Press Freedom

Report from FreeMalaysiaKini (July 26, 2011) :

CIJ says the ruling government should let media regulate themselves on their own. Following a lukewarm from mainstream media top editors, a media watchdog today described the proposed media consultative council by the government as a “media propaganda council” which would serve as another layer of media control. “If the ruling government is serious about fostering media freedom, it should repeal or amend all ( media-related) laws and let media regulate themselves on their own, with input from civil society and in the interests of the public,” said Masjaliza Hamzah, executive director of the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ). Hence she called on all press people who were invited to the closed- door meeting chaired by Information, Communication and Culture Ministry secretary-general Kamaruddin Siaraf(right) yesterday, especially the National Union" of Journalists (NUJ), to reject this government-led initiative. “The public deserves an independent media which puts public interest first, rather than answer to the political masters of the day,” she said. According to those who attended the poorly-represented meeting yesterday, the editors were “about 100 percent” against government involvement in the council, worrying that the council would further muzzle the already battered mainstream media.

Read more HERE.

Not For The Disabled

A letter published in The Star (July 20, 2011):

MALAYSIA may be a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and may have enacted the Persons With Disabilities Act 2008 (Act 685), but in reality, our laws, society and institutions fail to commit to the genuine inclusion of disabled individuals in all aspects of living.

At no time was this more evident to me than during the Liverpool FC vs Malaysian XI match on July 16, when I was not allowed to park at the designated parking space for the disabled or even allowed to approach the entrance for my disabled friend to disembark from my car.

Our polite requests for access to the parking space for the disabled was dismissed by the traffic police stationed around the National Stadium, and they told us in no uncertain terms that the disabled was not allowed to park in the stadium car park as the entire parking area was reserved for VVIPs and members of royalty.

The event management company personnel and traffic police shrugged off our questions with an air of impatience and insensitivity, and the unspoken message seemed to be that the disabled should know their own limitations and should not have come to watch a sport that they could not participate in.

We ended up having to park over 1km away in front of the Astro headquarters and had to walk to the National Stadium.

My friend was exhausted and in considerable pain and distress when we finally arrived.

Read more HERE.

The Political Dinosaur

Report from FreeMalaysiakini (July 17. 2011):

Back in form after the Bersih vanishing act, the Perkasa chief plays tit for tat with Star's Wong Chun Wai in his usual ketuanan fashion.

Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali today hit out at Star editor Wong Chun Wai for calling him a “political dinosaur”.

“So, I want to tell right in front Wong Chun Wai's face, you can write and fool others but not the dinosaur Ibrahim Ali.”

“I'm proud to be a Malay dinosaur who will protect at any cost for those who try to write a new 'social contract' for Malaysia, that is Persekutuan Tanah Melayu,” said the prickly leader of the right wing Malay rights group in SMS to the media.

He was responding to Wong's column published today titled 'Talk less listen harder'.

Read more HERE.

Marina Mahathir And Bersih 2.0

Report from Malaysiakini (July 18, 2011):

The Malaysian government feels threatened, is in a total state of panic and cannot think clearly, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's eldest daughter Marina Mahathir says.

“They do feel threatened because they underestimated Bersih in 2007 and then in the 2008 general election, they lost a lot of seats in Parliament and the state assemblies.

"And since then, they have been in a state of total panic and they can't think clearly at all. Now they are obsessed about how to win them back.

“You can win back people just by being nice. You can't win back people by being nasty. You can't say that those people who marched are hooligans. Maybe there was a handful, not all of them.

"The majority of them were professionals. The group was so diverse and it was really one Malaysia - young, rich, poor of every race, creed and every religion,” she told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview.

On July 9, Marina (right) took part in the Bersih 2.0 protest, with her daughter and friends.

They started from near Jalan Pudu (Berjaya Times Square) and walked along Jalan Hang Jebat (formerly Davidson Road) in front of Stadium Negara towards the Olympics Council of Malaysia building, where she encountered other friends.

She added that the people who marched were proud of the Bersih 2.0 movement. “I may not agree with your cause but you did a really good thing. We all became One Malaysia.

Read more HERE.

Penguins And Frozen Asset

Report from The Malaysian Insider (July 15, 2011):

Datuk Awang Adek Hussin today said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) can freeze the assets of those believed to be participating in activities deemed risky to the nation’s security if the police recommend so.

The deputy finance minister highlighted this in relation to reports that the Bersih 2.0 movement headed by Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan was receiving foreign funding for its activities.

According to Awang, provisions within the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act allowed for the central bank to not only bar access to such funds but also trace both deposits and withdrawals of the offending accounts.

Bersih 2.0 chairman Ambiga was earlier reported to have received funds from foreign non-profit organisations through a local bank.

