Amid jeers that he was getting cold feet, UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin claimed the Bersih rally was not free and fair because Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had said he would ask organizing chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan to cancel if Prime Minister Najib Razak agreed to conduct clean elections.
"UMNO is on the defensive but they are making things worse for themselves with these sort of silly arguments. Even I can call Ambiga to cancel the rally if Najib promised free and fair elections. Two things; will Ambiga agree and will Najib ever make such a promise?" MP for Gopeng Lee Boon Chye told Malaysia Chronicle.
"As for Khairy, he is an Oxford graduate. He should do better than this. How is Bersih compromised? In what way can Anwar's comment make any of the Bersih demands for fairness any less important or less relevant. If Khairy can't explain that, then he has wasted his parents' money for his education."
Out of context
At the PKR general election convention held on Sunday, Anwar had urged Najib not to clamp down on the citizen's march. He challenged Najib to have the courage to go for free and fair elections, and promised he would personally ask Ambiga to cancel the mammoth rally if the PM agreed.
"If the prime minister can guarantee this and a clean electoral roll as well, we don't need to hold a mass procession," Star reported Anwar as saying, when winding up his speech at the party's General Election Convention, here, Sunday.
Even so, his comments were lifted out of context and duly criticised by Ambiga. When informed, Anwar himself clarified and agreed with Ambiga.
“I totally agree with her. This is clearly a misunderstanding. I support her decision, what I said was taken out of context. What I meant was if the current system was fair and just, there would be no need for Bersih, it reflects the failure of the administration, insisting on defending its acts,” Anwar told reporters on Monday.
On Sunday night, Bersih 2.0 held a successful launch of their platform for the rally. The coalition of 62 NGOs have listed 8 demands (scroll below for full list) to the Najib administration.
"Bersih 2.0 emphasises once again that the Perhimpunan BERSIH 2.0 is purely a civil society initiative and we have invited other organisations including political parties from all sides of the political divide to join us in upholding democracy and calling for electoral reform," Ambiga had said in a statement.
Shallow interpretation and faster than a turtle
However, Khairy took a shallow interprestation of the matter.
“It shows that the opposition has its own agenda behind Bersih even though Ambiga has said that no party can direct her," Khairy told reporters on Monday.
“Anwar thinks that Bersih is an agenda and platform of the opposition. That shows Bersih is compromised, because if Anwar can think that it (Bersih) belongs to he opposition then Bersih’s objectives are jeopardised. Bersih is being used by the opposition."
The UMNO Youth chief had hoped to win points by announcing that his wing would participate in the July 9 rally but not as part as Bersih, even though BN had been invited.
And instead of defending the existing electoral system like Perkasa Ibrahim Ali had, Khairy chose a more ambivalent stance. He said UMNO Youth supported the existing system, but declared there were improvements that could be made, such as huge and unexplained rises in voter rolls at certain constittuencies.
The next day, he was slammed by the Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who is also his senior in their UMNO party, and warned to toe the line.
"Faster than a turtle retracting its head. That is how Khairy is now ducking the issue. Suddenly, he has forgotten, Ambiga invited him and BN as a whole to join the Bersih walk. He will use this to pull UMNO Youth out on July 9, mark my words," veteran Pakatan watcher Eddie Wong told Malaysia Chronicle.
The Najib administration sees a successful Bersih Rally as a slap in the face to the PM's weakening leadership.
Malaysia Chronicle appends below the 8 demands made by Bersih
1. Clean the electoral roll
The electoral roll is marred with irregularities such as deceased persons and multiple persons registered under a single address or non-existent addresses. The electoral roll must be revised and updated to wipe out these ‘phantom voters’. The rakyat have a right to an electoral roll that is an accurate reflection of the voting population.
In the longer term, BERSIH 2.0 also calls for the EC to implement an automated voter registration system upon eligibility to reduce irregularities.
2. Reform postal ballot
The current postal ballot system must be reformed to ensure that all citizens of Malaysia are able to exercise their right to vote. Postal ballot should not only be open for all Malaysian citizens living abroad, but also for those within the country who cannot be physically present in their voting constituency on polling day. Police, military and civil servants too must vote normally like other voters if not on duty on polling day.
The postal ballot system must be transparent. Party agents should be allowed to monitor the entire process of postal voting.
3. Use of indelible ink
Indelible ink must be used in all elections. It is a simple, affordable and effective solution in preventing voter fraud. In 2007, the EC decided to implement the use of indelible ink. However, in the final days leading up to the 12th General Elections, the EC decided to withdraw the use of indelible ink citing legal reasons and rumours of sabotage.
BERSIH 2.0 demands for indelible ink to be used for all the upcoming elections. Failure to do so will lead to the inevitable conclusion that there is an intention to allow voter fraud.
4. Minimum 21 days campaign period
The EC should stipulate a campaign period of not less than 21 days. A longer campaign period would allow voters more time to gather information and deliberate on their choices. It will also allow candidates more time to disseminate information to rural areas. The first national elections in 1955 under the British Colonial Government had a campaign period of 42 days but the campaign period for 12th GE in 2008 was a mere 8 days.
5. Free and fair access to media
It is no secret that the Malaysian mainstream media fails to practice proportionate, fair and objective reporting for political parties of all divide. BERSIH 2.0 calls on the EC to press for all media agencies, especially state-funded media agencies such as Radio and Television Malaysia (RTM) and Bernama to allocate proportionate and objective coverage for all potlical parties.
6. Strengthen public institutions
Public institutions must act independently and impartially in upholding the rule of law and democracy. Public institutions such as the Judiciary, Attorney-General, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC), Police and the EC must be reformed to act independently, uphold laws and protect human rights.
In particular, the EC must perform its constitutional duty to act independently and impartially so as to enjoy public confidence. The EC cannot continue to claim that they have no power to act, as the law provides for sufficient powers to institute a credible electoral system.
7. Stop corruption
Corruption is a disease that has infected every aspect of Malaysian life. BERSIH 2.0 and the rakyat demand for an end to all forms of corruption. Current efforts to eradicate corruption are mere tokens to appease public grouses. We demand that serious action is taken against ALL allegations of corruption, including vote buying.
8. Stop dirty politics
Malaysians are tired of dirty politics that has been the main feature of the Malaysian political arena. We demand for all political parties and politicians to put an end to gutter politics. As citizens and voters, we are not interested in gutter politics; we are interested in policies that affect the nation.
- Malaysia Chronicle
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