Approve use of Stadium Merdeka and cease police harassment immediately |
Written by straits-mongrel |
Wednesday, 06 July 2011 15:49 |
AT 12.30pm today, representatives of Bersih 2.0 contacted the booking officer for Stadium Merdeka in order to make the appropriate arrangements to use the stadium for our peaceful gathering on the 9th of July. This was done in accordance with the generous offer by the Prime Minister and following Tuesday’s audience with Tuanku DYMM SPB YDP Agong. We were disappointed to find that the booking officer in question began providing a number of excuses as to why the booking could not be made. Among the unclear reasons provided by said officer were an “internal management sports event” and “renovations” – these despite the fact that until very recently, there were plans to hold “Konsert Raksasa 2″ on the 9th of July at Stadium Merdeka. In order to be faithful to the aspirations of the rakyat, Bersih 2.0 is strongly of the view that as part of the agreement to hold the rally in the stadium, a proper venue that reflects the scale and centrality of this issue to Malaysians throughout the nation must be selected. We have decided that Stadium Merdeka is the only location that appropriately meets this criteria, and take the firm position that to demonstrate his sincerity and good faith, the Prime Minister must as a matter of honour make good on his offer to let us use an appropriate stadium immediately. Malaysians are fully aware that with only three days to go to the rally, a prompt decision with regard to the location of the rally is of the essence. Any delay in approving the use of Stadium Merdeka can only be an unacceptable effort to further delay and frustrate our movement. We have no doubt that strong leadership by the top executive will not tolerate any procedural obstacles to a speedy approval. We also deplore the ongoing arrests, harassment, and intimidation against Bersih 2.0 supporters by the police throughout the country. Further arrests have been made, and we are informed that charges are to be brought against a number of individuals under the Societies Act for promoting an illegal organisation. We are perplexed by this continuing vilification of Bersih 2.0 by the police and the AG’s chambers. Continuing to maintain that Bersih 2.0 is an illegal organisation is a direct and disrespectful contradiction by these institutions of the understanding that was reached via the good graces of DYMM SPB YDP Agong. We call upon the authorities to respect the will of our nation’s monarch, and cease these actions against Bersih 2.0 with immediate effect. Any arrangement that we make with the Prime Minister must be comprehensive and take into account the actions of all the government agencies for which he is fully responsible for. Any shirking or delegation of these responsibilities are also unacceptable. Bersih 2.0 has always maintained that we want nothing more than to work hand in hand with all parties, especially the government of the day, to bring about a clean and fair electoral system as well as a better Malaysia. We sincerely hope that the Prime Minister will remain true to his word and suffer no further delays whatsoever to honouring his word and respecting in full the spirit of agreements that have been made. Yours faithfully, Steering Committee Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH 2.0) |
Last Updated on Wednesday, 06 July 2011 15:53 |