The report carried by a local newspaper said the bank was chosen by Ambiga and the NGOs to help the former Bar Council president in her plan to “cause chaos in Malaysia”.

It was also alleged that an opposition leader owns shares in the bank.

Responding to the issue last week, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said the police will work together with BNM to investigate the claims.

Bersih was also hit before by allegations of having received funding from, among others, foreign Christian organisations to finance its July 9 rally for electoral reforms.

The group, however, moved to repudiate the accusations by saying the donations for the rally came from Malaysian citizens here and abroad.

Read more HERE.

Harry Potter And The Minister

Report from Malaysiakini (14 Jul, 2011):

The doctors who witnessed the police attack on Tung Shin Hospital are ready to provide further evidence if the statement they issued yesterday is rebutted by the government.

However, they will not reveal any further details on their account of the incident until their statement is challenged by the authorities, their spokeperson Dr Sheikh Johari Bux said today.

"If that (denial) arises, we will discuss as a group and take the neccesary steps required," said Sheikh Johari, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist.

"If not, we would rather leave the matter at that," he said, adding that they would only respond, if needed, at the "right time" and in the presence of a lawyer.

Sheikh Johari said the information they had was not something "secretive".

It was also not their intention to go against anyone, "for all we want is only to tell the truth", he added.

"What we are asking for is that the people in high office be transparent."

The doctors' statement, issued last night and signed by 11 senior medical officers, condemned the authorities for the attack on Bersih 2.0 rally participants in the hospital compound last Saturday.

The act violated universal recognition of hospitals as places of sanctuary.

It was the first public statement made by medical officers following denials by the police and Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai that police shot tear gas and water cannons into the hospital compound on July 9.

Besides Sheikh Johari, the other doctors who signed the statement are Musa Nordin, Ng Kwee Boon, Ng Swee Choon, Ronald Mcoy, David Quek, Mary Cardozo, Farouk Musa, Mazeni Alwi, Pixie Low and Steve Wong.

They said some among them were visiting or working at Tung Shin Hospital at the time of the incident, and that they were ready to provide sworn affidavits "if required, as to the veracity of the incident".

More HERE.

Yellow Saturday Night

Report from Malaysiakini (Jul 12. 2011) :

The Bersih 2.0 steering committee has called for 'Yellow Saturdays' as a show of continued support for the movement's eight demands for electoral reform.

Bersih 2.0 chief S Ambiga called on all Malaysians to wear something yellow every Saturday as a peaceful show of support for the demands.

"Until such reforms are made, we ask the rakyat to wear yellow every Saturday. It doesn't matter if it is a shirt or anything ...," she told a press conference.

Ambiga said despite the “overwhelming” public support for Saturday's rally, there still remains the task of pushing forward the eight demands outlined in Bersih 2.0's memorandum for free and fair elections.

Read more HERE:

"Aunty Bersih"

Report from The Malaysian Insider (July 11, 2011)

Quiet has settled over Saturday’s chaos but one image is still making waves on the Internet — the picture of an elderly woman in yellow, drenched in rain and chemical-laced water, walking away from riot police while clutching on to a long-stemmed flower and a near-empty mineral water bottle.

She is Annie Ooi, a 65-year-old retired English teacher who took a bus from Setapak in the early morning of July 9 to join thousands of others in Bersih 2.0’s march for free and fair elections. An unknown man had offered her the flower in the morning and she waved it like a flag throughout the four-hour march.

Netizens have dubbed her “Aunty Bersih”, and even Malaysia’s “Lady of Liberty”, for placing her health and safety at risk to join a march the government had declared illegal.

Pictures of the diminutive Ooi strolling in the war zone that Kuala Lumpur had turned into are all over the Internet, inviting messages of awe and wonderment from netizens across the country.

On Facebook, at least three fan pages were set up in dedication to Ooi immediately after the event. One page called “Malaysian Lady of Liberty” attracted 17,176 “likes” as of 9am this morning.

Ooi was one of the few who dared to turn up in yellow to mark the occasion, despite earlier warnings that those with clothes indicating support for the outlawed Bersih 2.0 coalition would be arrested.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insider through her daughter over Facebook chat last night, Ooi confirmed that she had been tear gassed four times and sprayed with the water cannon once during Saturday’s pandemonium.

She said she was unsure of what time the rally was scheduled to start or where, but was determined to support its cause by participating in it even if she had to do it alone.

Read more HERE.

'Tidak Apa' Attitude

Angry Birds And Road Blocks

From The Malaysian Insider (July 8, 2011):

Several offices sent their staff home early today as police began locking down the federal capital ahead of the Bersih rally calling for free and fair elections tomorrow.

National oil company Petronas sent their staff home at 4pm today while other offices in the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers closed for the day after lunch. It is understood the management of the Suria mall beneath the iconic twin towers will also put up blockades around the shopping complex as a security precaution although it remains open to the public.

