Archive for category Najib Razak
Hanif – face reality that you have shot yourself in the foot disqualifying you from heading a credible and impartial probe into Bersih 3.0 violence
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Hishammuddin, Najib Razak, Police on Friday, 11 May 2012
Let me tell former Inspector-General of Police Tun Hanif Omar frankly: “Tun, face reality that you have shot yourself in the foot disqualifying you from heading a credible and impartial probe into Bersih 3.0 violence.”
Hanif should stop being obstinate on the matter or he would only end up in severely embarrassing and dishonouring himself, the Bersih 3.0 probe, the Najib administration and most important of all, Malaysia’s international image and standing.
Haniff had asked his critics to check his track record in previous investigating committees before questioning his integrity to lead the independent panel to probe police brutality during the Bersih 3.0 rally, citing the case of the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Aminulrasyhid Amzah and his role in the Special Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police in 2004.
I had said publicly that I do not cast any aspersion on his integrity as a distinguished public servant and a Malaysian patriot, but on the question on the suitability of his heading a credible and impartial probe into Bersih 3.0 violence, regardless of whether the victim is police personnel, media representative or peaceful protestor, he had irremediably stained and disqualified himself because of his highly biased and prejudicial statements about the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” in Dataran Merdeka on April 28.
If Hanif stands by his prejudicial statements against Bersih 3.0, he should appear before the Bersih 3.0 probe as a “star witness” to substantiate his allegations and definitely not as a Chairman to probe into the truth or otherwise of his allegations. Read the rest of this entry »
UMNO has reduced politics in Malaysia to its lowest depths as illustrated by two disgraceful events yesterday – Perkasa “funeral rite” in front of Lim Guan Eng’s house and invasion of Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson Ambiga’s privacy
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Lim Guan Eng, Najib Razak, Police, UMNO on Friday, 11 May 2012
UMNO Baru is celebrating its 66th anniversary although it is only 24 years old as it was legally registered in 1988 after the officially-engineered deregistration of the original UMNO and which was why the first and third Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn refused to be members of UMNO Baru.
Be that as it may, it is indisputable that UMNO today has reduced politics in Malaysia to its lowest depths as illustrated by two disgraceful events yesterday – the Perkasa “funeral rite” in front of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s house in Penang and the invasion of Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan’s privacy.
In the former case, a group of 30 Perkasa members showed up at about 10.20 am and in a 15-minute demonstration in front of Guan Eng’s house in Pinhorn Road, Penang, threw posters of Guan Eng at his front gate and placed a framed photo of him with a garland of flowers to signify his “death” to the Malay community.
What is most deplorable is the total failure of action by the police authorities.
The Perkasa “funeral rite” is nothing less than a “death threat” to Guan Eng.
Is it conceivable that if such a “funeral rite” or “death threat” demonstration had been staged by protestors outside the residence of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Cabinet Ministers or those of UMNO/Barisan Nasional Mentris Besar/Chief Ministers, the police would have been equally passive and indifferent? Read the rest of this entry »
Hanif should be the last person to head probe of Bersih 3.0 violence as he should be one of the “star” witnesses to substantiate his allegations that Bersih 3.0 was a coup attempt which involved pro-communist sympathizers
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Hishammuddin, Najib Razak, Police on Thursday, 10 May 2012
It is most ironical that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in an interview on Sinar.FM radio station this morning that as Prime Minister he could not even afford a single mistake, and “if we have to make 10 major decisions, we need to get 10 out of 10 right”, as he had just made probably his worst decision in his three-year premiership.
This is the appointment of former Inspector-General of Police, Tun Hanif Omar as chairman of the six-member Independent Advisory Panel to investigate the Bersih 3.0 violence and brutality.
Right from the second after the announcement by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein last evening, Hanif’s appointment as the head of the Bersih 3.0 panel had received immediate brickbats and all-round disapprobation and condemnation as being utterly inappropriate, rendering the whole probe not only lacking in independence but totally bereft of credibility and legitimacy.
I do not think it is possible to find another announcement of the composition of a public inquiry by the government in the nation’s 54-year history which had attracted such instant and all-round rejection and condemnation by major national stakeholders in the country!
