BERSIH Rally for Electoral Reform

From the incumbents:

Sunday November 11, 2007
The Star: Najib on why police did not permit gathering

PEKAN: A certain group of people will always take advantage of a situation such as the illegal assembly at Jalan Tun Perak in Kuala Lumpur, causing chaos and disturbing the peace, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

It was for that very reason that police did not allow the gathering to be held in the first place, he added.

“I was made to understand that a lot of shopkeepers were worried and closed their businesses for the day, fearing the worst if the gathering took place. The gathering also caused problems such as traffic jams.

The effect is it mars the general perception others have of our society,” he told reporters after opening the Pusat Anak Permata Negara (Permata) in Felda Chini Timur here yesterday.

Najib also said the group demanded freedom to hold the gathering but the Government had always place importance on peace, stability and public interest.

In Kuala Lumpur, Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin has refuted satellite television station Al Jazeera's claim that police had used force on the hundreds of protesters.

He told the station that police had tried to disperse the protesters by using water cannons, as the gathering was illegal.

“When they refused to disperse, the police allowed them to march to Istana Negara to hand over a memorandum demanding a clean and fair election.

“The police managed to handle the situation as best they could,” he said over the phone in a live interview by Al Jazeera here.

Asked why Malaysia did not allow such gatherings, Zainuddin said they were unnecessary because general election had been held without fail in this country.

The minister also hit out at Al Jazeera for having the wrong perception when posing questions.

Al Jazeera reporters had their own perceptions about Malaysia before coming here, he said, adding that “Malaysia is not Myanmar or Pakistan; it is a democratic country.”

– Bernama

Right.

Monday November 12, 2007
The Star: Opposition trying to drag King into politics, says Pak Lah
By Muguntan Vanar and Ruben Sario

KOTA KINABALU: Saturday’s street protest in Kuala Lumpur was an attempt to drag the royalty into opposition politics, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.

The Prime Minister said the illegal gathering of thousands of people that ended with a memorandum being handed over to an Istana Negara official was an attempt by the opposition to “trap” the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“I believe the King is more mature. The royalty understands and will not be trapped by their (the opposition’s) politics,” he said after opening the Parti Bersatu Sabah 22nd congress yesterday.

Abdullah described the illegal gathering that also saw the involvement of five opposition parties as a political gimmick.

“When the opposition thinks the elections will be called soon they do all sorts of activities to win support; that’s normal,” he added.

The gathering was organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), a group of 60 non-governmental organisations and political parties and it began with thousands gathering at five meeting points in Kuala Lumpur to join in a march to the Istana Negara.

When one group of protesters refused police orders to disperse as they approached the Masjid Jamek area at about 2.30pm, teargas and water cannons were used on them.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said police exercised restraint when controlling the crowd.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister said he was satisfied that police had acted responsibly in handling the situation effectively.

He said many ordinary folk opposed the street protest as it caused them much inconvenience.

“Police have the duty to prevent any untoward incident and they will need to take preventive measures such as putting up road blocks. This causes inconvenience but it is necessary,” he added.

To a question on Sabah’s longstanding illegal immigrant problem, Abdullah said it could only be addressed with the people’s cooperation, by not providing shelter or job opportunities or to immediately report to authorities any such foreigners in their midst.

“Malaysians are always very kind and this becomes a problem sometimes when dealing with these illegals,” he said, adding that there were also those who adopted a “don’t care” attitude towards the problem.

Later, Abdullah attended the Deepavali open house hosted by Sabah MIC at the Likas Sports Complex multi-purpose hall before opening the Liberal Democratic Party congress.

2007/11/12
NST: Suhakam: Police did not resort to violence
By : Syed Umar Ariff

KOTA BARU: Police contained the illegal demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday professionally and managed to avoid any untoward incident, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said yesterday.

Siva Subraminiam was at the rally in the city centre to monitor police conduct. He found that police did not use violence to control the crowds.

"I saw that the police did not even use their batons to disperse the crowd. So if there is any allegation of police brutality, it would not be true."

