widely considered to be one of the leading non-government owned paid-news agencies in Malaysia. Compete.com estimates that Malaysiakini now attracts over...
questioned the law requiring protest organisers to obtain permits, saying the freedom of speech and right to assembly are guaranteed by the Constitution. He also criticised the government's record of cracking down civil rights campaigners and political activists and the mainstream media's demonisation of the Bersih rally. Fellow columnists Mariam Mokhtar and Dean Johns criticised the government's crackdown on Bersih.
News website The Malaysian Insider
The Malaysian Insider
The Malaysian Insider is a bilingual news site popular in Malaysia. It has been consistently ranked as one of the top 100 most popular websites in the country with a strong following in Singapore. Alexa ranked The Insider as the 57th most popular website in Malaysia in June 2009...
called the government's tough stand against the Bersih rally "double standards," deriding the government's non-action against Ibrahim Ali, who had earlier called for jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
against Christians. It also blamed the police for the chaos that occurred during the 2007 rally and dismissed the government's concern for national security and threat to tourism as self-caused. The website reported analysts saying the rally will help PAS cement the growing support the party has gained among the Malay community.
Free Malaysia Today, another news website, argued in favour of the rally, saying that concerns that it will serve as a "spring offensive" to overthrow the government are exaggerated. It lamented what it perceived as Malaysia's flawed democracy, saying "[there] are two ways to punish political perverts who have raped democracy: vote them out or take to the streets." It also criticised the government for threatening to clamp down on protestors, saying that the ruling coalition is using public order as an excuse to preserve its stay in power. In another editorial the day before the rally, FMT was highly critical of the government, asking the people to "decide the course of history" and defy a "harsh and repressive" state.
International
In an op-ed for The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, former U.S. ambassador to Malaysia John R. Malott said Najib's UMNO is "running scared" of losing power and is waging a campaign of intimidation against Bersih. He called the protest "a brave step" towards the country's transition to full democracy.
Professor Clive Kessler of the University of New South Wales in an interview with ABC Radio stated that the Agong's intervention was a rebuke to Umno and the government and an acknowledgement of Bersih’s legitimacy.
Reactions to the rally
Newspapers owned by Barisan Nasional parties were highly critical of the rally, accusing Bersih of disturbing the peace. Utusan MalaysiaUtusan Malaysia
Utusan Malaysia is a Malay language pro-government newspaper in Malaysia. First published in Jawi, the newspaper is now published in romanised letters...
called the police operation to foil the illegal rally a success. The Star
The Star (Malaysia)
The Star is an English-language, tabloid-format newspaper in Malaysia. It is the largest in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the . It has a daily circulation of between 290,000 to 300,000...
remarked in an editorial the following day: "If every complaint made one or the other party take to the streets, bringing a city to a standstill, people would not be getting much work done." It said Bersih achieved the publicity it sought, and that everyone should move on. The New Straits Times
New Straits Times
The New Straits Times is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print , having been founded as The Straits Times in 1845, and was reestablished as the "New Straits Times" in 1965. The paper served as Malaysia's only broadsheet format English...
said there was "no winner in this madness" as many were hurt, and "Berish's intentions were hijacked by the opposition coalition." NST's 10 July front page featured a photo of a protestor throwing an object with the headline "Peaceful?"
The Malaysian Insider
The Malaysian Insider
The Malaysian Insider is a bilingual news site popular in Malaysia. It has been consistently ranked as one of the top 100 most popular websites in the country with a strong following in Singapore. Alexa ranked The Insider as the 57th most popular website in Malaysia in June 2009...
s Debra Chong said Najib's administration "took a massive punch to its gut," as accounts of police personnel using tear gas and water cannons against unarmed civilians were reported by international media. She said the rally showed the willingness of the middle class and civil society to stand up to the government. TMI's Sheridan Mahavera said the rally was a display of racial unity. Jeswan Kaur of Free Malaysia Today said Najib and the police were to blame for the chaotic scenes.
Ibrahim Suffian, head of the Merdeka Center, an independent think tank, said the actions of Bersih and the government polarised Malaysians of opposite political opinions. "For Pakatan Rakyat supporters, it has just increased their scepticism of the [BN-ruled] government. For those who are pro-government, it has hardened their belief that the PR is out to cause trouble." One analyst accused Barisan Nasional of abusing public institutions to protect its power, while another added that "the police lost more credibility than the protesters."
International reaction was unanimously critical of the government. The Singapore Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
added that Malaysian society has been polarised by the country’s divisive politics as clearly demonstrated when thousands braved a security lockdown of Kuala Lumpur. In an editorial, the Jakarta Post
The Jakarta Post
The Jakarta Post is a daily English language newspaper in Indonesia. The paper is owned by PT Bina Media Tenggara, and the head office is in the nation's capital, Jakarta....
described Malaysia as a "rich but not free" country, with its leaders still "laboring under an old paradigm" and refusing to allow its people to exercise their rights to free speech by invoking racial tension. Al Jazeera English's Teymoor Nabili
Teymoor Nabili
Teymoor Nabili is a senior presenter for Al Jazeera English, based at Al Jazeera's headquarters in Doha.During a career spanning more than 20 years, Nabili has covered news in more than 30 countries across Europe, Asia and the Americas for the BBC, CNN and CNBC.The major stories he has covered...
said the government acted out of fear of an Egypt-style revolution. Bloomberg
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
columnist William Pesek calls the rally a part of the "rising call for political change in Asia" that play a decisive role in foreign investment to Asian countries. The Asian Sentinel stated that although Najib Tun Razak appears to have won the battle by closing down Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and arresting 1,667 mostly peaceful marchers and would-be marchers, the consensus seems to be that Malaysia has suffered a blow to its international reputation as a moderate, democratic country.