The answer is very obvious. Hanif is the last person to head the probe of Bersih 3.0 violence as nobody would believe that he could be impartial and unbiased after he had publicly supported Najib’s irresponsible, wild and baseless allegation that Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” at Dataran Merdeka on April 28 was a coup d’etat attempt by the opposition to topple the government when there is not one iota of evidence whatsoever. Read the rest of this entry »
How BN lost this fencesitting voter: Open letter to PM
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, Police on Thursday, 10 May 2012
Daniel Tan | May 8, 2012
Malaysiakini
I am your average Joe in my late 40’s, living a comfortable life in a quiet suburban part of KL. I call myself a political atheist with no particular inclination to any political party.
You can call me a fencesitter or a middle ground voter. In the last 20 years of my voting life, I have always voted based on issues, swinging my votes between BN and the opposition depending on the hot issues of the day.
I voted BN in 2004, giving your coalition a massive mandate post-Mahathir and the reverberating message of ‘Change’ espoused by your predecessor.
And when the message remained just a message, four years on, I voted for the opposition, and what followed is history.
I understand you are trying very hard to court people like me and I supposed all this alphabet in the soup monikers – ETP, GTP, NEM, etc. are part of your big strategy to win urban voters like me.
Honestly, I am not sure I am thoroughly convinced. Read the rest of this entry »
Bunyi guruhnya kuat, hujannya renyai-renyai
Posted by Kit in Felda, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 9 May 2012
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
May 09, 2012
9 MEI — Saya telah mendengar secara resminya pengumuman Perdana Menteri Najib Razak tentang “durian runtuh” seperti yang heboh diperkatakan sejak hampir setahun yang lalu.
Saya yang bukan peneroka ini pun tertunggu-tunggu “durian runtuh” ini kerana ia telah mendapat liputan media yang meluas kerana ia berkait rapat dengan penyenaraian FGV di Bursa Malaysia pada bulan Jun yang akan datang ini.
Dengan skala publisiti yang meluas ini saya beranggapan yang “durian runtuh” yang diperkatakan oleh pucuk pimpinan kita itu akan melebihi RM100,000 ribu seorang untuk diseimbangkan dengan publisiti yang teramat meluas sejak berbulan-bulan dahulu.
Cara PM Najib bercerita tentang “durian runtuh” itu, seolah-olah jumlah yang akan diterima oleh peneroka itu tidak boleh kurang dari RM100,000 dan dibayar serentak kepada setiap orang peneroka yang telah meneroka hutan belantara untuk dijadikan perladangan yang terbesar di dunia.
Rupa-rupanya jumlahnya hanyalah RM15,000 sahaja dan akan diberikan dalam tiga peringkat selama tiga bulan. Kalau mengadu, nanti dikatanya peneroka tidak bersyukur. Kalau tak adu pula, ia sangat tidak berbaloi dengan publisiti yang meluas berterusan sejak beberapa bulan yang lalu. Read the rest of this entry »
Will Najib live up to his pledge to make Malaysia “best democracy in the world” and concede defeat in a gentlemanly fashion like Sarkozy?
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 8 May 2012
In the recent French presidential elections on Sunday, the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy conceded defeat minutes after the polls closed, announcing that he had called the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande to wish him “good luck” as the country’s new leader.
The question that immediately occurred to Malaysians is whether Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who had declared that he wanted to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”, would concede defeat in a gentlemanly fashion like Sarkozy if this is the verdict of the voters in the next general elections.
Or will Najib stand by his deplorable speech at the UMNO General Assembly two years ago when he used the language of “crushed bodies, lives lost” for Umno to defend power at any cost in Putrajaya?
It is most deplorable that Najib has come out with the wild, irresponsible and baseless allegation that the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” at Dataran Merdeka on April 28 was a coup attempt by the Opposition to topple the government.
