Bersih 2.0 accuses Obama of hypocrisy over Putrajaya support

(Malay Mail Online) – Electoral reforms group Bersih 2.0 lambasted US President Barack Obama today for failing to confront the Malaysian government over alleged abuses here, shortly after meeting the US leader together with other civil society groups.

Saying that democratic reforms in Malaysia have come to a “standstill” or were being reversed through alleged corruption and gerrymandering by Putrajaya, Bersih 2.0 stated that suppression of civil and political rights was now commonplace here.

“The US government cannot and must not be so cynical that it preaches democracy and human rights on one hand and supports authoritarian leaders like Najib on the other hand just because it serves her economic and geopolitical interests.

“Such hypocrisy will not only undermine the US’ moral authority in world affairs, but it will also undermine democracy and human rights and contribute to political stability to those countries run by despots and the world at large,” the group said in a statement.

Among Bersih 2.0’s complaints were the redelineation of constituencies in Sarawak ahead of the state election next year as well as the lingering controversies over 1Malaysia Development Bhd and the RM2.6 billion deposited in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s accounts in 2013.

It then reminded Obama of the late US president, John F. Kennedy’s remark that “those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”.

Earlier, Obama met with Bersih 2.0 and other local non-governmental organisations, after which Negaraku patron Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said he had assured them that his country was concerned over the alleged abuses despite its dealings with Malaysia.