BERSIH 3.0: The night before

It is not even morning of the 28th of April and BERSIH 3.0 has already started:

EC President & Deputy UMNO membership details

Here is the Election Commission President and Deputy President's UMNO membership numbers and branch details:

Nama ABDUL AZIZ BIN MOHD YUSOF
No KP 500124105279
No KP Lama 2698922
No Keahlian UMNO 113804
Kod Cawangan 09920036 = SRI AMPANG BARU
Kod DUN 09920 = LEMBAH JAYA
Kod Bahagian 099 = AMPANG
Negeri SELANGOR


EC deputy chief Wan Ahmad Wan Omar is a member of the
Pasir Mas Umno Division

Nama WAN AHMAD BIN WAN OMAR
No KP 490101035179
No KP Lama 2756290
No Keahlian UMNO 2374564
Kod Cawangan 02213049 = KUBANG BUNGGOR
Kod DUN 02213 = CHETOK
Kod Bahagian 022 = PASIR MAS
Negeri KELANTAN

So now you know why they have been acting like the Election Commission is a branch of UMNO/BN. For this scandal, they must accede to BERSIH 3.0 demand to resign.

Catchy BERSIH 3.0 tukar lagu UMNO song

Very nice and catchy song by unknown composer and singer. Listen to it and enjoy:



BERSIH 3.0 tukar lagu UMNO

Lagu UMNO yang telah diubah
dan dirosakan

BERSIH 3.0 Jom Mendaki Bantah at Mount Everest

Hurray, another global site for BERSIH 3.0 rally for free election has been added by 2 enterprising Malaysians who are climbing Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Photo below show them unfurling the Malaysian flag Jalur Gemilang and a BERSIH Mendaki Bantah (BERSIH Climb Protest) as a variation to BERSIH Jom Duduk Bantah (BERSIH Sit Protest)

They will be putting up more flags and banners as they climb, thus BERSIH 3.0 is going to climb higher and higher and hopefully reach the highest point in the world.

BERSIH 3.0: DBKL not closing roads leading to Dataran Merdeka

DBKL (Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur) has been reported to say that roads leading to Dataran Merdeka will not be closed in anticipation for BERSIH 3.0 Jom Duduk Bantah rally for free and fair election tomorrow.

Let us see how the police will handle the crowd and what will happen tomorrow.

I have finished with my Income Tax returns and thus can now participate in the rally tomorrow with peace of mind.

SUARAM's URGENT ARREST TEAM FOR BERSIH 3.0

For those who are going for Bersih 3 tomorrow. We have given our names and contact numbers.

This what we want you to do:

If you see or witness anyone being arrested at your respective place, please send an sms to the number(s) given.

SUARAM URGENT ARREST TEAM

OFFICE NUMBER: 03 77843525 (DIANE)

NO	TEMPAT	SUARAM PIC	NOMBOR
1	CENTRAL MARKET	NALINI SARAH	019 3043159 018 3181179
2	MASJID NEGARA	SYUKRI	011 15542640
3	JALAN SULTAN	MAISARAH	012 218 7476
4	MASJID INDIA	ANDIKA	016 224 7255
5	BRIEKFIELDS	THEVA	013 3845740
6	KLCC	HASBEE	014 9254010

You only have to type:

a. Name

b. IC Number/passport number

c. Police station that the person is being taken to or detained

SUARAM will send the sms to the lawyers as well as to the our person in charge in office.

You may also call our office and you can talk to Miss Diane and please give details to her.

Its easy .... Dont panic when you are arrested by the police or stopped by DBKL. All you need to do is CALM DOWN and Call US!

High stakes for Bersih 3.0 rally

High stakes for Bersih 3.0 rally

Bridget Welsh
8:08AM Apr 27, 2012

COMMENT As the buzz surrounding Bersih grows louder, the stakes are rising. As the week began, many wrote off Bersih 3.0, suggesting that the outrage and momentum did not echo the sentiments of last July. They suggested that the playing the rally card again would backfire.
Yet, as the week unfolded, and with the DBKL's (City Hall's) response to the occupation of Dataran Merdeka and students calling for free tertiary education, the tide slowly began to turn. It was BN which appeared to be playing a bad hand.
While there was a decentralisation of who was on the frontline for the BN this time, local authorities rather than national leaders, the end result was the same - a failure to address deep-seated concerns about electoral integrity and unwillingness to accept the protest that has arisen by the failure to address these concerns.
While many remain undecided, the ground is moving. Like the earlier two rallies, Bersih 3.0 has evolved into an event that captures a broad range of concerns, from the environment, religious rights, 1Care health insurance scheme and corruption to electoral reform and free education.
The core of these issues involves a call for better governance and greater consultation with Malaysians. This has been the central nerve of Malaysian politics since 1998-1999, as leaders who are seen to be engaging in reform win power and those who don't lose support.
This was the case in 2004 and 2008. The Bersih 3.0 rally will shape whether this will be the case in 2012 (or 2013).
Over the last few weeks, analysts have used online/social media and forums to highlight the need for electoral reform, pointing to serious problems in the electoral roll, electoral system, electoral rules and the independence of the Electoral Commission (EC).
By any measure and international standards, these problems are credible and cannot be dismissed. Many of these problems have been around for a long time; the EC's independence was lost in 1962, for example.
Gerrymandering and malapportionment have been serious issues for decades, and were exacerbated after the 1969 racial riots. What makes the ‘old' issues more salient is the competitiveness of the upcoming polls, as these factors have been shown to influence outcomes in the past.

