KUALA LUMPUR – The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) has held a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim over the non-partisan group’s demands for more intensive reform measures.
In a statement today, Bersih’s steering committee said that the meeting, which was held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya, marks the first time a prime minister has met with the movement to discuss pressing issues.
“The prime minister said that he agrees in principle with some election and institutional reforms (presented by Bersih), but there are several matters which he feels will require further discussions,” it said.
It also said that it had handed over a nearly 30-page memorandum to Anwar on suggestions gathered from engagement sessions and studies conducted since 2018 aimed at strengthening democracy in Malaysia.
Discussions on the contents of the memorandum, Bersih said, had gone on for over an hour.
“Bersih emphasised to the prime minister that if the people’s belief in the power of the vote to enact changes continues to decrease, this will lead to disappointment on the part of citizens who expect something fresh from the government and democratic changes.
“There’s even the possibility that some voters will become cynical, causing voter turnouts to drop in the next election,” it added.
Yesterday, around 100 participants gathered for Bersih’s #Reformasi100Peratus rally, which saw attendees congregating at Plaza Tugu Negara before marching about 900m to the Parliament building to hand over its memorandum to MPs.
It demands, among other things, the 100% implementation of the reform agenda and a moratorium on the issuing of a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for high-profile corruption cases.
It is also seeking a reformation of the Election Offences Act 1954, political funding, and redelineation of electoral areas, as well as a separation of power between the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the public prosecutor’s office.
Police have since opened an investigation paper into the gathering, with Dang Wangi police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya saying yesterday that they will summon the rally’s organisers to record their statements. – February 28, 2024