‘Are you hiding something, Bersih?’
The NGO which champions free and fair elections has been asked to release its GE report soon unless they are hiding something
Alyaa Azhar, FMT
Polls watchdog Bersih has been questioned on the delay in releasing the findings of its tribunal report.
Umno Cheras division chief Syed Ali Alhabshee told FMT that Bersih should release the findings of the report as soon as possible.
“If you said it will come out after three months, then you should be responsible for it. With the delay, people will think you are trying to hide something,” Syed Ali told FMT.
The tribunal was formed to investigate the alleged irregularities that occurred during the polls.
He added that Bersih should also explain the delay instead of keeping mum.
“A month’s delay is acceptable, but if it is more than 30 days, then something is wrong,” he said.
The panel of the People’s Tribunal completed its session on Sept 22 and promised to deliver its report within three months but had not done so.
Bersih chairman Maria Chin Abdullah yesterday told FMT that the judges were still in the process of writing the report.
“They will tell us when they are ready. But we are definitely chasing them to ensure that the report gets completed,” she said.
Maria however was unsure whether the report will be completed within the first half of the year.
No evidence?
Former Deputy Education minister Mohd Puad Zarkashi on the other hand said the rakyat were no longer anxious to know about the report’s contents.
Puad said that the report was delayed because Bersih did not have evidence to prove whether the course of the 13th general election was clean or otherwise, citing the 40,000 Bangladeshi phantom voters allegation.