Malaysia has long been touted as an example of electoral authoritarianism, where the electoral system is used to buttress the support of the incumbent in power.
Foreigners could well decide GE

What makes electoral reform even more potent this time around is the changes that have been brought into the system since 2008, often without proper review or adequate debate.
Here is where the discussion of the electoral roll fits in. To my knowledge, there is no place in the world that allows this many foreigners to vote for the strategic purpose of winning office.
Few can understand why authorities would sell out the interests of its citizens as a whole by bringing in non-Malaysians to vote. This is especially hard to understand when so many Malaysians abroad are clamouring to vote, but were denied this by both the EC and Malaysian courts.
Strategic political citizenship is sadly not new in Malaysia's history, as Sabahans can attest to. Little attention is given on its long-term impact on the country's social fabric and the marginalisation of different communities as the right to vote is given to immigrants for political expediency.
Foreigners, new postal voters, procedures that limit transparency in voting and more have raised serious red flags about Malaysia's electoral processes and the sad fact is that if elections are held in these circumstances, the victory would not be a genuine one. It would be a hollow mandate fabricated through manipulation.
To use an analogy that football fans can understand, there is no longer a referee. The opposition has been told that they can only stand in their own side of the field and all the players in the incumbent team are offside near their rival's goal. This is not a fair fight, but a fixed one.
Where has the sense of integrity gone? Does the BN need a victory so bad that it would play on such an unlevel field?
The reason these issues are so important is, to quote Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the next election will be "the mother of all elections".
Of the 222 seats up for grabs, I believe 170 are competitive - a swing of 10 percent either way will make a marked difference given the new configuration of younger voters and changing terrain. Of these 170 competitive seats, nearly 90 of these are "highly competitive" - meaning that in the fluid conditions of Malaysian politics, either side can win.
Up until Bersih, it was my view that BN had the advantage.
Prime Minister Najib Razak - through his hard work and use of finances (another problematic area in Malaysian elections - BR1M's cash handouts involved 5.3 million households at a cost of RM2.3 billion, for example) had made headway and was steering BN into a comfortable win, relying heavily on seats in Sabah and Sarawak.
While there were the unknowns of infighting within his party, Umno, the inability of the opposition to formulate a unified message and move beyond capitalising on negative angst against the BN and Umno, continued to work in BN's favour.
The big issue that boosted Najib was perceptions (not necessarily reality) that the economy was stronger than in 2008, as well as the impact of the attacks on Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Now, this dynamic is again in flux. The competition has risen sharply, as seats in the BN's hands are less secure. The recent questionable changes involving the electoral process are even more important, and contentious.
The battle for the middle ground
When Bersih 3.0 first began, it attracted the base that voted for the opposition, those that have already made up their minds.
The BN's response - a hardline one that denied access to Dataran Merdeka, showcased the use of the police via DBKL, involved denial of electoral problems through the EC's explanatory report as "anomalies" and even featured taxi drivers linked to BN in an appeal to move the venue elsewhere - involved three key elements:
1) Denial of problems.
2) A traditional attempt to tar the protesters as a threat to stability.
3) The failed attempt to use the racial card.
It mirrored the well-honed old political style. At its core, there are some in Umno who see similarities between Merdeka Square and Tahrir Square, and are worried this arena will be a focal point for change. These sort of concerns led to the siege mentality last July.
Yet, it has evolved into a new dynamic. To understand Malaysian politics today, it is important to appreciate its diversity and pluralism.
The days where power can be decided by a group of leaders meeting in private are gone. It is the people who have the power, not the politicians. Both sides are using numbers and people to win support. The BN-linked NGOs have come out to voice their own concerns, as have some of their beneficiaries. The opposition too is using its own links.
Yet this rally involves many politically-engaged Malaysians who are not tied directly to any party. Their focus is on the issues they represent. Many of these form what in political science is known as ‘critical citizens' - those who view both sides with scepticism and want the system as a whole to improve.
This is what makes Bersih 3.0 so important, in that it is a reflection of Middle Malaysia - the middle ground led by critical citizens. In Middle Malaysia, there are four groups in particular that will shape the electoral outcome.
The first is youth. Young voters are crucial in the results, as they make up at least two million of the new voters. They are distributed across seats, although disproportionally less likely to vote as they are outstation. Malaysia remains one of the handful of countries in Asia which have a voting age of 21, considerably higher than the global average and this disenfranchises its youth.
They have now become more politically active, reminiscent of the 1960s. Today the issue of free education and treatment of students has made Bersih 3.0 highly emotive among many younger Malaysians, and their turnout will be a test for how the ground is moving.
The second group is middle-class voters. Many of these individuals had never been to a protest before July 2011 and if they show up in high numbers, then it will highlight the challenge the government faces in winning over key opinion leaders in various communities.
These are the doctors, the civil servants, the bankers and clerks, the community leaders who have social capital and can shape opinions. They make up the heart of critical citizens, informed and engaged in issues.
The third group that will matter this time round will be the regional events nationally and internationally, especially in East Malaysia.
These are not only the ‘fixed deposit' areas, but are where many of the electoral problems are most acute, especially foreigner voters. Greater activism outside of Kuala Lumpur will illustrate that the concerns are not confined to the urban core, but national (and international) in scope.
Finally, the fourth group that will matter is the police and other security groups such as Rela (Volunteers Corps), whose actions will reflect on their professionalism. A crackdown will only serve to reinforce the sense of unfairness and the need for better governance that is essentially underlying the Bersih 3.0 rally.
As such, tensions are high and anger has risen on both sides, making Bersih 3.0 more intense than earlier rallies.
Competition for reform within Umno
Even when the dust eventually settle on Bersih 3.0, another fault line in Malaysian politics will be showcased - the ability of Najib to showcase himself as the champion of reform.
After Bersih 2.0, he made promises and many of them took the form of new bills. Some of which opened up space and many of which only served to bring in more draconian measures. Whether it involved free assembly or electoral changes, the end result is that the measures introduced are not yet fundamentally about reform.
They focus on form not substance, taking away old laws such as the Internal Security Act, while introducing more questionable - although untested ones, such as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill. The same focus on form underscores the government's last-minute conciliatory offer of four alternative locations for Bersih 3.0.
Why this focus on form rather than substance? Cynics would suggest that this reflects the inability to trust Najib and his promises. Others would suggest that this reflects the reality in the system that he has to operate. He was a hardliner who is now claiming to be a reformer and/or adopting reformist rhetoric to win power. He is a product of Umno.

