Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- A Deplorable Abuse of Power
- The lines are finally drawn
- Malaysians abroad calls for end to repressive crackdown in Malaysia
| Posted: 03 Jul 2011 10:58 AM PDT
By William Leong The Barisan Nasional Government by detaining Dr Jeyakumar Michael Deveraj, Member of Parliament for Sungai Siput together with five others under the Emergency Ordinance has committed a deplorable abuse of power. The Emergency (Public Order and Crime Prevention) Ordinance has been used as a shortcut by police to detain persons suspected of criminal offences when there is insufficient evidence to convict them in a court of law. The EO itself is therefore an unjust law as it allows a person to be detained indefinitely without trial. It is now used not against persons suspected of committing crimes but for political purposes. The detention of these persons under the EO is therefore all the more reprehensible for this reason. Dr Jeyakumar and the others namely; M Saraswathy, Choo Chon Kai, M Sukumaran, A Letchumanan and Sarat Babu were detained on the ground that they were promoting Bersih 2.0. Bersih 2.0 is a rally organized by a non-government organization calling for clean and fair elections. It is a call to ensure that the electoral system is not manipulated. A government is not democratically elected just because the motions of carrying out elections are held. When elections are manipulated to defeat the will of the people then the very essence of democracy is nullified. Bersih 2.0 is held to call on the Election Commission to ensure that the government to be elected by Malaysians will be done by those who are doing the voting and not those who are doing the counting. All political parties who uphold democracy should support Bersih 2.0. However Barisan Nasional has not only objected to the call for clean and fair elections but has used the police as a tool to stop the rally. Unless this is rectified immediately the police force will be seen to be an instrument for political oppression. It is wrong to take away the liberty of an innocent person without just cause. It is evil when it is done for the purpose of maintaining in power a regime that has lost its popular support. If the Barisan Nasional is confident of its popular support then there is no cause for stopping the Bersih 2.0 rally. I call on the Barisan Nasional Government and the Police to release Dr Jeyakumar and the others immediately. Failure to do so will mean that the Government has used the law not for the purpose of maintaining the security of all its citizens but to maintain itself. Such conduct by a government amounts to the repression and oppression of its citizens. I wish to remind the Barisan Nasional Government that history shows us that all repressive regimes can only maintain a grip on power for a limited time. A Government that seeks to cling on to power through electoral fraud and police repression has no moral authority to govern and is illegitimate. The limits of an oppressive regime are prescribed by the endurance of the people oppressed and the tipping point is reached sooner than later. The action taken in the past few days to arrest and detain those wearing yellow or who referred to Bersih 2.0 in their speeches have caused the people to think that the Government has lost its mind. The thought that so many innocent people are being punished without just cause is intolerable. It is hoped that sanity and good sense will prevail and the Barisan Nasional Government reconsiders its position, permit the Bersih 2.0 rally to be held peacefully and release all those arrested.
