Hishammuddin’s declaration that Bersih t-shirts are illegal is unreasonable, arbitrary, and smacks of abuse of power

Press statement by Teresa Kok, Member of Parliament for Seputeh and Selangor Senior EXCO in Kuala Lumpur on 30 June 2011

Hishammuddin’s declaration that Bersih t-shirts are illegal is unreasonable, arbitrary, and smacks of abuse of power

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein’s declaration that Bersih t-shirts are illegal and that those wearing it may be arrested by the police is unreasonable, arbitrary and smacks of abuse of power.

Hishammuddin was reported to have said that the yellow t-shirts are illegal because they are “related to an ‘illegal’ activity” but he has failed to state exactly which legal provision grants him or the police the power to make such arbitrary decisions.

I cite the Section 7, Part 2, Cap 1 of the Internal Security Act 1960, which states:

“7. Prohibition of uniforms, emblems, etc.

(1) The Minister may, if he considers it in the national interest so to do, by order prohibit the manufacture, sale, use, wearing, display or possession of any flag, banner, badge, emblem, device, uniform or distinctive dress or any part thereof.”

However, the Minister must first gazette the specific symbols, uniforms, colours that are proscribed under these rules before it becomes illegal to wear or display them.

Hishammuddin’s sudden declaration is born out of Barisan Nasional’s fears that their days of power and plunder are numbered with the rise of Bersih 2.0, a civil society movement consisting of over 60 NGOs to call for clean and fair elections via the adoption of eight demands for electoral reform i.e.

1. Clean the electoral roll

2. Reform postal ballot

3. Use of indelible ink

4. Minimum 21 days campaign period

5. Free and fair access to media

6. Strengthen public institutions

7. Stop corruption

8. Stop dirty politics

These eight demands for electoral reform are fair and reasonable. If adopted by the government, they will only provide the elected government of the day greater legitimacy in which to right to rule. Only an already corrupt and sullied government which gains power through dirty elections would oppose these eight demands and further intimidate the members of Bersih 2.0 with arrests, confiscation of goods and preposterous accusations of being communists and funded by foreign Christian groups, as though the idea of clean and fair elections was so offensive or alien to Malaysia.

I urge Hishammuddin Hussein and the Polis DiRaja Malaysia to release the Bersih 2.0 detainees, return all the confiscated Bersih t-shirts and materials to their rightful owners, put a stop to the government’s bullying tactics and instead uphold every Malaysian’s constitutional right to freedom of assembly. He might as well, because as Ambiga Sreenevasan, Chairperson of Bersih 2.0 said during the Bersih 2.0 launch event at Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on 19 June 2011, “Whatever you do to me, this rally will go on.”

Teresa Kok