The majority of leaders in his party still are hardliners, and the handful of reformist leaders such as Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin are facing challenges inside the system, especially as they are showcased to defend the system they are in.
The bigger question that comes out of the handling of Bersih 3.0 will be whether Umno is capable of reforming.
What is interesting to date is that Najib has stayed largely out of the fray, handing over the spokesman role to his cousin, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. This issue is a national one and as a national leader, questions are being raised about his position.
He chose to go out of town in the last round, and the end result was that he came off as mishandling the event. Can he afford this again given that his campaign to date has been about his national leadership?
What happens tomorrow is not just about the opposition or Umno-BN. It is also not just about electoral reform, given the wide spectrum of concerns. Everyone will attempt to gain political capital.
Politically, Bersih 3.0 will reveal whether Malaysia will become more polarised or compromises can be reached. It will either provide momentum for the opposition, or signal an early election by Najib if turnout is low, in which he will win, in part due to the problems engendered in the system.
Ultimately this rally is not just about politics. The Bersih 3.0 rally is about Malaysia's future - about whether a national leader will lead, about whether the field will be fair enough to be respectable, about whether a government treats its people with a modicum of respect and about whether politics in Malaysia will be a politics of the street or effective dialogue with a reasonable leadership.
Too much of late in Malaysia has been about negativity, anger and insecurity. Bersih 3.0 is moving politics away from that negativity to the promise of a better future for Malaysians, or at least trying to do so. Najib's reaction to Bersih 3.0 is perhaps his most serious leadership test yet.

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DR BRIDGET WELSH is associate professor of political science at Singapore Management University and she can be reached at bwelsh@smu.edu.sg.

Bersih and the rakyat, come what may

Bersih and the rakyat, come what may

Josh Hong
11:36AM Apr 27, 2012

One is entitled to accuse those who are determined to take to the streets tomorrow of being obstinate troublemakers or even ‘fanatics’, but the crux of the issue is: is Dataran Merdeka so sacred that any unauthorised use of is tantamount to sacrilege?
I have seen Mat Rempit play with their precious lives there umpteen times, and the police were nowhere to be seen even though these unruly youths pose a far greater threat to the public. So what is holding Dewan Bandaraya KL back from giving the green light to the Bersih 3.0 sit-in protest?
Someone must be trying to pull the government’s leg. But if the Najib Abdul Razak administration is truly serious about serving the people and gaining their trust, it must stop dithering over a simple event.
From Wong Chun Wai of The Star to Tay Tian Yan of Sin Chew Dailyto the now largely irrelevant Chew Mei Fun (Chew who?), much praise has been heaped on the prime minister as a man of principle and high calibre. But when Najib cannot even rein in a little Napoleon called Ahmad Fuad Ismail, it only shows that his promises on electoral reform and ‘best democracy’ are nothing but hyperbolic and farcical.
Will any of these ‘media professionals’ and political has-beens now dare to tell Najib he must not place himself at the mercy of some recalcitrant bureaucrat, who does not even have a popular mandate to sit in his mayoral office in the first place?
Najib’s apprenticeship has entered its fourth year, and he has broken a Malaysian record by becoming the longest-serving provisional prime minister in the country.
Hussein Onn (right) went to the country two-and-a-half years after he took over the administration, while Mahathir Mohamad called a general election within one year of succeeding his predecessor, although his Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah campaign will forever remind him and the Malaysian people of his utter failure as a visionary-wannabe.
Even Abdullah Ahmad Badawi - who is not a leader with a backbone made of steel - did not hesitate to ask for a fresh mandate: he dissolved Parliament barely four months into his premiership, and won rather handsomely on a post-Mahathir positive sentiment.
Given the disastrous results in the last election, Najib naturally would want to procrastinate as much as possible to give himself more time to strategise and, more to the point, to pacify the various factions within Umno by dishing out more goodies. But he should at least see it right to allow the sit-in protest to happen. The fact that he has not been able to do so only proves that he is a mediocre PM who can only ensure victory by all means - be they foul or fair.
Split down the middle
The country is split down the middle now. While the calls for greater democratisation are growing louder by the day, there still remains a sizeable number of Malaysians who remain sceptical and wary of street protest. They may be those who are afraid of chaos, although the past has made it crystal clear that mayhem was almost always the result of an excessive police crackdown and a paranoid government.
Then there are people who are used to all the privileges that they have been enjoying for decades - whether it is the bumiputra status that comes with economic security or the readily available largesse by virtue of being ‘the right crony’ - and hence refuse to change.
For this group of people, their resistance to peaceful street protest originates more from a deep-down fear of losing their advantages than from any genuine concern for public order.
But there has to be a paradigm shift in Malaysian politics because the nation cannot afford to live forever under political fear. As tax-payers and free-minded citizens, Malaysians have the right to express their opinion even in the form of public action, including claiming back Dataran Merdeka from Umno’s and, by extension, Barisan Nasional’s monopoly, which has built so much myth of national liberation around it at the expense of the country’s future.
One only has to witness the way their leaders are eating high on the hog.
What matters most is that civil society and the general public must not be absent from the meaningful event. The issue is not about Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Hadi Awang or whether a non-Malay can present a better, alternative government, but about transparency, integrity and justice.
It is also about giving Malaysians a chance to drive out their fear and empower themselves politically. One needs no hero in this endeavour, for everyone can take charge of everyone’s own life by being wise, gentle yet bold in demanding a say in national affairs.
When East Germany was experiencing an upheaval in 1989 that would eventually consign the iron regime of the communists to history, many attributed the amazingly speedy democratic process to Mikhail Gorbachev.
President Richard von Weizsacker, West German president at the time, went a step further by crediting both the reform-minded Soviet leader and the brave East German church which had been working behind the scenes to protect political dissidents and provide them with a platform to spread their ideals.
Even the Lady would be nobody without the faithful and persistent masses in Burma.
If Malaysia was one day to be free of Umno’s tutelage, we might one day look back and congratulate each other by saying, ‘Well done, Bersih and the rakyat’.
For that to happen, one must stand up and be counted now, come what may.