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should produce proof or retract and apologise for his wild and irresponsible allegation that Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” was a coup attempt by the Opposition to topple the government
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Media, Najib Razak on Monday, 7 May 2012
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has belatedly realized that he is losing out in the public relations war over the government’s mishandling of the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” at Dataran Merdeka on April 28, 2012, as evidenced by the following recent developments:
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Najib upping the ante in the public relations battle with his wild and irresponsible allegation in Gua Musang on Friday that the Bersih 3.0 rally was a coup attempt by the Opposition to topple the government;
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the desperate roping in of three former Inspector-Generals of Police , Tun Haniff Omar, Tan Sri Rahim Noor and Tan Sri Musa Hassan to lend credence to Najib’s wild claim although there is not one iota of evidence that Bersih 3.0 was a coup attempt by the Opposition to topple the government (in fact, all evidence point to the contrary, with hundreds of thousands of Malaysians regardless of race, religion, class, region, age or gender gathering peacefully in the best manifestation of “1Malaysia” for a common cause for clean elections and armed at most with salt and water bottles to protect themselves from tear-gas attacks);
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The recycling of the Economist commentary “It’s that time of year” in the local media almost a week after its first appearance on the Economist website on May 1.
One lesson Najib’s “image” handlers have learnt from the government’s disastrous mishandling of the Bersih 2.0 rally of July 9, 2011 was to better manage the foreign media – and as a result, the Najib administration had a better foreign media perception and coverage on the night of Bersih 3.0 as compared to the night of Bersih 2.0, as illustrated by the Economist commentary of 1ST May. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih 3.0 chaos: PM Najib’s negligence
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Najib Razak, Police on Monday, 7 May 2012
by Mat Zain bin Ibrahim
Former Kuala Lumpur CID chief
07.05.2012
Nothing can stop the PM from forming another so called independent panel to investigate the causes of Bersih 3.0. chaos.
Knowing the manner an Independent Panel ,(that scrutinized the MACC’s findings on the AG,a former IGP, a Consultant Pathologist and me included, alleged to have fabricated evidence in the black-eye investigation) conducted it’s business,I am pessimistic of the outcome of this one.
However it would be premature to make any comments at this juncture, since we have not seen this Panel’s composition and their terms of reference.
It would be most welcome if the Panel members are allowed to query the Prime Minister as well,to ascertain the measures taken by himself if any, to prevent the chaos from happening. Read the rest of this entry »
BERSIH 3.0 Broke Many Glasses (Including A Few Glass Ceilings)
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Bersih, Elections, Hishammuddin, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak on Monday, 7 May 2012
by Bakri Musa
First of Two Parts: Seeing The Bright Side
(Next Week: Part Two: Lessons To Be Learned)
In the aftermath of the largest public demonstrations against the Barisan government, the officials’ obsession now turns to the exercise of apportioning blame and the associated inflicting of vengeance. Both are raw human reactions, but hardly enlightening, sophisticated, or even fruitful. Besides, there is plenty of blame to go around. I prefer to look at the bright side and on the lessons that can be learned.
BERSIH 3.0 clearly demonstrates that Malaysians no longer fear the state. In that regard we are a quantum leap ahead of the Egyptians under Mubarak, the Iraqis under Saddam, or the Chinese under Mao (or even today). When citizens are no longer afraid of the state, many wonderful things would follow. BERSIH is also the first successful multiracial mass movement in Malaysia. In a nation obsessed with and where every facet is defined by race, that is an achievement worthy of note. Another significant milestone, again not widely acknowledged, is that the movement is led by a woman who is neither Malay nor a Muslim. Ambiga Sreenevasan broke not one but three Malaysian glass ceilings!
On a sour note, BERSIH 3.0 revealed that Barisan leaders (and a few from the opposition) have yet to learn and accept the fundamental premise that dissent is an integral part of the democratic process, and expressing it through peaceful assembly a basic human right. At a more mundane level though no less important, the authorities’ performance in BERSIH 3.0 also exposed their woeful incompetence and negligence in basic crowd control. Read the rest of this entry »
Blind baseless support by 3 ex IGPs for Najib’s wild allegation that Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” was Opposition bid to topple the government latest proof there is no level playing field for free and fair elections
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, Police on Sunday, 6 May 2012
Almost every day, Malaysians are provided with fresh proof that there is just no level playing field for free and fair elections in Malaysia and that the Barisan Nasional government is still a very long way off from fulfilling Bersih 2.0 Eight Demands for free and fair elections highlighted in the July 9, 2011 rally, let alone the Further Three Demands of the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” on April 28 last month.
