PUTRAJAYA RESPONSIBLE FOR MALAYSIAN POLICE HANDLING OF BERSIH?
Malaysian Police Force in action during the BERSIH rally
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia - Malaysian former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad(left photo), in Astro Awani TV channel, interview aired recently, said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s recent approval rating decline was due to his administration’s handling of the Bersih rally.He had agreed with the findings of Merdeka Center’s latest
survey, which saw Najib’s approval rating slide to its lowest point of 59 per cent since last May’s high of 79 per cent.He said that the government’s image was badly affected due to the strict measures taken by the authorities to maintain public order on July 9.
The former prime minister pointed out that Putrajaya had acted wrongly by banning people from wearing yellow garments.- A Merdeka Center survey had concluded that the rating drop was fueled by rising concerns over the surge in living costs and Putrajaya’s handling of Bersih 2.0.
- Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers have basked in the aftermath of the survey results, claiming it indicated a
clear voter swing towards the federal opposition, while Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders have chosen to stay indignant, saying the poll may not be an accurate reflection of voter sentiment. - The survey involved respondents aged 21 and above across the peninsula that was selected through a random stratified sampling along the lines of ethnicity, gender, age and state of residency. Of the 1,027 polled, 59 per cent were Malays, 32 per cent Chinese and nine per cent Indians.
Earlier yesterday, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon(left photo) said the police’s handling of the July 9 Bersih rally was the cause of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s recent approval rating decline. The Gerakan party’s president agreed with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s view that the rally had affected the government’s image, but stressed that Putrajaya had never meant to “stifle” anyone’s freedom of speech or right to express themselves.Koh, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said measures taken by the police during the rally had given the public the “impression” that the government was “too restrictive”, and that this was not true.
POLITICAL AFFRAY IN MALAYSIA – THE BERSEH 2.0 AFTERMATH
Abdul Haleem was treated like a pariah, sprayed him with chemicals and tear gas while in the hospital compound of Tung Shin Hospital, arrested and hand cuffed him for exercising his basic right,and most cruel of all Ridiculed and laughs at him for his disability. Haleem has a slight disability and walks with a limp.
KUALA, LUMPUR, Malaysia - The current prime minister, Najib Razak defended the police and accused the marchers of sowing chaos. Dismissing the motives of Bersih, he cast it as a desperate attempt by Mr Anwar to grab power.The immediate upshot is that Mr Najib may choose to delay calling for an election for some time, to let things settle down.
He presumably hopes that if he waits long enough, people will have forgotten about this ugly incident. But the longer-term effects are hard to judge. It might also help to unite a fractious opposition against what they portray as an assault on democracy.
MALAYSIA is one of South-East Asia’s stable nations; but a rally in Kuala Lumpur on July 9th in demand of electoral reform turned surprisingly nasty, leading to the arrest of more than 1,600 people. The police fired tear gas and water cannon into the crowd, and one man died of a heart attack. - All those arrested were released fairly quickly, but Amnesty International, a London-based human-rights group, called it “the worst campaign of repression in the country for years”. The government’s reaction showed a lot of nervousness about how much opposition it can tolerate.
- In fact the crackdown started a few weeks ago after “Bersih 2.0” announced that it was going to stage the rally. Bersih, also known as The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, is a loose alliance of NGOs and activists (bersih means “clean”).
It argues that all candidates should be given access to the mainstream media and that indelible ink should be used to stop people voting more than once. It all sounds uncontroversial, but not to the government. Bersih was declared illegal on July 1st and about 200 activists were rounded up. The march itself was then banned, although the authorities offered Bersih a stadium to meet in—and then withdrew the offer.
Perhaps the government was looking back nervously to the first Bersih march, in 2007. On that occasion, too, thousands protested against the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government and demanded reform. Subsequently, in the 2008 general election, the BN lost its largest share of votes since 1957 when it started ruling the country after the British left. - Najib Razak was deputy prime minister in 2007 before taking over the top job in an internal party coup, must have feared that the second Bersih rally might be a similar portent. He has to hold an election before 2013, but wants to do so earlier to win his own mandate.
Opposition politicians were quick to join Bersih. The pre-eminent leader of the opposition, Anwar Ibrahim, was shoved to the ground and injured in the affray. None of this bodes well for Malaysia.The heavy-handed police tactics have provoked a lot of anger; the government has conceded an official investigation into claims of police brutality. In one instance (caught on film), police seemed to fire tear gas and water cannon into a hospital where protesters were sheltering from a baton charge.
Few old laws were left untouched in the attempt to round up suspects before the march. It was reported that 30 people arrested in Penang were investigated under Section 122 of the Penal Code for the charge of waging war against the king.
Dragging in the constitutional monarch, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, seemed particularly desperate, reminiscent of the abuse of the monarchy’s position in neighbouring Thailand. On the eve of the rally, the king came out with a statement reminding everyone that “street demonstrations bring more bad than good, although the original intention is good.”
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