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JOSH HONG studied politics at London Metropolitan University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A keen watcher of domestic and international politics, he longs for a day when Malaysians will learn and master the art of self-mockery, and enjoy life to the full in spite of politicians.

Last-minute call on PM to give nod to Bersih do

Last-minute call on PM to give nod to Bersih do

Hazlan Zakaria
12:16PM Apr 27, 2012

A group of well-known intellectuals and activists has called upon Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to exercise his discretionary power to allow the Bersih 3.0 electoral reform rally to proceed unhindered.

The statement was signed by ten individuals from activist and academic backgrounds as well as veterans of the civil service, labeling themselves concerned citizens over the crackdown against the peaceful assembly.
They include A Bakar Sulaiman, Ahmad Farouk Musa, Marion D’Cruz, Thasleem Ibrahim, Azmi Sharom, KJ John, Lim Teck Ghee, Kee Thuan Chye, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Zaharom Nain.

They noted with concern and disappointment, the many hurdles thrown in the face of Bersih by the police and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), as well as threats of violent opposition against the peaceful gathering from various groups.
"We recognise that these agencies (DBKL and police) are either under the direct control or influence of your government," the group said in a statement.

They argued that the premier could simply order the police and DBKL to make way and facilitate Bersih's peaceful and democratic agenda, which is a representation of the rakyat's will.
This, the group said, would be in line with the "reformist agenda" and transformation pledge that Najib claims to profess.
"If you believe in democracy and clean and fair elections, now is the time to prove it. Allow Bersih 3.0 to go ahead peacefully".
The group said that since the prime minister has power over the agencies, he would held accountable for any untoward occurrence.

International fact finding Mission should comment on EC response

An international fact finding mission invited to Malaysia by Anwar Ibrahim has voiced 3 concerns regarding Malaysia's electoral system.

The team met with EC officials today and Wan Ahmad Wan Omar Wan Ahmad, said the EC clarified on questions raised such as fair media access to political parties, a clean electoral roll, overseas voters and delineation of constituencies.

“Since they have met political parties, it is fair that they come to us to seek clarification.

“We welcome election observers and fact-finding missions from abroad to get correct and accurate information from us.

“As the 13th general election draws closer, definitely many election fact-finding mission delegates and observers from overseas are coming to meet political parties here.

“If they obtain information only from political parties, such information or facts are likely to be biased,” he told Bernama.

“After getting our explanation, I noticed that they (the delegates) have a better understanding of the electoral system and process in the country. Several delegates said they felt that the EC had given an honest explanation,” said Wan Ahmad.

Is that so Wan Ahmad, a better understanding? Perhaps you are right. They understand better how EC had helped UMNO/BN maintain federal power for 50 decades by rigging the elections although Wan Ahmad remarks seemed to be on a positive note which we don't agree with.

In any case, Malaysiakini since they published Wan Ahmad's views should also get a response from the fact finding mission.


The team is made up of delegates from Germany, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Australia, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, Indonesia and Tunisia.

