Putrajaya needs to respond to Bersih’s demands, says Ambiga

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

July 19, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — The federal government needs to actively engage with Bersih and respond to its electoral demands instead of warning people against taking part in street demonstrations, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has said.

The Bersih 2.0 chairman today demanded to know the Najib administration’s response to the group’s concerns, saying that Bersih had not ruled out more demonstrations in the future.

Ambiga did not rule out more demonstrations in the future. — File pic

“There are reports that I said there will be no more rallies. This is not accurate and I see ministers repeating it. What I said was that there will be no more rallies in the near future. We do not take organising such rallies lightly.

“We will continue to take such steps to keep the pressure on in relation to reforming the electoral system but what we are hoping for is active engagement with the authorities on the subject,” she told The Malaysian Insider.

Ambiga charged that the government was “missing the point” by issuing threats and more blanket bans against future rallies when what it should be doing was to address the valid concerns raised on July 9.

“What is the government’s response to our call for reform? To our call for a royal commission of inquiry? The government will do well to address the rakyat’s concerns rather than to just continue to threaten them.

“Simply put, is the government going to look at electoral reform or not?” she asked.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday issued a warning that the government will brook no further street demonstrations.

The July 9 Bersih rally has put the Najib administration on the back foot, and criticism of the way it suppressed the mass gathering has taken on a global nature.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak arrived in the UK for a four-day visit last week and was greeted by a scathing editorial in The Guardian that compared his administration to ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

On Tuesday, US national daily The Wall Street Journal said the government’s response to the Bersih 2.0 rally has created an environment of fear and repression in Malaysia.

Despite the efforts to prevent the rally from taking place, tens of thousands converged on the capital city in a march for free and fair elections.

The protest, which the government earlier declared illegal, turned chaotic close to midday when the police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse protestors.