Ambiga: Bersih is the rakyat, ban has little impact
(The Malaysian Insider) – The Home Ministry ban on Bersih 2.0 will not have the impact it had aimed for as the electoral reform movement has captured the people’s “hearts and minds”, says its chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.
The former Bar Council president also disagreed with the Najib administration’s rationale for outlawing the movement, saying Bersih 2.0 was a coalition of established groups and does not need to be registered.
“More important, above and beyond that, Bersih now means more than just a group of organisations to Malaysians. Bersih is now a concept that has captured the hearts and minds of the rakyat.
“Bersih is now the rakyat, therefore whatever anybody tries to do to Bersih will not make any difference to how people feel about what it stands for,” the Bersih chairman told The Malaysian Insider.
The Home Ministry declared Bersih 2.0 illegal effective July 1 for causing an “atmosphere of unrest”, a week before its planned July 9 rally calling for free and fair elections.
The ministry issued a four-paragraph statement yesterday outlining the reasons for the ban by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
It gave three reasons for the banning of the movement, adding it was an unregistered group despite fulfilling all criteria to form an organisation under the Societies Act 1966.
The reasons given for the ban are:
i) Being active and sparking an atmosphere of unrest and worry among the multiracial community in the country;
ii) Spreading propaganda to incite the people to topple the government by distributing certain leaflets;
iii) Its activities have given a bad image to the country, which can threaten and undermine public order, security, economy and the country’s sovereignty and affect the harmony of the multiracial community.
Ambiga disagreed with the reasons outlined by the Registrar of Societies Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman and gave her justification.
“From a legal standpoint, we believe that Bersih 2.0 is a coalition of established organisations, so it does not require registration under the Societies Act,” said the senior lawyer.