CIJ: Dailies' near-blackout of Bersih may be political

CIJ: Dailies' near-blackout of Bersih may be political

4:12PM Apr 27, 2012

The coverage by several major dailies for this year's Bersih rally saw a huge drop compared with last year's, and may involve political interference, according to a study by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ).
Based on its study, identical to one it conducted prior to last year's Bersih rally, it concluded that people might see the newspapers as purposely restricting their coverage, or acting under political pressure from the parties which own them.
"This can only fuel speculation that (the four papers) are deliberately toning down their Bersih coverage - at best, of their own accord, or at worst, due to interference from the government or the political parties which own them," it said in a statement today.
The press NGO monitored articles from four major newspapers from April 14, - English-language dailiesThe New Straits Times, The Star andtheSun and, Malay-language Utusan Malaysia.
However, it did not include other major Malay-language dailies such as the Berita Harian, or any of the other Chinese or Tamil language newspapers.
The results of its study indicated that the coverage of Bersih in the two weeks before the rally this year had fallen sharply compared with the same period last year.
Drop in coverage sharp
Utusan Malaysia showed had a 97 percent decrease in Bersih coverage, with published 316 articles in 2011 and only nine this year.
New Straits Times had a similar drop of 92 percent, with 97 articles last year and only eight this year.
The Star's also saw a huge dive, at 91 percent. It only had nine articles this year compared with 104 last year.
theSun recorded the smallest at 62 percent, with 10 articles this year compared with 26 last year.
The group also analysed balanced coverage of the rally among the newspapers, finding that first two's were largely negative, that of the other two were more fair.
Coverage by Utusan Malaysia and New Straits Times were mostly negative across both years, while The Star saw a rise in the number of neutral articles published this year.
At odds with global ranking
theSun had the most balanced coverage this year, with eight neutral articles, and one negative and one positive .
It also noted that apart from theSun, no other newspaper published Justice Rohana Yusuf's court order to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein last Wednesday, according to CIJ.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court order requested Hishamuddin clarify his stance on Bersih, as he had declared the organisation illegal in 2011 but allowed the Bersih 3.0 rally.
The poor performance of the print media in reporting accurately is at odds with Malaysia's rise in several global rankings of media freedom as well as the promise of liberalisation behind recent amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), it contended.
"These statistics are a clear example of how the print media is still not free to report fairly and accurately in Malaysia.
"CIJ calls for a complete repeal of the PPPA and a review of the ownership of the print media by political parties," it said.

KL police: Bersih 3.0 can gather but not march

KL police: Bersih 3.0 can gather but not march

S Pathmawathy
4:13PM Apr 27, 2012

Supporters of Bersih 3.0 are permitted to gather at the meeting points but are prohibited from marching to Dataran Merdeka as provided for by the recently enforced Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA), said Kuala Lumpur police chief Mohmad Salleh.
He said any group moving to Dataran Merdeka to join the banned sit-in tomorrow will face police action, and possible arrest.
The police obtained a court order last night barring the coalition for clean and fair elections from sitting-in at Dataran Merdeka tomorrow.
Mohmad said supporters and organisers are prohibited from marching from the meeting points to anywhere too close to streets bordering the venue.

"Seeing that the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) rejected Bersih's application and the police received intelligence and information that the organisers are adamant on going ahead, considering issues of safety and peace we had applied for a court order under Section 98 of the Criminal Procedure Code," said Mohmad at the police contingent headquarters.

The order bars all activities at Dataran Merdeka from tomorrow till  May 1, he  said, adding that any violation of the order carries a maximum jail term of six month or RM2,000 fine or both under Section 188 of the Penal Code.
The organisers had identified six gathering locations - Masjid Negara, Jalan Sultan, Jalan Masjid India, Central Market, Brickfields fountain, Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC).
Participants of environmental coalition, Himpuanan Hijau, plan to  make their way from KLCC to Dataran Merdeka to join forces with Bersih.

Asked if there will be road closure or road blocks leading to the gathering points, that, Mohmad told reporters, would depend on tomorrow’s situation.
No restrictions have been place on t-shirts and other paraphernalia related to Bersih or Himpunan Hijau, he said, unlike the July 9 rally last year when yellow coloured Bersih related materials were outlawed.
At a simultaneous press conference at another location, Bersih chief Ambiga Sreenevasan said that they will adhere to the court order but will try to get as close as possible to the iconic field.

The security move against the coalition, however, contradicts Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein's assurance that the rally is not a secuirty threat.

DBKL, under orders from Mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail, said in a statement that the restriction will be enforced according to the  Local Government (Dataran Merdeka) (Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur) By-Laws 1992 and section 65 of the Local Government Act 1976 until Sunday 6am.

City hall has since barricaded the historic square and both DBKL and the government have repeatedly urged Bersih to change the venue of the sit-in to other venues including Stadium Merdeka which was ironically off limits to the tens of thousands during last year’s July 9 rally.

Bersih 3.0 'now a security issue', says KL mayor

Bersih 3.0 'now a security issue', says KL mayor

Nigel Aw
12:41PM Apr 27, 2012

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has passed the buck to the police, saying that Bersih's insistence on holding its rally at the historic Dataran Merdeka has “become a security issue”.
KL mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail (left) said today this meant the police should intervene to assist DBKL to uphold the law.
"Now it appears there is a confrontation between what they (Bersih) want and what is not permitted by law, between those who want to rally and outsiders who are opposed to it.
"I can say that there is now an element of security," Ahmad Fuad said at the DBKL headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

In light of this, Ahmad Fuad said he will be meeting with Kuala Lumpur police chief Mohmad Salleh later today to determine their course of action in a joint operation.