If there were, reports would have been lodged with Suha-kam. The police have acted professionally on the matter." Siva Subramaniam said this at the "Suhakam Bersama Rakyat Kelantan 2007" function here yesterday. Present were Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat and Suhakam vice-chairman Tan Sri Simon Sipaun.

Police used teargas and water cannons to disperse the gathering, which assembled at Masjid Jamek and the National Mosque to march towards Dataran Merdeka. A police cordon held them off.

Many of the protesters, wearing yellow T-shirts and bandannas, later converged outside Istana Negara as opposition leaders handed over a memorandum to a palace official.

Siva Subramaniam also lauded the immediate release of the 245 people who allegedly took part in the gathering after their statements were recorded by police.

"In the past, those arrested for such cases would have to spend one to two days in the lock-up. But on Saturday, they were all released after their statements were taken.

"It is a sign that Malaysia respects human rights," he said, adding that Suhakam would provide suggestions to the government on how to deal with illegal gatherings."

We can suggest but I can't guarantee that the government will approve them."

I beg to differ.

From the rest of the world:

Screenshots: Nov 10: How they painted it yellow

UPDATED VERSION. Road closures and blockades of entrances into the city? With three helicopters hovering over metro KL, the Police must now be wondering how did the 40,000 plus people break the condone, decentralise and regroup effortlessly to reach the Istana by as early as 3.00pm, the start time scheduled for the march?

On hindsight, it must have been a cat-and-mouse game right from the start.

Organisers of the BERSIH rally had no qualms in announcing the four gathering points -- Sogo department store, Masjid India, Masjid Negara and Pasar Seni -- for the march to begin from Dataran Merdeka to Istana Negara. It now looks like a red herring to divert police deployment of force.

By 2.30pm. Tian Chua, leading a crowd of about 500 at Pasar Tani, marched to Dataran Merdeka only to be blockaded by the FRU and police personnel stationed in front of the Bar Council building, Jalan Pasar Besar.

Verbal exchanges ensued, with wheelchair-bound Irene Fernandez of Tenaganita adding spice to the verbal volleys.

A kilometer away, Dr Hatta Ramli engaged another police blockade, and verbal exchanges ensued with some physical contacts and minor skirmishes reported. Elsewhere in Masjid Jamek and Masjid India areas, some BERSIH rally participants, particularly those in yellow shirts, were detained and later released (Read AP/IHT).

Somewhere nearer, aroud Majid Jamek, where the LRT bypassed the station without making a usual halt at Pasar Tani, drama ensued before the rain poured.

That's the very spot where Al-Jazeera correspondent Hamish MacDonald was doused in the chemical-laced waterjets.

Meanwhile, another group led by Ustaz Hadi Awang (enroute from Pasar Tani) and Nasharuddin Mat Isa, coming from Masjid Negara and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, weaved through the alleys connecting the Dayabumi basement carpark and made their way to the Istana.

By then, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, Khalid Ibrahim and Kamaruddin Jaafar had waited patiently at the gate of the palace. The crowd, some meandering through Jalan Kampung Attap, had swollen to over 40,000, congregating behind the police condone some 200 meters away from the palace.

Police back-up were ordered, with truckloads of uniformed enforcers rushing to the spot. Traffic personnel were seen directing the crowd to cross the road safely.

The leaders appealed for more time when Brickfields OCPD Sulaiman Junaidi threatened to use force to disperse the crowd. Khalid Ibrahim asked for five more minutes as the memo was in the hand of Anwar Ibrahim and PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who were caught in the snarling traffic, an outcome of police blockades mounted on the perimeters of the city.

Finally, Anwar arrived on the pillion seat of a big bike. The delegation was, however, prevented from entering the palace compound. Minutes later, the memo was ultimately delivered at the gate, received by an Agong's secretary.

The crowd dispersed peacefully, in much the same way they had walk from the starting point of the route.

Obviously, the organisers had learned their lesson well from the Batu Buruk Incident, where agent provocateurs had induced a pandemonium that ended with live bullets being fired at the civilians by the police.