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| Posted: 03 Jul 2011 10:49 AM PDT
A lot of people will say that this is a last resort action to deter Malaysians from participating in the forthcoming rally. Many more will say that this is done to justify the eventual mass arrests on the streets come Saturday the 9th, especially when the foreign press are looking and reporting about it. Could the real reason be that the government is using this rally as a line marker? By tekak mendalam The government is not dim-witted when they decided to outlaw BERSIH as much thought must have been placed into making this drastic decision. This is not the militant Hindraf demanding cash compensation but an independent election watchdog organization. A lot of people will say that this is a last resort action to deter Malaysians from participating in the forthcoming rally. Many more will say that this is done to justify the eventual mass arrests on the streets come Saturday the 9th, especially when the foreign press are looking and reporting about it. Could the real reason be that the government is using this rally as a line marker? In the weeks leading up to this rally, the local media have been coerced to label those involved in this rally as communists and outlaws. Additionally, many reports were published in the mass media whereby the pro-Ketuanan Melayu factions are signifying this assembly as a rallying point for non-Bumiputras to take over the country, ignoring the fact that many of the Rakyat supporting this rally are Bumiputras themselves. 513 is once again touted and Kerismuddin is now hard at work polishing his crooked shaft for his much-repeated performance again. Could these pro-Ketuanan Melayu factions be under direct instructions from the Fourth Floor to reignite race politics, as the remaining option, in face of the forthcoming general elections? The possibility of Pakatan Rakyat forming the next federal government is very real and BN knows it. Kelantan, Penang, Selangor and Kedah are all almost a shoo-in. So is Perak after the last BN debacle there as Perakians do have long memories. Perlis, Terengganu, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan are half chances as the registered voters there would have known that they possess a viable option now (as proven in 2008). Only Johor and Pahang remain as the last BN strongholds in West Malaysia. Is BN running scared? Will MCA and MIC be following the footsteps of PPP? Bet on it. BERSIH is a rally for fair elections whereby a candidate wins at the polls because the voters voted him in and not because of phantom voters, missing poll boxes, postal votes or setting up a military camp there. For a standing government to be hostile against it means that they are against fair elections and why would a political party be against it unless they had retained power through unfair methods? Permit me to rephrase that, "A standing government that utilizes its authority and power to ensure success at the polls through illegal means and manipulation will definitely be against fair elections". It is the terror of losing this power to the Opposition that makes them utilize all resources to ensure that they retain power. Additionally, it is also the fear of being investigated and eventually charged for past crimes and corruption should they lose at the polls that these people are going all out to prevent the Opposition from taking over, and by whatever means at their disposal and regardless of the consequences. Retaining power remains the one and only priority. If you look at the Opposition party, you will become aware that they are very quiet at this stage in time when the rally is only a week away. They led the last BERSIH rally hand-in- hand in the frontlines. What about BERSIH 2.0? The reason might be instilled in the fact that the federal elections are around the corner and automatic disqualification for being arrested will not do them any favor since Simpang Renggang or Kamunting are far from their constituencies. Pakatan candidates will henceforth not do BN a favor by participating and hence precipitating a Mamak II as in 1987 aka Ops Lalang. The government is even scared shitless as this rally is eventually and ultimately led by the common Rakyat, regardless of race, creed and religion, and not the Opposition politicians. It substantiate that their traditional "tried and tested" official party policy of separating the voters into race camps are no longer functioning well and this could spell a losing proposition in the next general elections, a risk they are not willing to partake in, and consequently the sledgehammer. By depicting this rally as an overt action instigated by the communists and outlaws, they are once again trying to separate the Malaysians, as their rigid "divide and conquer" mentality comes into play assisted by the 14th BN coalition member who will use the Emergency Ordinance (EO) to make mass arrests – a less complicated process as making arrests under the ISA would require the Home Minister to sign all the warrants (and he can't bloody well put down his crooked shaft, right?). The question now is whether the rally will go on (or not) but the damage is already done. Either way, BN will lose something here but permitting the BERSIH rally to happen might prove to be the lesser damage in the next general elections. However, who am I to tell them otherwise? Maybe the Agong can…
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| Malaysians abroad calls for end to repressive crackdown in Malaysia Posted: 03 Jul 2011 01:00 AM PDT
PRESS RELEASE- Bersih 2.0 Global Solidarity Network The events unfolding in Malaysia in the lead up to a rally calling for electoral reform on 9 July 2011, by Bersih 2.0, a civil society coalition, have jarred a nerve with many Malaysians living abroad. In the wake of the government crackdown, over the last week, of the legitimate rights of the Malaysian people to peacefully demonstrate, a Bersih 2.0 Global Solidarity Network has sprung up with co-ordinated action and support developing in Australia, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Switzerland, Austria and United States to date. Hobart's Update: NEW EVENT! *********************************************************** Bersih 2.0 London Los Angeles Update ********************************************************** Background |
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