‘DBKL to police: You know what to do’
“When there is a security issue, it is under the jurisdiction of the police and the police must assist DBKL.
“Even though from the statements the police have issued... I believe that the police are always ready (to assist us)," he said.
In contrast to the previous Bersih rally on July 9 last year, the police have adopted a hands-off approach.
Admitting that DBKL’s manpower was limited, he added that the police should know what has to be done.
“If the police provide us with large manpower, then perhaps we will not even require DBKL officers, but if the police tell us to handle it ourselves... then we will see how large the crowd is on that day,” he said.
Ahmad Fuad added that at a meeting with Bersih leaders on April 25, the group had made clear to him if Dataran Merdeka was  prohibited the venue as their rally site, they would sit on the roads.
‘Street sit-in is not peaceful protest’
“If they sit on the roads then it is no longer a peaceful rally, how can they guarantee that nothing unfortunate will happen?” he said.
He also criticised Bersih for rejecting the alternative venue of Stadium Merdeka offered to them on the grounds that there would not be enough time to inform protesters.
“If they cannot even inform their supporters, how are they going to control the large crowd that they claim will come to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow?” he said.
Asked about the possibility of  confrontation with Bersih supporters tomorrow, Ahmad Fuad said DAP vice-chairperson Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim’s statement that the rally would bring more bad than good would rightly reflect the situation.

“I don’t want to comment but from what Tunku Abdul Aziz said, it is a scenario that could happen,” he said.

Tunku Abdul Aziz had yesterday broke ranks with party members, expressing concern that the Bersih demonstration may lead to chaos.

Ahmad Fuad added that as of now, there are no plans to close any roads but if it were to be done, the likely ones to be affected would be Jalan Raja, Jalan Tun Perak, Jalan Hishammuddin and Jalan Lebuh Pasar.

EC amendments alone enough to justify Bersih 3.0

EC amendments alone enough to justify Bersih 3.0

Ambiga Sreenevasan
9:32AM Apr 27, 2012

COMMENT I note from the Malaysiakini report ‘I voted for removal of polling agents, says Khairy’, that after our debate on Wednesday, Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin made further statements to the press regarding the Election Offences (Amendment) Bill 2012 which was passed by Parliament on April 19.
I would like to comment on some of the issues he raised to the press that he had not addressed during the debate.
We must be very clear about the far reaching effects of these amendments that stop agents of candidates from being in the election booth.
The amendment removes entirely the only effective check on phantom and illegal voters.  
The candidate’s agents can detect anything suspicious relating to the voters as they go through the booth in the polling stations. Their ICs can be scrutinised here and they will have visual confirmation of the voter.
The right of a candidate to have his or her agents within the polling stations is therefore vital to ensure oversight of the electoral process.
The unholy haste with which the amendments were rushed through Parliament on the last day of its sitting without proper consultation raises many questions.
When asked about the purported trouble being created by the election agents, which was the basis of the amendment, no evidence of it was provided in Parliament. 

The response that polling agents could still set up booths 50 metres away from the polling stations is no answer at all. Fifty metres is over 160 feet! It is impossible for agents to "monitor suspicious voters" from that distance.
This will now also reduce the effect of indelible ink as no one can see from that distance if the finger of a person who has voted is marked.
Although polling agents inside the polling stations are still allowed, they are placed too far from the voters to detect anything suspicious.

Why EC did not inform PSC on changes?
Another question that remains unanswered is why did the Election Commission not disclose its proposal to amend section 26A of the Election Offences Act to the Parliamentary Select Committee?
If it had such a problem with the agents, this was the best place to raise it.
Against the backdrop of the persistent and unexplained problems with the electoral roll, this utter lack of openness by the Election Commission, combined with the speed with which the amendments were passed through Parliament, only increases suspicions about electoral fraud and the public’s loss of confidence in the independence and integrity of the commission.
This amendment done in this manner is reason enough for Bersih 3.0.

