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Saturday, July 9, 2011

Call referendum on clean polls, Khalid urges King

Khalid said today that the manipulation of the election process is now publicknowledge. — file pic
KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim urged the Yang di-Pertuan Agong today to intervene a second time in the ongoing Bersih debacle ahead of tomorrow’s rally, saying the ruler should call a referendum to determine how many Malaysians want free and fair elections.

The Selangor mentri besar conveyed his request in a letter delivered to Istana Negara this afternoon.

In a statement from his office, Khalid said that upon completing the referendum, the people’s demands must be carried out by the relevant authorities, whether the Election Commission (EC) or the government.

He added that he was deeply moved by and appreciated the King’s first intervention last Sunday — his agreement to meet Bersih 2.0’s leaders on Tuesday and his admission that he had been following the developments surrounding Bersih 2.0 closely.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin issued a rare statement on Sunday calling for a truce between all parties in the Bersih rally debacle.

Khalid also said that the memorandum to be delivered to the King tomorrow by the electoral reform group contains eight suggestions to improve the country’s election process.

“Manipulation of the election process is now public knowledge. It has been exposed and published in the print, electronic and social media.

“Champions of free speech and welfare for the people, concerned thinkers and writers do not want to see irresponsible deeds and actions,” he said.

He added that the “dishonest” election process in the country was mirrored in the manipulation of the delineation process, discrepancies in the electoral rolls between state and parliamentary seats, the abuse of government resources and machinery during campaign periods, ballot box stuffing, a questionable postal voting system, short campaign periods and biased media reporting.

“The memorandum that will be sent to the King tomorrow contains the people’s voices and their support for a free and fair election process. It should be given serious consideration for the sake of the system of democracy,” he said.

In a little over 12 hours, the capital city is expected to be invaded by a sea of yellow-shirted protestors as electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 leads its second mammoth rally calling for free and fair elections.

Their street march, which they have claimed would stay peaceful, is expected to clash with protestors from other groups, including Umno Youth’s “patriots”.

Police have already moved to arrest hundreds of supporters, issued stern warnings on all those determined to participate in the mammoth event and even obtained court orders to lock out leaders of Bersih 2.0, Umno Youth and Malay rights group Perkasa from the city tomorrow.

But Bersih leaders, backed by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties, have declared themselves impervious to the challenges and will proceed with its plans, scheduled from 2pm-4pm at various checkpoints across the city.

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