1. Bersih leaders say vindicated by court ruling it legal

By Debra Chong and Mohd Farhan Darwis

Jul 24, 2012

(From left) A file photo of the Bersih 2.0 steering committee including Dr. Subramaniam Pillay, Arul Prakkash, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Datuk Dr Toh Kin Woon, Maria Chin Abdullah and Dr Wong Chin Huat.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — Bersih 2.0 leaders whooped with joy after a High Court ruled the electoral reform lobby group is a legal society today, overturning Putrajaya’s order to outlaw it last year in a move likely to raise further its public profile in the run-up to key national polls due soon.

Prominent lawyer-activist Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who co-heads the 82-member group, told The Malaysian Insider she was “delighted” by the court ruling today to quash the federal government’s declaration outlawing Bersih in July last year.

“I have just heard the good news that the learned judge of the High Court has quashed the order of the minister that had declared Bersih illegal. Naturally, I am delighted by this outcome,” she said in a text message immediately after the court decision.

“In my view, the decision accords with my understanding of the law in relation to the making of such decisions by those in power,” she added.

Instead of wasting public funds on suits against Bersih, [the government] should spend more effort and give recognition to…what the citizens who have come out to demonstrate for clean and fair elections have been calling for. — Maria Chin Abdullah

Ambiga, who is currently abroad, thanked her legal team and supporters for standing by the group, which has been persistently branded an outlawed group by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition ahead of the 13th general elections that could see a regime change in Malaysia for the first time since independence in 1957.

Ambiga has also been singled out by pro-establishment personalities and repeatedly attacked over her vocal calls for the electoral roll to be cleaned of dubious entries before polls are called, now widely speculated to take place in September after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.

An Umno federal lawmaker had last month suggested in Parliament that the award-winning civil rights fighter be hanged for treason, capital punishment reserved for the most serious crimes. Sri Gading MP Datuk Mohamad Aziz’s remarks drew strong support from fellow BN MPs but was widely criticised by opposition legislators and civil society groups, sparking a national furore.

Bersih co-chairman, Datuk A. Samad Said, told reporters he was relieved the group had been cleared of its “illegal” tag.

“It’s a waste of time, energy and resources and the order saying we are illegal should not be made again,” said the national laureate who attended today’s court hearing at the Duta Court Complex here, in an immediate reaction.

In her ruling today, High Court judge Datuk Rohana Yusof said the coalition of civil societies known as Bersih 2.0, though not officially registered, can be considered a society under the Societies Act.

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

Maria Chin Abdullah, who is among Bersih 2.0’s 14-member steering committee, told The Malaysian Insider the court decision vindicated the group’s push for electoral reforms.

Bersih co-chairman, Datuk A. Samad Said, told reporters he was relieved the group had been cleared of its “illegal” tag. — file pic

“Instead of wasting public funds on suits against Bersih, they should spend more effort and give recognition to freedom of assembly and what the citizens who have come out to demonstrate for clean and fair elections have been calling for.

“That would be a democratic way of responding to the court ruling and to prove their commitment to electoral reforms,” she said, referring to the federal government that has initiated a civil suit against members of Bersih’s steering committee to claim RM122,000 in compensation for damage caused to public property in the national capital during the group’s latest rally on April 28 this year.

The government’s unprecedented suit has been fixed for case management on August 10 at the High Court.

Chin Abdullah said Bersih was still getting many reports highlighting various discrepancies in the electoral roll and cited as examples voters who say their voting stations have been switched without their approval while migrant workers have been listed as voters in the roll, creating doubt over its validity.

“These issues have to be resolved before the 13th general elections,” she said.

“The SPR does not seem to be moving on these issues,” she added, referring to the Election Commission by its more popular Malay initials.

The Najib administration had agreed to set up a bi-partisan parliamentary polls panel on electoral reforms last year but is seen to be dragging its feet in enforcing the measures.

The loose coalition of civil societies has led tens of thousands in public demonstrations for clean elections, drawing the world’s attention to Malaysia’s electoral process at a crucial chapter when Southeast Asia’s fourth largest economy is attempting to break through the middle-income trap and graduate into the ranks of first-world nations amid a global economic slowdown.