The unsung heroes were the brigade in maroon, the Unit Amal Malaysia, organised by PAS. This is the same group of youths who gave me a motorcycle ride from Taman Melewar to the Markaz Tarbiyah PAS Pusat in Gombak when I attended the Hari Raya Open House recently.

They were there to maintain crowd discipline, to detect agent provocateurs, and to clear up the rubbish after the rally was over.

No peaceful demonstrations?

Last but not least, the presence of the Bar Council team of monitors, comprising some 40 voluntary lawyers and law students, had provided sufficient deterrent to prevent the peace rally from being hijacked into a ruckus.

There had never been peaceful demonstrations, the PM said?

Several of our brethren were seen saying their doa outside the Masjid Negara before the BERSIH memo was successfully delivered.

I suggest that for this one, you go to the full article and read it in its entirety, complete with photos. There are also photos of people on the ground being apprehended by the police. I don't think it was police brutality, but I think that's pretty conclusive evidence that there was force being used. While I may hate his blog layout, I must admit that Jeff Ooi is a pretty good blogger.

Bangkit.net: Total number of arrests 34 – all released by 11pm; several more injured

Published by Suaram

November 11th, 2007 in Law Enforcement.
Latest updates: 11 November 2007

When the final 10 of those arrested were released by the police at approximately 11pm last night (10 November 2007), the total count of arrests during the BERSIH rally was 34.

In SUARAM’s previous update at 9pm, 10 November 2007, there was a list of 24 names of those who were released and 5 who were still held. In addition to that list, SUARAM obtained names of 5 more individuals, who were still being held at that time.

Those who were released by the police as before 9pm:
Salleh Puteh, Muhammad Haji Yaakub, Mariel Fong, Hasnah Hashim, Mohd. Asri Ahmad, Mohd. Farouk Hussin, Daud Samad, Raja Salim @ Raja Daud Raja Abdullah, Khairul Anuar Safsie, Khairul Amirin Safsie, Ahmad Asmadi Adnan, Haji Hamid Baharuddin, Rawandi Repini, Sufian Manas, Haji Sulaiman Ahmad, Mohd. Harif Fathilah, Azhar Yusuf, Zamrol Majid, Shaharul Anuar Abdul Ghani, Mohd. Abdul Rahman Ariffin, Mohd. Salim Yesman, Abdul Rahman Mat Lodin, Khairul Salleh Ahmad, Nazrullah Ahmad

Those who were released at approximately 11pm:

Taib Abdullah, Ishak Othman, Mohd. Shafie Ismail, Mohd. Nazrin Nasir, Abisalam,
Abdullah Ariffin, Yahya Mohd. Nor, Mohd. Rifiu, Nawi Abdullah, Fauzi Awang

* Names obtained by SUARAM after 9pm, therefore was not in the previous update.

In addition to the arrests there were also individuals reported to be injured and sent to hospital. One individual, identified as Aleyasak Hamid, suffered from a broken leg and was sent to the General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur (Hospital Kuala Lumpur).

For more information, please contact Yap Swee Seng (012-2015272) or Tah Moon Hui (012-7209981).

While I may agree that there has been more than one occasion where a demonstration meant to be peaceful turned into a nightmare, there's also the issue of oppression of freedom of speech.

Just like the other peaceful demonstrations that have occured in the country, this one is being blotted out by a media blackout by the government. How do I know that those photos of other demonstrations are for real? I was there, stuck in traffic outside Sunway Pyramid, watching the demonstrators peacefully protest the rise in toll rates.

There's so much reading for this issue, that I think you should just Google it and find out what you want to.

Interestingly, when I did that, I found a very homophobic comment on a blog's entry promoting the rally. It said:

Ritchie Blackmore

Nov 10th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Bersih Rally = Gay Rally

All you homos are suposed to be in jail by now.

Hey! I am not even an UMNO member and I am sick down to my stomach just by knowing such a movement exists. Bersih konon! Mana ada bersih. Tipu saja. Hipokrit.
PIIIIIIIRRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!

Lovely. Really.

Also, Digi should so take advantage of this for a yellow fellow ad.