Umno Youth ready for talks with Bersih

Umno Youth intends to organise a dialogue with Bersih and other representatives over electoral reforms.

PETALING JAYA: Umno Youth has unexpectedly offered an olive branch to Bersih 2.0 and Pakatan Rakyat when it suggested a dialogue on the electoral reform demands that sparked Malaysia’s biggest rally in four years last Saturday.

The startling turnaround came just two days after Umno Youth’s Patriot movement launched a counter march to Bersih’s rally for clean and fair elections.

In an inteview with ABC Radio Australia yesterday, Umno Youth executive council member, Zaki Zahid, revealed that he proposed the idea via Twitter to a few Youth representatives from Pakatan on Sunday.

He was responding to a question as to whether Umno Youth would consider sitting down with Bersih to talk about the latter’s eight demands for electoral reform.

“I made an offer: let’s move on, let’s debate issues substantively and I’m organising a debate,” Zaki replied. “I think that is the way forward, particularly for the younger generation – whatever can be discussed – a dialogue to find the best solution.”

But he didn’t mention how this suggestion had been received by the representatives. And when reminded that Bersih had in fact invited all political parties to join in its rally, Zaki denied any knowledge of any such invitation.

“I’m not aware of any invitation, but I think by the time we were asked, it had taken on a very political nature, a particularly opposition slant,” he said. “And that may have made it very difficult for us to join.”

The Bersih rally had been accused by various government quarters of being a secret political ploy to save Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and overthrow the government.

Younger politicians

These accusations were fanned even further after numerous opposition leaders spoke out in support of Bersih and called on party members to participate in the rally.

Zaki also pointed out that Umno Youth had previously offered to sit down with Bersih on the condition that the rally was called off.

“We have no issues talking to them substantively,” he said. “For Umno itself, I think a lot of the matters that have been raised can be considered. For example, Prime Minister Najib (Tun Razak) talked about using biometrics instead of indelible ink to clean up the election register.”

“Personally, I do not have a problem (with this), and I know a lot of the younger politicians won’t have a problem with more equal access to the media.”

Asked if he would be happy for the papers to report “fearlessly, the truth” and the debate from both sides, Zaki said, “Yes, generally yes.”

“But that should apply to all papers, including papers that relate to the opposition or papers that are in opposition states. It’s something that everybody has to play a part in, and that’s part of a maturing democracy.”

Zaki also shot down speculation that Barisan Nasional rejected Bersih’s call for electoral reform for fear of losing its power and clarified that much of the work being done by Najib relates to transformation.

Constitutional right

“Bersih originally had 13 demands, and that was whittled down to eight, after discussions with the Election Commission,” he said. “So I don’t believe that the Barisan government is oblivious to reform and progress.”

“I think we are also trying to pursue political transformation within the BN parties. It was the manner in which (the rally) was conducted that was the concern.”

Zaki then found himself in a tight spot when he admitted that Umno Youth’s protest rally was partly based on its belief in the constitutional right to march.

The interviewer immediately pointed out that the Bersih rally was based on the same right and questioned why the police had fired volleys of tear gas at the peaceful protesters.

“I think the police were trying hard to contain the situation, to keep the peace,” Zaki explained.

“By and large, they acted reasonably and professionally, and I think there were no incidents of police brutality. That’s how I understand it.”

When challenged that tear gas canisters had been fired directly into the protesters, he said, “I can’t say that I saw it myself, so it’s hard for me to comment. I think it’s for the police to respond.”

“But even for the Patriot march, we were never going to march towards Bersih, that was not the point. Everybody in the country, I’m sure, wants to be sure that there is peace and harmony here, and it would not have come to that.”