Malaysia

2. Don’t appeal court ruling, Bersih tells Putrajaya

By Clara Chooi

Jul 24, 2012

Members of the police force guard the front gate of the Bersih 2.0 headquarters during the raid of the secretariat in PJ last year. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — Bersih 2.0 has urged Putrajaya not to appeal today’s court ruling on its legal status and instead return all the materials it confiscated last year when the group was declared unlawful.

The 84-member electoral reforms group also asked that the government withdraw all civil suits against it in court, saying it was a waste of public funds.

“We recognise that the government has a right to appeal today’s decision but for the sake of our country, we sincerely ask them not to pursue with an appeal and to drop all the civil suits against us.

“Instead, we hope that the government will take cognisance of the political realities in our country and deal with Bersih 2.0 as a legitimate representative of the interests and demands of the people for free and fair elections,” the group said in a statement from its steering committee members here.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court decided today to quash Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s order last year and declare Bersih 2.0, a coalition of over 84 non-governmental organisations, a legal entity.

In her ruling, High Court judge Datuk Rohana Yusof had said the coalition of civil societies known as Bersih 2.0, though not officially registered, can be considered a society under the Societies Act.

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

Prominent lawyer and former Malaysian Bar president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and 13 of her colleagues in Bersih’s steering committee had in July last year filed a judicial review seeking to get the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to lift its July 1, 2011 ban against the movement.

We hope that the government will take cognisance of the political realities in our country and deal with Bersih 2.0 as a legitimate representative of the interests and demands of the people for free and fair elections. — Bersih 2.0

Hishammuddin had declared the movement 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.

A widespread crackdown on its members and supporters ensued, resulting in the arrest of a whopping 1,600 people during and after the July 9 rally in the city.

Ten days before the rally, police officers had raided the Bersih 2.0 secretariat in Petaling Jaya, carting away with the group’s materials for the event.

“The authorities should now return Bersih 2.0’s assets and materials seized... ranging from computers, video cameras, yellow T-shirts, posters, placards, pictures and a members’ list,” the polls watchdog said today.

Bersih 2.0 held another rally on April 28 this year, coining it “Bersih 3.0”, and is currently being sued by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall for some RM351,000 in damages.

The government’s statement of claim lists 15 vehicles, mostly belonging to the police, that had to be repaired at a cost of RM122,000.The government also wants general damages, interest and a declaration that Bersih breached Section 6(2)(g) of the newly-passed Peaceful Assembly Act 2011.

Ambiga has countersued the government for allegedly violating her constitutional rights over the April 28 rally, saying the Najib administration had abused its power by ordering the police and DBKL to block the event from taking place at Dataran Merdeka.Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said when tabling the new Act in Parliament last year that it would be “revolutionary” and allow Malaysians to participate in public gatherings “in accordance with international norms.”

3. JI and reds claims meant to distract from crime issues'

·       Koh Jun Lin ·       2:13PM Jul 24, 2012

The allegation by the Special Branch that communists and Jemaah Islamiah (JI) have infiltrated Pakatan Rakyat is merely a distraction from Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein's failure to tackle crime, PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar says.

"These statements are meant to divert attention from the home minister's track record, for he has failed to tackle the rising crime rate.

"I urge that he performs his duties properly and not hurl such accusations in bad faith at the opposition," Nurul Izzah told a press conference today.She said the people should evaluate the minister’s track record, whom she said had released some 1,000 ‘hard core criminals’ held under the Emergency Ordinance and were later accused of contributing to a spike in the crime rate.

In the meantime, she said, Hishammuddin had mocked Internal Security Act detainees by saying that he would rather have lamb chops while they held a hunger strike.

'Move to villify Pakatan Rakyat'

At the same press conference, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok accused Hishammuddin of using the police to make the communists-terrorists allegation in order to vilify Pakatan Rakyat.

“Hishammuddin used Special Branch officers to claim that communists and Jemaah Islamiah had infiltrated Pakatan Rakyat. After using the officer, he continued with the same statement.

“This gives the impression that he has ran out of political capital and has to revive old issues,” Kok said at the joint press conference of secretaries-general from Pakatan Rakyat parties.
Last Thursday, Special Branch's E2 (M) national social extremist threat division assistant director Mohd Sofian Md Makinuddin claimed that the opposition parties were infiltrated by terrorists who wanted to become candidates in the next general election.

Hishamuddin later said that the infiltration has not yet become anational security issue and that action would be taken if it posed a threat.Pakatan Rakyat has vehemently denied the allegation and challenged the police to name the infiltrators. The police have not responded.