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Malaysian
opposition rallies for change - What about Singapore?
Baradan
Kuppusamy
Asia Times
8 Nov 07
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IK08Ae01.html
[SDP's
note]: Mr Anwar Ibrahim's piece
in the next post about the lack of democracy and the rule of law
in Malaysia reminds one of the political situation in Singapore.
Yet the Malaysian opposition and civil society are courageously
and vociferously calling for political change. What about us in
Singapore?
A
mammoth opposition rally planned for next week threatens to
expose examples of vote-buying, gerrymandering, fraudulent
electoral rolls and blatant use of public resources to win votes
in Malaysian elections, unless the government is able to stop it.
Organized by BERSIH, a coalition of four main opposition
political parties and 67 civil rights non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), the rally is the first concerted effort to
change the election rules ahead of the country's 12th general
election, widely expected to be held by March.
The
government is dead set on stopping the rally, which could be the
biggest since Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi came to power in
2003. The premier rode a wave of popular adulation that has since
soured by his failure to fight corruption and promote the rule of
law.
The police have issued a warning, citing a
pre-colonial era law that bars gatherings of more than five
people that the rally is banned and anybody who turns up at
independence square in the capital risks being arrested.
"Despite the concerted threats we expect over 10,000
people to turn up," said Sivarasah Rasiah, a key organizer
and vice president of the opposition National Peoples Party. "The
threats are not going to force us to back down," he said.
"It is our democratic right to gather peacefully to show our
unhappiness with the tainted system."
The challenge
to the electoral system is all the more significant as the rally
and march are led by the country's three top opposition leaders.
At the head of the protest is opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, who
will lead the gathering from independence square to the king's
palace about five kilometers away to submit a memorandum
demanding electoral reforms.
Other leaders expected to
join the protest are Ibrahim are Lim Kit Siang, leader of the
pro-Chinese Democratic Action Party, and Abdullah Hadi Awang,
president of the fundamentalist Pan Malaysian Islamic Party or
PAS. "We are united in our resolve to bring changes to the
election rules," said Anwar Ibrahim at a recent rally
outside the city. "The people have suffered long enough.
Let's have a fair and free election so that voters can choose the
government of their choice."
BERSIH says, besides
the outdated election laws, a cleanup of the electoral list is
urgently needed to remove so-called phantom voters and that the
Election Commission must be made truly independent. BERSIH is
demanding four immediate changes: permanent use of indelible ink
to prevent repeated voting, a clean up of electoral rolls to
eliminate phantom voters, abolition of postal voting frequently
abused by the government and equal access for all political
parties to make use of state-controlled media.
"Only
when elections are clean and fair can citizens be real masters of
their own destiny and expect holders of public office to act
accountably and effectively,"; said Faizal Mustaffa,
co-coordinator of BERSIH. To add pressure on the government,
BERSIH supporters and representatives will organize similar
protests outside Malaysian embassies in many countries, including
South Korea, Indonesia, United Kingdom, United States and
Thailand.
"We hope the government will be
sufficiently persuaded by the international condemnation arising
out of the coordinated protest to at least initiate some reform
of the electoral system," Rasiah said. Although BERSIH
officials have repeatedly said that they are eager to ensure the
rally is peaceful and problem-free, there is concern that such a
huge event could turn ugly.
In a recent statement, the
country's Human Rights Commission reiterated that freedom of
peaceful assembly is an important right that is enshrined in the
Federal Constitution and the United Nations Declaration of Human
Rights. But it also voiced fears and urged organizers to follow
all relevant rules and laws.
While many Malaysians are
supportive of BERSIH's campaign for electoral reforms, some are
unhappy with its decision to turn to the king for help in
advancing democracy. The country's small Parti Sosialis Malaysia
(Socialist Party of Malaysia) is noticeably not involved with
other major opposition political parties in the BERSIH-led
campaign.
"The king has no power to improve
conditions of democracy and justice because his duties are mostly
ceremonial," said a veteran retired newspaper editor
explaining the reluctance of some people to associate with the
monarchy. "Historically the monarchy has been hostile to
democratic freedom and people's power," he told Inter Press
Service. "Turning to the feeble monarchy for direction to
make fundamental changes in society appears illogical and cannot
be justified."
"We should rely on mobilizing
people at grassroots level to push for changes from bottom-up,"
he said. "Top-down changes rarely hold for long."
Whatever the case, BERSIH supporters say their campaign is for
the long term and that the November 10 rally will be just one in
a long series of protests that will go beyond the upcoming
general election.
"Our campaign is for the long term
and our demand is for fundamental changes in the election system
in line with changes taking place in other countries," said
Yap Swee Seng, executive director of SUARAM, a leading rights
NGO. Among areas BERSIH says fundamental changes are needed is
the first-past-the-post system that leads to disproportionate
representation.
"We also want a system where
minorities, indigenous peoples, women and others have a role and
a voice that could be heard," Yap said. "Parliament
should be truly representative and not dominated by one ruling
group. The system has to be re-engineered to fit the needs of all
sections of the people."
Another BERSIH demand is
for the government to reintroduce local council elections, which
were abolished in 1970 on grounds of "national security".
BERSIH also wants the election commission to be restructured to
ensure it is truly independent and finally permit international
observers to monitor the election and suggest changes.
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