Bersih 2.0 is LEGAL: Court quashes Hisham's "tainted" ban, time for BN to APOLOGISE

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has ruled that Bersih 2.0 was not an unlawful society, quashing a Home Ministry order aim to derail the free and fair election's movement decision to hold a mass protest on July 9, 2011.

While the court decision will surely be savored by many Malaysians and civil society alike, it is also a slap in the face for Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and his cousin, Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The two men are regarded as the prime movers behind the BN government's brutal crackdown on some 50,000-odd peaceful demonstrators.

"This vindicates the Bersih 2.0 steering committee and the rally goers. All they ever wanted to do was to show that they supported clean elections but many were cruelly beaten through no fault of their own. If anyone should be blamed, it should be the BN for its flawed conduct, policies and desperate attempts to cling to power," PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng told Malaysia Chronicle.

'Tainted' Hisham

Calling Hisham's decision a "tainted" one, Justice Rohana Yusuf said the Bersih 2.0 coalition of civil societies, though not officially registered, could still be considered a society under the Societies Act.

“The minister’s order is quashed because Bersih is a lawful society,” Rohana said.

She added that even if it could be proved Bersih 2.0 was a society that had been used for purposes prejudicial to the security of Malaysia, the order was unreasonable and not valid.

Apologize, BN

Hisham had declared Bersih 2.0 unlawful, citing section 5 of the Societies Act 1966 as investigations had shown that Bersih 2.0 was not a registered organisation and that it was creating unease among the people.

Bersih 2.0 chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan and 13 of her colleagues had in response filed a judicial review seeking to get the Najib administration to lift its July ban.

"It's the right decision. It affirms what has been said by the brave people who attended the rally all along. The government must be acciuntable and held responsible for all the unlawful arrests made against the innocent people under the pretext of 'illegal Bersih'," PKR legal bureau director Latheefa Koya told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Now that the court has made its ruling, I think it is only fitting that the BN government and the police issue a public apology to Bersih, and of course to the thousands of Malaysians who attended the protest."

Malaysia Chronicle