Ambiga has to put her foot down and tell the politicians to go take a hike. She has to show the politicians who the boss is. She must not be afraid to reveal the truth. I do not want her to resign. And if she has to tell the politicians to shut the fuck up then so be it. I will stand by her and support her if she needs to kick out the politicians and keep BERSIH free from political interference.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Demo not organised by political parties: Hadi Awang
(Bernama) - PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had on Monday, July 11 denied that the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections' (Bersih) illegal rally in the federal capital was organised by political parties.
He said the illegal rally, which he also participated in, was joined by Malaysians of all walks of life.
He said this when speaking to his supporters who had gathered at the Sultan Mahmud Airport here to welcome him on his return to Terengganu. Hadi also said that he was treated well by the police while being detained for participating in the illegal rally on Saturday.
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Bersih 3.0 if no electoral reforms before GE, says PAS
PAS has called on the Najib administration to bow to Bersih’s eight-point reforms to the electoral system or face a repeat of the rally that plunged the capital into chaos on Saturday.
Party deputy president Mohamad Sabu said today it would hold another rally before the next general election if the Election Commission (EC) failed to implement the reforms demanded by the coalition of 62 NGOs.
“The EC should act. If there is no action by the next election, we will suggest that Bersih holds another demonstration,” he said at a press conference.
Despite Bersih claiming that 50,000 had poured into the city last weekend, Mohamad threatened a larger rally, stating that “PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang has already said this is only the beginning.”
He also said the Islamist party would ask Bersih to declare Saturdays “Bersih Day” where members of the public should wear yellow to show their support for free and fair elections.
Asked if he was calling for the public to disobey the law, Mohamad said “the yellow shirts are only illegal to Umno but no court has declared them unlawful.”
READ MORE HERE: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bersih-3.0-if-no-electoral-reforms-before-ge-says-pas/
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We appear to be getting mixed signals from BERSIH and the political parties. On the one hand we are told that BERSIH is a non-political party, rakyat’s initiative. On the other hand the politicians are making all sorts of statements regarding BERSIH. I just pity Ambiga who must be having sleepless nights trying to do damage control on the statements the politicians are making.
Can the politicians just please shut the fuck up and leave BERSIH alone?
Okay, some politicians or political leaders may be in BERSIH, even in the committee proper. But they should be in BERSIH in their individual capacities and not as their party representatives.
The Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) President, Haris Ibrahim, is also in the committee. But he is there in his personal capacity as Haris Ibrahim and not as the President of MCLM. So whatever statements he makes is a statement from Haris Ibrahim and not a statement from MCLM.
Sure, Mat Sabu can make statements regarding BERSIH if he so wishes. Whether these statements are made with the approval or request of the BERSIH committee or on his own initiative I do not know. But whatever it may be he should speak as a BERSIH committee member and not as a PAS leader.
I have noticed that others such as Anwar Ibrahim and the PAS president are also making statements. Anwar even said he is prepared to call off the 9th July 2001 BERSIH rally if the government can commit itself to electoral reforms.
Are Anwar Ibrahim, the PAS president, etc., in the BERSIH committee? If not then why are they making statements on behalf of BERSIH? If they are in the committee then did BERSIH request them to make these statements on behalf of BERSIH? If BERSIH did request them to make these statements should they not be making the statements in the name of BERSIH instead of in the name of their political parties?
When I write articles such as these in Malaysia Today they ignore what I say. When anyone asks them about what I write they just brush it off and say that I am out of touch and no longer know what is happening on the ground and that I should just be ignored. Some even say that I am being paid by Najib Tun Razak to whack the opposition so no need to take heed with what I say. Then when I appear on TV3 and repeat all that I have said they get angry.
But do they give me any choice? We try to talk to them ‘behind closed doors’ but get nowhere. I write article after article and they just brush them off as laments from someone out of touch with the ground. How else do we get their attention? Maybe it is time I did a second interview with TV3 to say what I want to say on national television.
BERSIH is a good thing. Even some people in Barisan Nasional think so. But once the politicians hijack BERSIH and give the impression that the political parties are the hidden hands behind BERSIH that screws things up big time.
I really won’t be surprised if Ambiga throws in the towel and gives up. And that would be a crying shame. Then who takes over BERSIH? Anwar Ibrahim? Abdullah Ahmad Badawi? Khairy Jamaluddin, maybe?
We need Ambiga to stay on and to continue to head BERSIH. But it is becoming harder and harder for her to do that if BERSIH is going to be seen as a tool of the politicians or a vehicle for Anwar Ibrahim. That is the bottom line. The politicians are slaying the goose that lays the golden egg. BERSIH is all we have to achieve electoral reforms. Even then we are not sure if we can see electoral reforms.
There are some events that happened on 9th July 2011 that have raised quite a lot of concern. I do not want to talk about them yet but will if it becomes necessary. Luckily some people in BERSIH smelled trouble and quickly took decisions to save the day. If not we may have seen disaster on that day.
I am concerned that the effort by the politicians to hijack BERSIH may only be part of the issue. My bigger concern is that there may be a hidden agenda or udang sebalik batu. But then, as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad always says: I have a suspicious mind. And I am a strong believer in conspiracy theories.
Ambiga has to put her foot down and tell the politicians to go take a hike. She has to show the politicians who the boss is. She must not be afraid to reveal the truth. I do not want her to resign. And if she has to tell the politicians to shut the fuck up then so be it. I will stand by her and support her if she needs to kick out the politicians and keep BERSIH free from political interference.
BERSIH’s future depends on how she exerts her authority and not allow herself to be usurped by politicians who have their own hidden agenda and are trying to use BERSIH in achieving this. If not then BERSIH 2.0 will be the last we see of the effort to see electoral reforms in Malaysia. And if we do not see electoral reforms then Barisan Nasional is going to be in power till the end of time.
That is the crux to the whole matter.
"Ambiga has to put her foot down and tell the politicians to go take a hike."
ReplyDeletefight for the purpose why bersih was establish!!!