Kick-ass democracy in action.

GREETINGS HUMANS,

Press Release from BERSIH

KUALA LUMPUR, 6pm - A mass rally organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) to demand for electoral reforms managed to successfully hand over a memorandum to HM Yang diPertuan Agong (the King) despite persistent actions by the police to deter and intimidate the crowd.

The crowd then decided to make its way to the National Palace after the original venue of the rally, Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) was completely cordoned by the police.

In the last two days prior to today's event and right up to today, the police and the government had pledged to come down hard on the participants of the gathering:

• Roadblocks were launched on all major arteries into Kuala Lumpur, the venue for the rally.
• Participants were harassed, the yellow t-shirts specially made for the event confiscated.
• Buses were asked to turn back at the toll plazas, and some buses ordered to the police stations.
• Plainclothes policemen were placed on public transportation such as the LRT.
• The Komuter trains and LRT were not allowed to stop at the stations closest to the venue, causing many to miss the event.
• Cars carrying 3-4 passengers were searched for BERSIH-related materials such as T-shirts and headbands.

[talk about desperate!]

Police had tried to stop the participants with water cannons and teargas at the four meeting points (Masjid Jamek, Central Market, Sogo and Masjid Negara) as well as when the crowd tried to make their way to the National Palace, but later allowed them to proceed.

The crowd in total was estimated at between 40,000 and 50,000, making this the biggest public gathering in the country. Needless to say, that figure would have been much higher had the police not prevented the people from attending the rally.

The memorandum was handed over to palace officials between 3.45pm and 4pm. The delegation included Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Advisor to Parti Keadilan Rakyat-PKR), Lim Guan Eng (Sec-Gen of the Democratic Action Party-DAP), Lim Kit Siang (Parliamenatry Opposition Leader-DAP), Dato' Seri Haji Hadi Haji Awang (President of Parti Islam SeMalaysia-PAS), Dato' Kamaruddin Jaafar (Sec-Gen of PAS), Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad (central committee member of PAS), Teresa Kok (MP for Seputeh-DAP) and Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (Sec-Gen of PKR) and Tan Kok Wai (MP for Cheras-DAP).

The memorandum contained a long-term agenda for electoral reform as well as the four immediate demands which are at the core of BERSIH's campaign, namely:

• The use of indelible ink to prevent multiple voting
• The abolition of domestic postal voting for the armed forces
• Cleanup of the electoral rolls
• Fair and equitable access to the national media

The memorandum also called on His Majesty to:

• Heed the demands of the people for widespread electoral reform, including the establishment of a Royal Commission to review and reform the electoral system
• Use his authority under Article 40(2) of the Federal Constitution to overrule any decision to dissolve Parliament as long as these four immediate demands are not met.

[for the sake of the people, please!]

Immediately after the handover of the memorandum, there were a few more arrests made. At this point in time, 23 people have been detained at the Kuala Lumpur Police Headquarters, according to our lawyers.

BERSIH condemns the arrests of peaceful demonstrators and the use of teargas and water cannons by the police, and demands that all those arrested be released immediately.

BERSIH sees the flawed electoral process -- which virtually guarantees the perpetual rule of the governing Barisan Nasional -- as the core cause of the exploding political, administrative and judicial rot in Malaysia, with far-reaching implications on the economy and society at large.

BERSIH commends and applauds the people for braving the rain and intimidating police actions, to turn up and support the campaign for electoral reform.

"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."


BERSIH Secretariat
10 November 2007

So the time has come for the government to step up and take action. Charges have been made against you and you must take thee measures required of you. No amount of philibusting can save you now. No hush-hush in the newspaper, no spin generating. Come clean and gain the trust of the people. Otherwise...hmmm...I would say you people pray goddamn hard when the next general elections come. Don't expect a 90%majority this time. Thank you to all those who went despite heavy rain to express your opinion on this issue. You have the sympathies of most Malaysians. We have been waiting for this for much too long a time.

Can't take it? In your face my government dick-licking friends.

Welcome,democracy!

Godspeed, good luck,
If we meet again.

Lights off