Umno affiliation makes EC duo partisans

Umno affiliation makes EC duo partisans

Terence Netto
7:28PM Apr 27, 2012

COMMENT Referees must not only act impartially but must be seen to be so.
Their bona fides as neutral interlocutors, favouring no side in enforcing the rules, must be beyond question. Otherwise their position as referee is untenable.
The old saw that justice must not only be done but seen to be done applies to any role requiring the mediation of a person vested with the task of holding the scales between competing interests in a balanced way.
In these roles, the appearance of being fair and doing what is fair are indivisible aspects of the same function, the one dovetailing nicely with the other - a seamless garment with no folds.
By these standards, the present chairman and secretary of the Election Commission (EC), Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof (above) and Wan Ahmad Wan Omar (right) respectively, now find their positions untenable.
The fact they are Umno members straightaway renders their occupation of the top two posts in the body charged with running and refereeing elections in Malaysia as impossible to justify on grounds of natural justice.
The honourable thing for both of them to do is to quit their positions without delay.
Their replacement by people with strong credentials for fair conduct must be effected before the next general election.    
Now that it is not denied Abdul Aziz and Wan Ahmad are Umno members, nothing they say in extenuation can absolve them of their being in a caught-out situation - that is, they are not neutral interlocutors, and cannot be construed as having the capacity to be impartial.
In other words, their membership in a political party has encumbered them with the fatal flaw of partisanship.
The very fact that both, having been caught-out in a non-neutral zone, have said things in mitigation of their position as Umno members only serves to highlight the defect in their capacity for fair dealing.
A proper conception of that capacity would have, by dint of their membership of a political party, prevented them from being eligible for appointment to their present positions in the EC.
But an Umno-dominated government, steeped in a half-century’s habit of thinking its writ is beyond question, has blurred the lines of demarcation between state and party interests such that people like Abdul Aziz and Wan Ahmad don’t know the difference between the two even when they are appointed to positions that make it imperative they do.
Thus when they are caught out as they have been in this instance when it is undeniable they have lacked an important credential - non-partisanship - for their present position, they stumble into an orgy of extenuation, retailing one excuse after another.
EC’s partial conduct
Men of honour, when similarly caught-out, would apologise and tender their resignation.
Even if they have a plausible reason that would mitigate their offence, they will allow a lapse of time before they say something in extenuation.
One of the better examples of such nobility of conduct was displayed by former prime minister Hussein Onn in the mid-1980s, some years after his retirement from the top post.
He tangled with the Dr Mahathir Mohamad administration over who was actually responsible for the Maminco Affair, the infamous episode in 1981 when the government tried to corner the international market in tin on the London exchange.
The affair incurred huge losses and was deeply embarrassing to the government. Incidentally, cabinet records showed that the decision to corner the market was made at the tail end of Hussein’s tenure as PM.
Apparently, Hussein could not recall the episode. In extenuation, it must be said that he was recovering from heart bypass surgery at the time the cabinet decision was taken and when his administration was virtually on auto-pilot.
Yet, when the relevant cabinet meeting minutes were publicly exposed and showed that he was in charge, he did not hesitate to offer his apology for the memory lapse.
Many sympathised with him, sensing his anguish at having to be saddled with responsibility for an action whose enormity could not be visualised at the point in time when it was made and about a matter whose initial contours were hazy at best and unthreatening at worst.
The ethos that Umno has foisted on the nation’s politics, which has allowed someone to be chief justice who had earlier been the party’s lead counsel, has become so permissive that Abdul Aziz and Wan Ahmad could be forgiven for thinking that their membership in Umno did not disqualify them for the posts they hold in the EC.
Umno luminaries have been appointed to the governorships of states without hereditary sultans, a position that used to be reserved for renowned educationists and other non-politically affiliated society notables.
If such permissiveness has become the norm, how, then, could ordinary membership of the party be a disqualifier for signal posts in the EC?
The baffled reactions of Abdul Aziz and Wan Ahmad to the discovery they have been Umno members are indicative of how matters to do with what is perceived as honourable and impartial conduct have deteriorated on Umno’s prolonged watch.
That watch is no longer sustainable.

---

TERENCE NETTO has been a journalist for close on four decades. He likes the occupation because it puts him in contact with the eminent without being under the necessity to admire them. It is the ideal occupation for a temperament that finds power fascinating and its exercise abhorrent.

KL police: Bersih 3.0 can gather but not march

KL police: Bersih 3.0 can gather but not march

S Pathmawathy
4:13PM Apr 27, 2012

Supporters of Bersih 3.0 are permitted to gather at the meeting points but are prohibited from marching to Dataran Merdeka as provided for by the recently enforced Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA), said Kuala Lumpur police chief Mohmad Salleh.
He said any group moving to Dataran Merdeka to join the banned sit-in tomorrow will face police action, and possible arrest.
The police obtained a court order last night barring the coalition for clean and fair elections from sitting-in at Dataran Merdeka tomorrow.
Mohmad said supporters and organisers are prohibited from marching from the meeting points to anywhere too close to streets bordering the venue.

"Seeing that the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) rejected Bersih's application and the police received intelligence and information that the organisers are adamant on going ahead, considering issues of safety and peace we had applied for a court order under Section 98 of the Criminal Procedure Code," said Mohmad at the police contingent headquarters.

The order bars all activities at Dataran Merdeka from tomorrow till  May 1, he  said, adding that any violation of the order carries a maximum jail term of six month or RM2,000 fine or both under Section 188 of the Penal Code.
The organisers had identified six gathering locations - Masjid Negara, Jalan Sultan, Jalan Masjid India, Central Market, Brickfields fountain, Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC).
Participants of environmental coalition, Himpuanan Hijau, plan to  make their way from KLCC to Dataran Merdeka to join forces with Bersih.

Asked if there will be road closure or road blocks leading to the gathering points, that, Mohmad told reporters, would depend on tomorrow’s situation.
No restrictions have been place on t-shirts and other paraphernalia related to Bersih or Himpunan Hijau, he said, unlike the July 9 rally last year when yellow coloured Bersih related materials were outlawed.
At a simultaneous press conference at another location, Bersih chief Ambiga Sreenevasan said that they will adhere to the court order but will try to get as close as possible to the iconic field.

The security move against the coalition, however, contradicts Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein's assurance that the rally is not a secuirty threat.

DBKL, under orders from Mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail, said in a statement that the restriction will be enforced according to the  Local Government (Dataran Merdeka) (Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur) By-Laws 1992 and section 65 of the Local Government Act 1976 until Sunday 6am.

City hall has since barricaded the historic square and both DBKL and the government have repeatedly urged Bersih to change the venue of the sit-in to other venues including Stadium Merdeka which was ironically off limits to the tens of thousands during last year’s July 9 rally.

