Nurul Izzah Anwar |
| Stop Mocking the Rakyat’s Desire for Free and Fair Elections Posted: 09 May 2012 08:42 PM PDT PRESS STATEMENT Stop Mocking the Rakyat's Desire for Free and Fair Elections While we should welcome the government's withdrawal of amendments to the Election Offences Act, we must be cognizant that the said amendments should not have been tabled so hastily nor bulldozed through Parliament in the first place. This sudden but among the many about-turn decisions by the Najib administration not only demonstrates the sheer incompetence of a government lacking a reform legislative agenda but appears more likely to be a calculated move, making a mockery of the rakyat especially in light of the Bersih 3.0 demands and rally. This hard won victory by the rakyat on the aftermath of Bersih 3.0 is bittersweet as the electoral reforms demanded was never considered. Instead, what was not asked was proposed, passed in Parliament, only to be withdrawn now at the senate. The acceptance of the ‘decoy’ Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms sans the opposition minority report, the ambivalence of the government on SUHAKAM’s recent report on the handling of the 2011 Bersih 2.0 rally, employing religious fatwas to demean the democratic right to peaceful protest, and the irresponsible attempt to paint the recent over 200,000 strong Bersih 3.0 rally as an attempt to overthrow the government through violent means are distracting and insulting to the Rakyat’s legitimate desire for free and fair elections. To add insult to injury, Prime Minister Najib now decides to appoint former IGP, Tun Hanif Omar as chairman of the ostensibly Independent Panel to Investigate Bersih 3.0 brutalities; which, undeniably includes the police force whilst sidelining SUHAKAM. Meanwhile, Najib continues to rebuff UN Special Rapporteur Frank La Rue's offer to assist – much relying on the bruised and tattered credibility of Genting Director Tun Hanif. Clearly, if the administration lead by Datuk Seri Najib is even remotely interested in making Malaysia the ‘Greatest Democracy' and not the 'Greatest Mockery' in the world, all he needs to implement are the following: (a) all 8 demands made by Bersih 2.0 (b) a realignment of the existing malapportionment of both state and federal seats (where the difference between number of voters between seats should not exceed 15% – state seats should not cut across local authorities boundaries – and to recognise that 70% of Malaysians are already living in Urban areas hence the need for rural seats balance is not relevant. Furthermore based on GE12 in 2008, of the 139 smallest seats, BN was able to win 112 seats for a simple majority with just 2.06 million voters or 18.9% out of 10.9 million voter population (1)) (c) to repeal Section 9A of the Election Act that currently disallows judicial review of the electoral roll (d) to repeal in its entirety Printing Presses and Publications Act to facilitate free and fair media (e) to allow international observers for the upcoming 13th General Election (f) Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Sabah Illegal Immigrants issue (g) Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Citizenship for Votes scandal The above should be guaranteed to be implemented BEFORE GE 13 even if a special sitting of the Parliament is required. I believe that the government has the ability and the political will to do so as demonstrated vis the rushed eight pieces of legislation during the last day of Parliament; one of which has since been withdrawn. Failure of the Najib administration to implement these demands will only result in a General Elections that will be riddled with fraudulent practices, lending credence to the allegation of an illegitimate government, and Malaysia will never achieve the much touted objective of being the ‘Greatest Democracy in the World'. Nurul Izzah Anwar ========== (1) TINDAK Malaysia saddened to observe that the PSC is merely a public-relations exercise designed to play for time. 4 April 2012 |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Nurul Izzah Anwar To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
Tiada ulasan:
Catat Ulasan