City police have already closed off Dataran Merdeka in the middle of the city today but most roads will be closed from midnight.

The roadblocks and diversions will affect entry points along the entire stretch of Jalan Syed Putra, Jalan Istana, Jalan Bukit Petaling, Jalan Bellamy and the area surrounding Istana Negara, police said in a posting at the www.rmp.gov.my website.

Also affected would be the area surrounding the National Mosque in the Lake Gardens area, covering the entire stretch of Jalan Sultan Hishammuddin, Jalan Lembah Perdana and Jalan Chenderasari.

Read more HERE.

Donations: Support Bersih in its moment of need

Bersih needs financial support. The following is from Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan's open letter to the public.

To read further or learn how to donate to Bersih 2.0 please click HERE.

I would like to thank all Bersih supporters for your kind outpouring of support thus far. Bersih 2.0 has come a long way in carrying the aspirations of the rakyat for clean and fair elections, and it is the rakyat themselves above all who have made this possible.

We have faced massive obstacles, vilification and oppression, but inspired by the bravery of the Malaysian people, managed to overcome them all thus far.

Like many other Steering Committee members, it has been challenging personally to face threats of murder, gang rape and various other violence directed against myself and others. Nonetheless, we understand our responsibility in holding the line on behalf of all of you who want nothing more than a clean electoral system and a better Malaysia.

Malaysians both at home and abroad have already been called to make so many sacrifices, so while we do not aspire to add to your burdens, we are writing this in the hopes that you can spare some support.

The cost of our campaign increases every day, complicated by constant harassment by the authorities. In addition to our operational expenses listed below that are necessary to organising our gathering successfully in a peaceful and secure environment, we find ourselves having to raise money to bail staff at the secretariat of Bersih 2.0 that have been unjustly arrested and are now facing charges that make no sense whatsoever. Having key staff detained will cripple our operations in devastating ways. ....

Here We Come

From The Malaysian Insider (July 7, 2011)

Bersih has insisted that it will not move its rally away from Stadium Merdeka on Saturday, stating that it was too late for its supporters to change their plans.

Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who leads the electoral reforms movement, told reporters after meeting the Inspector General of Police that Bersih would go ahead and apply for a police permit and permission from the stadium’s administrators as soon as possible.

“Some of our supporters may still head to Stadium Merdeka,” she said, despite police chief Tan Sri Ismail Omar’s advice that they move outside the capital city.

“I am horrified that the federal government told us to go to a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state. Is the federal government trying to tell us that PR is better?” Ambiga added, referring the suggestion made by Barisan Nasional (BN) yesterday.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had already offered to host the rally at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Ambiga, who was accompanied by Bersih steering committee member Wong Chin Huat and national laureate A. Samad Said, said that they were initially rejected by Stadium Merdeka for not having a police permit in advance.

More HERE.

From 'Bersih' To 'Kotor'

From FreeMalaysiakini.com (July 6 2011):

Two Perak lawmakers switch to 'Kotor' T-shirts to poke fun at the police crackdown on those wearing Bersih 2.0 T-shirts.

"They don't want to be Bersih (clean), so we give them Kotor (dirty)."

That was one reaction to Gopeng MP Dr Lee Boon Chye this morning, when he return to the Gunung Rapat wet market in Ipoh where he had been arrested for wearing a yellow Bersih 2.0 T-shirt last week.

Along with Simpang Pilai assemblyperson Chan Ming Kai - who had also been arrested last week for the same reason - Lee and PKR Perak members found amusement on their walkabout, wearing shirts with the word Kotor emblazoned on it this time.

A spoof on the Bersih 2.0 T-shirt, it has 'X' instead of a tick, while the words bersikan pilihanraya (clean up the elections) is replaced with 'BN' and '53 tahun' (53 years in power).

The link to FreeMalaysiakini is HERE.

Samad Said: Stop cari makan!

According to Malaysiakini (Jul 3, 2011), "A Samad Said urged intellectuals to stop being 'carma' but dare to make a stand against cruelty and injustice.

"He coined the word 'carma' which is the acronym of 'cari makan' (seeking to profit), during political satirist and cartoonist Zunar's book launch last night at Kuala Lumpur.

"Writers seldom take a stand. Most of them are 'carma' and are always prepared to not take a stand. This has caused all the evil to grow and spread tremendously.

"The septuagenarian then directed his criticism against editors of mainstream media which has been demonising the July 9 rally called by Bersih 2.0 in favour of free and fair elections.

"Fortunately there is still a small number of writers who dare to take a stand, who know that Bersih is pure," he said.

Note for Non-Malaysian reader: A Samad Said is a Malaysian poet and novelist.

Yellow Fever