The Eight Demands of the Bersih 2.0 rally were: Read the rest of this entry »
Keberangkalian Umno menjadi pembangkang adalah tinggi
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 6 May 2012
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
May 06, 2012
6 MEI — Kali ini saya teruskan lagi tentang perlunya kerajaan diubah, dianjak dan di alih, kalau boleh sebelum pilihanraya umum. Sambutan himpunan Bersih menunjukkan sokongan kepada perubahan dan rakyat tidak lagi mahu menerima pujukan kerajaan dan pimpinan hari ini agar mereka diberikan sekali lagi sambungan untuk memerintah negara kita yang kaya raya tetapi disalah tadbir ini.
Apa pun kata pihak media massa arus perdana jumlah peserta himpunan Bersih 3.0 tetap jauh melebihi 200,000 orang. Siapa pun boleh nafikan angka ini, tetapi itulah angka yang sebenarnya. Tetapi angka itu tidak penting. Yang penting dalam pilihanraya kali ini BN akan sampai penghujung hayatnya untuk mentadbir negara kita setelah memerintah begitu lama yang membuatkan pemimpin-pemimpin mereka menjadi seperti orang yang kufur nikmat.
Mahu tidak mahu kita mesti terima hakikat yang Bersih 3.0 telah berjaya besar yang tidak disangka-sangka. Pihak BN boleh berkata mengikut apa yang mereka mahu dengar tetapi hakikatnya rakyat telah membuat keputusan yang ‘conclusive’; iaitu, untuk menggantikan BN, justru rakyat akan ditadbir oleh kerajaan baru. Seperti yang saya sebut dalam posting saya beberapa hari yang lalu sokongan terhadap Bersih 3.0 Sabtu lepas memberikan ‘signal’ yang rakyat akan diperintah oleh pihak ‘alternative’.
Sesungguhnya, apa pun yang dilakukan oleh Najib dan barisan pimpinan negara, majoriti rakyat Malaysia sudah kehilangan keyakinan terhadap BN. Persepsi majoriti rakyat terhadap BN sudah sampai keperingkat optima dan tidak ada jalan lagi untuk BN diyakini oleh rakyat yang ramai ini. Semalam saya berada di Terengganu dan sebahagian yang mendengar ceramah yang saya sampaikan itu adalah dari mereka yang baru pulang dari Kota Baru kerana mereka diberikan bas dan berbagai-bagai kemudahan untuk menyambut PM Najib di sana. Read the rest of this entry »
Road to Malaysia’s day of destiny
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Bridget Welsh, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 6 May 2012
Bridget Welsh | May 6, 2012
Malaysiakini
COMMENT
With well over 100,000 people gathering last week for electoral reform in the largest street protest in the nation’s history – and the event marred by violence by both state and non-state actors alike – Malaysian politics has reached an important impasse.
The Bersih 3.0 rally and its aftermath reveal that the path ahead for Malaysian politics will grow even more contentious and complex. As the different ‘Bersih stories’ pour in, ranging from ‘ordinary’ heroism to the darker accounts of beatings and abuse of power, the move of Malaysian politics outside of the realm of elite to the streets and social media is both empowering and scary.
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s decision not to accommodate the concerns of the protesters last week, and even to demonise their actions, now prods Malaysia further along the road to its day of destiny, where the political fate of Malaysia’s 54-year government will be determined. So far, the routes chosen are one of confrontation rather than compromise, making resolution to differences even more difficult. Read the rest of this entry »
BN on track for snap poll, looking at July date
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak on Sunday, 6 May 2012
By Jahabar Sadiq
Editor
The Malaysian Insider
May 06, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — A general election could be called as early as July, before the Ramadan fasting month begins, as the Bersih 3.0 rally has not affected support for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, sources say.
The Malaysian Insider understands that a June election has been ruled out as Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be away on holiday for nearly two weeks from the middle of May, although he will attend a “Friends of BN” gathering in London on May 14.
