IGP mum over Bersih 3.0

With less than three weeks until the Bersih 3, inspector-general of police Ismail Omar has chosen not to comment on the matter.

At a press conference today, Ismail was asked about what kind of preparations are being made by the police ahead of the rally.  

“You all have to wait for another press conference,” said Ismail.

Ismail also refused to state whether rally organisers Bersih 2.0, a coalition of more about 80 NGOs, had applied for a permit.

In the build up to the Bersih 2.0 rally in July 9 last year, the police were criticised for overzealously enforcing the Home Minister’sdecree that Bersih 2.0, as an organisation, was an illegal entity.

Following this, the police preventing Bersih 2.0 ceramah events and arrested people who wore rally related paraphernalia.

Currently, the status of Bersih 2.0 as a legal entity is unsure. No action has been taken thus far against its leader Ambiga Sreenevasan or Bersih 2.0 secretariat members.

Bersih is calling for the Bersih 3.0 rally on April 28 at Dataran Merdeka, where they hope to gather 500,000 people for a sit-in protest.

The coalition said that the protest was necessary because the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reforms had performed poorly in addressing key issues.

Among others, Bersih 2.0 said that the PSC had inadequately addressed the issue of errors in the electoral roll and failed to provide measures that would hold the Election Commission accountable.