KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30, 2014:
With the 57th Merdeka Day just around the corner, Bersih claims that it is highly ironic that the country is regressing in various areas. — File pic
As Malaysia nears the celebration of its 57th year of independence, Bersih 2.0, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, notes the many regressions Malaysia is facing which are proving to be set backs to the country’s achievement of true independence.
It said one of these “regressions in fundamental freedoms” was the use of the Sedition Act against several Opposition leaders in the past month.
The coalition’s steering committee members called it “a slap in the face of the progressive democratic nation that we are aspiring to be”.
They pointed out that it was an archaic law used by Malaysia’s former colonisers in suppressing its citizens.
“It is highly ironic that the progeny of our Merdeka forebears continue to use the law for the same purpose on fellow citizens!”
Other regressions, according to the NGO’s members, were in the form of freedom granted to the media, which they attributed to repressive laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act.
They also deemed the right to association as fragile.
The number of unaccountable custodial deaths was also a point to ponder upon, which they said, “pointed to the urgent need for the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission”.
“Urgent electoral reforms, fair delineation and an independent Election Commission (EC), all elements Bersih 2.0 advocated for, also continue to be ignored.”
Despite these conditions, the steering committee said Malaysians could afford to be complacent.
“What was won yesterday may be lost today and indeed has been demonstrated so. Our biggest challenge is still citizen apathy, more so vis-a-vis the political shenanigans that abound on both sides of the divide.”
Their advice is for Malaysians to remain steadfast in realising their roles in growing civil society movements and continue to push for independent institutions and improved systems that function as checks and balances in governance.
“To neglect our democratic responsibilities will mean to give up control of our public affairs — in effect, to lose our freedoms.
“Thus, as we echo the shouts of “Merdeka!” at the stroke of midnight today, Bersih 2.0 calls on all Malaysians to remember that we still have a crucial role in attaining true independence.
“By the next Merdeka, we want to be a more confident nation that will not be sidetracked from our goal of becoming a truly free people.”
Source Via The Rakyat Post