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Bersih: We'll try to get as close as possible to Dataran

Bersih: We'll try to get as close as possible to Dataran

Hazlan Zakaria
4:23PM Apr 27, 2012

Electoral reform advocacy group Bersih has vowed to continue its planned sit-in protest tomorrow, but has pledged to accede to a court order banning the participants from gathering at the iconic Dataran Merdeka.
“We will not break the barriers, we will not breach the order... We will gather at our gathering points, which are not mentioned in the order (banning the group and members of the public), and move as close to the Dataran as possible.
“This is in the hope of the goodwill of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) in allowing us to use Dataran Merdeka anyway and not enforce the court order,” its co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan (second from left) said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.
Bersih co-chair person Hishammuddin Rais, who was also present, explained that the six meeting points would be Dataran Gajah in Brickfields, Jalan Sultan, KLCC, the National Mosque, Masjid India and Pasar Seni.
Adamant that she would be there tomorrow despite the order naming her personally, Ambiga said that regardless of where they would be tomorrow, the sit-in will proceed at 2pm sharp, starting off with the group singing the national anthem, Negara-ku.
“We invite everyone to sing with us. We hope that the national anthem shall resound all throughout Kuala Lumpur.”
She said the organisers were expecting more than 100,000 people to turn up tomorrow, and jokingly added that the numbers may increase by 20,000, just by the presence of the DBKL installed barriers ringing Dataran Merdeka.
Ambiga was served with a court order at 12.08pm today banning her in person, the Bersih 3.0 organisers and the general public from Dataran Mereka for four days beginning tomorrow until May 1.
The order, which she accepted under protest, was issued by magistrate Zaki Asyraf Zubir of the Kuala Lumpur magistrate’s court, and was applied for by the Dang Wangi OCPD.
Asked if they aimed to challenge the order in court, Ambiga said that there was not enough time to do it.

'Problems with the court order'
“We will continue looking at it, as we believe there are problems with the order.”
For one, she pointed out that the order was addressed to the “organisers of Bersih”, which to their legal understanding, referred to an entity that does not exist under the law.
Commenting on another point of law, Ambiga pointed out that according to Section 14(1) of the newly gazetted Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2011, the police cannot refuse permission for a planned gathering but can only impose conditions.
Section 14(2) of the Act, she said, states that an assembly can proceed as is, if no such conditions are imposed.       
“As the police did not impose conditions on Bersih 3.0, it is legal and it is the police who have breached the PAA by forbidding the gathering.”
As for the refusal of the DBKL and the mayor to allow the gathering, she called it an “abuse of power” as in the group’s view, the rakyat do not need the consent of the mayor to engage in peaceful protest and exercise their constitutional rights.
In the end, Ambiga contended, the supreme law of the land must supersede everything.
“Considering the DBKL bylaws, the PAA and the federal constitution (which guarantees freedom to assemble), in our view, what prevails is the constitution.”
She stressed that Bersih does not want to fight with anyone in authority but is asking for their co-operation.
Ambiga said Bersih will deploy 6,000 security volunteers during the rally tomorrow, drawn from PAS’ Unit Amal, student group SAMM, DAP Socialist Youth and the PKR Youth AMK Skuad, alongside more than 100 medical volunteers.
The Bar Council and Suaram have also pledged legal assistance for participants in the case of arrest, with the contact numbers provided in these links to their sites.

Cyber attack against Malaysiakini begins, again

Because of cyber attack of Malaysiakini server, many oversea visitors are unable to view Malaysiakini’s news, so reproducing it below for the unfortunate:

Cyber attack against Malaysiakini begins, again

6:49PM Apr 27, 2012

Malaysiakini's server came under attack as tensions mount ahead of tomorrow's Bersih 3.0 rally.
Readers and subscribers, especially those using international routing such as Blackberries phones, have been unable to access Malaysiakinisince 5.30pm this evening.
The attack known as a - distributed denial of service (DDOS) - involves using a large number of computers to flood Malaysiakini'sservers with ‘dud’ traffic, causing a traffic jam which denies access to legitimate users.
The attack is normally carried out by international syndicates paid to disrupt targeted websites.
A similar attack was carried out against Malaysiakini in April and July last year, in tandem with the Sarawak elections and Bersih 2.0 respectively.

Malaysiakini's technology team is currently studying the attack patterns and will take measures to overcome the attacks.

EC President & Deputy President public servant?

This is what Abdul Aziz (President SPR/EC) and Wan Ahmad (Deputy President SPR/EC) contented when faced with allegations that they are UMNO members and thus cannot be independent.

However, does this 2 officials really knows their role in SPR (Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya), that is, EC (Election Commission)? The Election Commission is supposed to be independent!!!!

A public servant takes order from their superiors and thus cannot act independently. They don't know their roles. This must be the reason why they had been acting as if they are branches of UMNO/BN.

Abdul Aziz and Wan Ahmad must resign as demanded by BERSIH 3.0 as it is clear they are not acting out their true role as an independent commission. Further, it is stated that members of the EC must enjoy public confidence and confidence is what is lacking now. The public do not have confidence in them being able to really act independently.

Baljit Singh of Gerakan talking nonsense

Baljit Singh, Penang Gerakan state legal and human bureau chief, challenged Pakatan Rakyat that if they really want clean and fair election and want to empower the people, then Pakatan should stand together with Gerakan suggestion to disallow party hopping after elections.

This Baljit Singh who is supposed to be in charge of legal and human matters is talking through his nose. It is UMNO/BN that should stand with Pakatan Rakyat to disallow party hopping after elections. It is UMNO/BN that amended the Constitution so that an MP who wants to hop to another party and want to seek a fresh mandate by resigning and recontest in an election will find it impossible to do so because UMNO/BN had made it necessary for the MP to wait 5 years before he can recontest in an election.

So Baljit Singh, if you are sincere, you should ask your Gerakan leaders to pressure UMNO/BN to remove that Constitutional barrier to require an MP who resign to wait 5 years before recontesting.

If you can do that, you can be sure Pakatan Rakyat will stand with you.

Refernce: Tell us how you cheated, opposition leaders urged