Ambiga defends Bersih polls tribunal as people’s choice
(MM) – Critised by the Attorney-General (A-G), Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan defended today Malaysia’s first People’s Tribunal on the 13th general election as a platform for ordinary people to voice their grievances that may otherwise have buried in the public records.
The co-chairman of Bersih, the electoral watchdog that had mooted the tribunal, said those opposed to the public inquiry should sit in before sniping at it without giving it a chance.
“They have a right to their viewpoint… of course I admit the tribunal is not set up to pursuant to any statute.
“I’ve said that from the start what it has a moral force and this is not something that is happening for the first time in the world,” she told reporters here during a break in the tribunal hearing for lunch.
Ambiga was responding to A-G Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s dismissal of the public inquiry as a publicity stunt.
The five-member People’s Tribunal is led by Yash Pal Ghai, a former United Nations Special Representative and constitutional law expert, to look into the many complaints of alleged vote rigging in the May 5 general election.
The other members are former Indonesian Electoral Commission deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti, prominent lawyer Datuk Azzat Kamaludin, University of Malaya associate senior fellow Mavis Puthucheary and Rev Dr Hermen Shastri, the general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia.
Ambiga said those who understand the international scenario will know that similar people-organised tribunals are held globally and have provided a platform for people to come forward and give their evidence.
“Now the positive part of this people’s tribunal is this is the first time all those who had complaints, who had written reports, who have grievances have one tribunal… which they can come forward their views.
“This is the first time this has happened after the GE13 this is the value of the tribunal,” she said.
Today, the tribunal has so far heard testimonies from a former PKR candidate for the Tapah parliamentary seat, an emotional mother of his campaign worker whose body was found floating in a pond in Batu Gajah on election day and Yasmin Masidi who was one of the authors who wrote the Pemantau election observation report.
Pemantau is the largest election observation initiative in Malaysia with over 2,000 election observers.
“It’s a pity that those critical of the tribunal don’t at least come and observe it because when you sit in that room, and you see what’s happening.
“You can see what the value of this tribunal has,” said Ambiga.