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Simon Tisdall slammed Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's harsh treatment towards the peaceful rally participants, noting that the British Prime Minister David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
should tell Najib that "strong-arm tactics against protesters are unacceptable" and that "Malaysia's leaders should wake up and smell the coffee". The United States also expressed concern for the government crackdown, stating that the US "stand for... the right for people to freely express their democratic aspirations and express their views freely".
Censorship
The EconomistThe Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
s coverage of the rally was partially censored by the government. Four lines in the article titled "Taken to the cleaners — an overzealous government response to an opposition rally" was inked out. Najib later admitted that censoring parts of the article was a mistake which generated negative publicity.
Election Commission
The Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) has dismissed Bersih's claims, saying that it has already met the organisation's demands. EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, who met with Bersih officials in December 2010, slammed Bersih chairman Ambiga's knowledge of voter registration as "shallow." Abdul Aziz also claimed that Bersih had a political agenda, saying that the opposition parties were propping up the organisation. He claimed the opposition were using the EC as a scapegoat for political gain.Response to demands
- Responding to Bersih's demand that voter registration be automatic once a citizen reaches voting age, Abdul Aziz said such a proposal would contravene Article 119 (4) of the Constitution, which he claims clearly states that registration as a voter can only be done through application by the voter him/herself. EC deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar added that unregistered voters are "indifferent," and will not bother to vote anyway.
- Abdul Aziz also defended against allegations that the EC is lackadaisical in tackling phantom votingGhost voterGhost voting is a political term which can have several meanings. It can refer to the practice of voters in a legislative body taking part in a vote while not physically there in person to cast their vote, because they were dead, or because they never existed....
. He said that the EC cannot strike names of dead voters off the electoral roll unless the family of a dead voter requests it and produces the dead voter's death certificate. He also blamed allegations of voting in multiple constituencies on voters who refuse to change the addresses on their identification cards when they move homes. - Wan Ahmad said the use of indelible ink is "regressive" and only practised in less developed countries. He also raised the possibility of voters not wanting their fingers inked and voters who somehow inked their fingers before voting. Abdul Aziz said the EC was considering a biometric fingerprintFingerprintA fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
ing system instead. - Wan Ahmad said a 21-day campaign period is "unnecessary" as Malaysia has a relatively small land area and population.
Government
The rally has been roundly criticised by government politicians, who claim that the opposition are using the rally, purportedly a non-partisan protest, to advance its own political agenda. Some ministers also accused the rally organisers of attempting a coup d'état.Prime minister Najib said claims that elections are unfair "did not make sense," adding that the opposition are using instability to their political advantage. He challenged them to take on the government in the polls instead. The Home Minister, Hishamuddin, responding to early reports announcing the rally, criticised public demonstrations in particular. He slammed Bersih for trying to "instill hatred" and "show the world that our country is chaotic." Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin
Muhyiddin Yassin
Tan Sri Muhyiddin bin Yassin is a Malaysian politician and the current Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Education. He is also the Deputy President of the United Malays National Organisation , the main component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.Muhyiddin grew up in the state...
said the planned rally is "undemocratic" and claimed that it is supported only by a small segment of the population. He also warned of foreign powers taking advantage of instability in Malaysia.
UMNO
UMNO's information chief Ahmad MaslanAhmad Maslan
Datuk Ahmad Maslan is a Malaysian politician. He is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Pontian constituency in the State of Johor, representing the United Malay National Organisation party...
said that the event might risk damaging the economy and national security. UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin said Anwar's attempts to exert influence over the rally on 19 June was proof that Bersih was "compromised" by the opposition. UMNO Youth executive council member Tengku Azman Tengku Zainol Abidin said public rallies should not be held on the streets and that the 2007 Bersih rally "achieved nothing."
Anwar's former political secretary Senator
Dewan Negara
The Dewan Negara is the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia. The Dewan Negara consists of 70 members, of which 26 are indirectly elected by the states, with two senators for every state in the Federation, and the other 44 being appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong .The Dewan Negara...
Ezam Mohd Noor called Anwar a hypocrite, saying that Anwar's own PKR party election in 2010 was rife with allegations of manipulation.
Perkasa
Perkasa has criticised the rally for threatening to spread chaos, claiming that the opposition will use the rally to trigger an uprising similar to Egypt2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
and Libya
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
. Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali
Ibrahim Ali (Malaysia)
Dato' Ibrahim bin Ali is a Malaysian politician and is currently the member of parliament for Pasir Mas. He is also the founder and president of Malay rights group Perkasa.-Political career:...
also threw his support behind the EC, arguing that they had already answered demands for free and fair elections.
Independents
"Independent" Member of Parliament Zulkifli NordinZulkifli Nordin
Datuk Zulkifli Noordin is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Kulim–Bandar Baharu constituency in Kedah, Malaysia. He holds his seat as an Independent, having been elected as a member of the People's Justice Party .Zulkifli was elected to...
questioned the need for the rally, claiming that democracy was already "alive," citing the result of the previous election as an example. Fellow independent MP Wee Choo Keong
Wee Choo Keong
Wee Choo Keong is a Malaysian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for the Wangsa Maju, a constituency situated in the capital, Kuala Lumpur...
hinted that Bersih's cause is "politically motivated," and advised Ambiga to join a political party instead of "hiding behind a non-governmental organisation."
Business
Sections of the business community initially condemned the proposed street rally, arguing that business operators would have suffered losses on 9 July, a Saturday. Among the groups opposed to the rally were the KL and Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Malaysian Associated Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Executive Taxi Owners' Association.UMNO encouraged business operators and taxi drivers to sue Bersih for any losses that may be caused by the rally.