“After Umno anniversary celebrations on May 11, the prime minister will go for an event in London, then he will attend his son’s graduation before going off to Spain for a vacation,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.
“So, it isn’t likely in June. July looks good as most BN warlords are ready for a general election,” he added, saying it could be held before July 19 when the fasting month is expected to begin. More than 60 per cent of Malaysians are Muslims who generally refrain from political activity during the fasting month. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s Malaysia still stuck in the murk
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Media, Najib Razak on Saturday, 5 May 2012
by Hamish McDonald
Sydney Morning Herald
May 05, 2012
It’s an encounter that has gone into the folklore of our diplomatic service.
An Australian envoy meeting a senior Malaysian official heard a familiar complaint about critical coverage of his country’s politics in the Australian media.
He snapped back: ‘Xenophon’s experience suggests the settings won’t change for the election Najib seems about to call. It’s a pity, given what Malaysia could be.
‘The media in Australia are not owned or controlled by the government,” the envoy said. ”Here they all are, and throughout my time here, I’ve never seen a favourable report about Australia.”
Senator Nick Xenophon, who went up last month to join an international team looking at Malaysia’s electoral system, has just had a personal lesson in just how slanted and hostile its media can be. After the team published a highly critical report, the New Straits Times newspaper, owned ultimately by the ruling United Malays National Organisation or UMNO, went to work on him. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih 3.0 is even greater public relations disaster for Najib than Bersih 2.0 – with damage growing in magnitude and impact when all the horror stories of police rampage of violence and brutality are told
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Media, Najib Razak, Police on Friday, 4 May 2012
As I said after the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 last year, there were many casualties especially the police, the mainstream media and the election commission but the biggest loser of all was undoubtedly the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
This is even more the case with the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” last Saturday on April 28 as Bersih 3.0 is an even greater public relations disaster for Najib than Bersih 2.0 – with the damage growing in magnitude and impact when all the horror stories of police rampage of violence and brutality on that day are told where hundreds of thousands of Malaysians who came to Kuala Lumpur in peace were not allowed to disperse in peace.
No reasonable and thinking Malaysian would buy Najib’s blame yesterday alleging that Bersih 3.0 organisers were responsible for last Saturday’s violence, in particular the police rampage of violence and brutality against peaceful protestors and media representatives.
The excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of police force, whether firing of tear gas and chemically-laced water cannon or downright police violence and brutality, cannot be justified by any breach of the Dataran Merdeka barricades last Saturday.
A critic of the government’s gross mishandling of Bersih 2.0 rally for free and fair elections in July last year had urged the Najib administration to discard its “Cold War” mindset and to modernize its concepts to address internal security and national issues.
Read the rest of this entry »
BN’s Dirtaran Merdeka
Dean Johns | May 1, 2012
Malaysiakini
BN’s attempt to thwart the Bersih 3.0 rally by transforming the people’s Dataran into its own ‘Dirtaran’ with razor wire, barricades and battalions of police was a monstrous mockery of the meaning of Merdeka.
And this was the clearest sign yet of how terrified the regime is that clean and fair elections would spell an end to its corrupt and kotor rule of the country.
Yet Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his accomplices in crime and grime are still spouting all their usual filthy lies. Read the rest of this entry »
“A Day of Shame” for Media Freedom, Police Professionalism and Najib’s Political Transformation
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Hishammuddin, Media, Najib Razak, Police on Thursday, 3 May 2012
Malaysia marks World Press Freedom Day today under the shadow of “A Day of Shame” last Saturday (Bersih 3.0 on April 28, 2012) for media freedom, police professionalism and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s political transformation.
Never before in Malaysian history have so many media reporters and photographers been the target of such ruthless, brutal and systematic police attacks while covering the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” for free, fair and clean elections, making a total mockery of the recent amendment to the Printing Presses and Publications Act allegedly to allow for greater media freedom in the country.
It is an indictment of all the “transformation” programmes and promises of the past three years that media freedom in Malaysia had never felt more endangered to the extent that media representatives and their supporters are marking the World Press Freedom Day by donning black with a yellow ribbon!
This is why I am wearing black with a yellow ribbon today.
When apologizing yesterday to the Malay Mail photographer Arif Kartono, who was attacked by seven to eight policemen who kicked him in the face, legs and stomped on his back and his camera damaged during the assault despite clearly identifying himself with his media tag, the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said:
Read the rest of this entry »
Police rampage at Bersih 3.0 with excessive and indiscriminate use of police force would not have happened if Dzaiddin Police RC Report on world-class police service had been fully accepted and internalized in past seven years
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, Police on Wednesday, 2 May 2012
“428” will go down in Malaysian history as one of the national milestones in the long and arduous struggle of Malaysians to reclaim their democratic, constitutional and human rights promised them when the country achieved Merdeka 54 years ago.
The other recent landmarks of this struggle are:
Firstly, Bersih rally on November 10, 2007 (“1011”) bringing out 40,000 Malaysians in support for electoral reforms.
Secondly, the “Political tsunami” of March 8, 2008 general elections (“308”) which cut down the mighty Barisan Nasional down to size, winning five state governments for Pakatan Rakyat and depriving BN of its two-thirds parliamentary majority.
Thirdly, Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9, 2011 (“709”) with 50,000 Malaysians braving threats and intimidation, including mass arrests, city lockdown and campaign of demonization against the organizers and participants, in support for clean, free and fair elections.
Fourthly, Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” on April 28 (“428”) with the largest turn-out in the nation’s history – estimated between 200,000 to 300,000 in Kuala Lumpur – with Malaysians regardless of race, religion, political affiliation, region, age or gender uniting in a common cause for clean, free and fair elections.
Read the rest of this entry »
A fine job, a fine mess
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, Police on Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Jeswan Kaur | May 1, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Fooling the rakyat is a trick the BN can no longer use, no thanks to its foolishness in abusing the powers of the police.
COMMENT
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has lauded the police for doing a fine job in handling last Saturday’s Bersih 3.0 rally. What really is the premier pleased about: the manner in which the police abused the protesters or the federal government’s pathetic attempt at discrediting the rally?
Either way, the premier, who also helms Barisan Nasional, the country’s federal ruling political force, is not going to win the rakyat’s mandate; sabotaging the April 28 protest speaks of BN’s desperation in painting the opposition coalition of Pakatan Rakyat in a bad light.
The Bersih 3.0 protest will go down in history as the day when BN played villian in bringing in “trouble-makers” to turn the protest into a chaotic affair. Let it be said that BN’s role in the April 28 incident is not going down well with the true defenders of this nation.
This time, there is no escape for both the Najib administration and the police as protesters of the rally bear witness to the police brutality that was unleashed when they were at the Masjid Jamek area.
Some of them related their ordeal to Bersih at a press conference organised a day after the protest.
Many of the protesters claimed the police carried no name tags or identification numbers on their uniforms when they launched their attacks at about 6pm. The assault lasted for three hours.
These are not wild allegations; pictures of the injuries suffered by the protesters as a result of being beaten by the police are proof that the federal government had no intention of allowing the rakyat to exercise their fundamental right to assemble and voice out their unhappiness. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih 3.0: UMNO needs a game change
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 1 May 2012
— Dahlia Martin
The Malaysian Insider
May 01, 2012
MAY 1 — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s popularity took a hit following a harsh crackdown on demonstrators at July’s 2011 Bersih rally. Looking to salvage his image as a reformer, Najib immediately set up a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to look into the issue of electoral reform.
But if he was hoping this move alone would appease critics and aid his political brand, he appears to have been gravely mistaken: the bar has since been raised, and to meet it, Najib must up the reformist ante and learn to sell policies more effectively to an increasingly sceptical electorate.
Saturday saw the Malaysian Bersih movement hold its third and biggest rally yet for electoral reform: some estimates have the number of attendees at 300,000 for the Kuala Lumpur event. Bersih “solidarity rallies” also took place in eighty-five other locations across the world, adding to the momentum already mustered from the two previous rallies.
But what had for several hours been a peaceful protest quickly took a violent turn when a small group of protesters appeared to breach the barbed wire and barricades set up by police to keep the protestors out of Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Independence Square (Dataran Merdeka).
Tear gas and water cannons were fired at demonstrators. Read the rest of this entry »
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