Bersih - when you come to cooperate voluntarily and you get beaten...

Electoral reforms pressure group Bersih today hit out at the police manhunt targeting those who attended its rally last month and the alleged brutal treatment of a protester who voluntarily turned himself in.

“There shouldn’t be a hunt. If they know who those people are, send letters asking them to go to the police station.

“And Mohd Safuan Mamat 
(below,right), who went voluntarily to the police, was arrested and then beaten. 

“What message are they sending to the public, when you come to cooperate and you get beaten?” 

Bersih coordinator Maria Chin Abdullah asked at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Bersih co-chairperson and national laureate A Samad Said, or Pak Samad as he is affectionately known, said the actions of the police were linked to earlier statements by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed and three former inspector-generals of police who tried to "paint Bersih as a subversive element".

The police manhunt and beating of the protester, Samad claimed, was a police trick to force confessions from the protesters so that these could be used to say that the electoral reform movement intended to topple the government.

Mohd Safuan lodged a police report yesterday saying he was detained and beaten up by police after he surrendered himself on Monday, and was forced to confess to various offences.
 
He lambasted the action of the police as vilifying the electoral reform movement and said they had to fight the government propaganda campaign that was trying to pollute their cause.

Samad lamented the fact that the mass media was largely owned by or influenced by the government and this allowed authorities to run riot with their lopsided portrayal of Bersih and  no space for the coalition to defend itself, except through the narrow spectrum of the alternative media.

He reiterated that Bersih's intentions were just to "ensure clean and fair elections and nothing more".

Asked if the movement planned to meet up with the government to explain its intentions, he said that would not be necessary.

"Why should we meet them? They are the ones spewing slander about us. We have already made our intentions clear."
 
Fellow Bersih co-chairperson Hishamuddin Rais said Bersih would be gathering more than 100 of those who claimed that they were victims of police brutality during the April 28 rally at a press conference on Saturday.

"These are those who have been the target of police aggression, though we do not know if they are among those being hunted by police," Hishamuddin said.

Maria added that Bersih, together with legal teams from civil rights NGOs Lawyers For Liberty and Suaram, as well as volunteers from the Bar Council, would look into filing a class action suit on behalf of the victims of police aggression.- malaysiakini

Pak Samad sees government plot to ‘demonise’ Bersih 2.0

 Protests against Ambiga 'in bad taste'

Human rights watchdog Proham condemned the recent protests in front of Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan's personal residence, calling the incidents "improper, inappropriate and in bad taste".

While citizens have the right to gather peacefully, as laid out in the Federal Constitution, the two "acts of intimidation" are an invasion of Ambiga's privacy and religious standing, the NGO said in a statement today.

"What is more worrying is the insensitivity of selling beef burgers in front of an individual who is a vegetarian and a Hindu," it said, comparing the incident to the ‘cow head' protest by a group of Muslims in response to the planned relocation of a Hindu temple in 2009.

Proham was referring to the May 10 protest where hawkers group Ikhlas set up a burger stall outside the Bersih leader's house, and the May 15 protest where a group of army veterans conducted ‘butt exercises' at the same location.

Furthermore, the group claimed that the protests would set precedents, since the authorities seemed to have turned a "blind eye" to the events, especially the potentially threatening remarks made by the group of army veterans.

Malaysian Armed Forces Veterans Association president Mohd Ali Baharom had warned Ambiga not to "cause problems" for the country again, saying: "We will act if you smear the country's name."

The group urged protesters to refrain from carrying out demonstrations in private residential areas in order to avoid such violations of cultural sensitivities and personal intimidation.

"Proham also calls on both the police and local authorities to ensure that the perception of apparent selective enforcement and justice is not created in the public mind," it added.- malaysiakini

Pak Samad condemns 'dirty and low behaviour' outside Ambiga's house

BERSIH kecam polis buru, seorang peserta serah diri 'dipukul'

Gabungan Menuntut Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (BERSIH) hari ini mengecam tindakan polis memburu peserta perhimpunan anjurannya bulan lepas dan dakwaan layanan buruk terhadap seorang peserta yang tampil menyerah diri secara sukarela.

Bercakap dalam satu sidang akhbar, Penyelaras BERSIH, Maria Chin Abdullah berkata mereka tidak sepatutnya diburu.

Katanya, jika tahu siapa mereka, maka pihak polis hendaklah menghantar surat meminta mereka datang ke balai.

"Dan Mohd Safuan Mamat (kanan), yang tampil secara sukarela, telah ditangkap dan kemudian dipukul," kata Maria."Apa apakah mesej mereka kepada orang ramai, apabila anda tampil untuk bekerjasama, anda dipukul?" soal Maria lagi.
 
Pengerusi bersama BERSIH yang juga Sasterawan Negara, Datuk A
Samad Said, atau lebih mesra dengan paggilan Pak Samad berkata, tindakan pihak polis telah dikaitkan dengan kenyataan awal bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dan tiga bekas ketua polis negara, yang cuba "menggambarkan BERSIH sebagai elemen subversif ".

Beliau mendakwa tindakan polis memburu dan memukul peserta perhimpunan itu, adalah helah polis untuk memaksa mereka pengakuan supaya ia boleh digunakan untuk mengatakan bahawa gerakan reformasi sistem pilihan raya itu, bertujuan untuk menjatuhkan kerajaan.

Mohd Safuan (kanan) yang membuat laporan polis semalam berkata, dia ditahan dan dipukul oleh pihak polis selepas menyerah diri pada hari Isnin, dan juga mendakwa telah dipaksa mengaku terhadap pelbagai kesalahan.- malaysiakini

BERSIH gesa henti ancaman peribadi pada Ambiga...

Jawatankuasa Pemandu Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (BERSIH) menggesa agar segala gangguan dan ancaman peribadi kepada pengerusinya Datuk S Ambiga dihentikan segera.

Pengerusi Bersama BERSIH, Datuk A Samad Said melahirkan rasa sedih dan marah beliau terhadap gangguan berterusan yang dialami Ambiga di rumahnya.

"Ketika serangan dengan kelakuan hina dan kadang kala ganas ini dilakukan di hadapan rumahnya, Ambiga melayani keadaan tersebut penuh sopan dan hormat," katanya yang mesra dengan panggilan Pak Samad.

Semalam, sekumpulan veteran tentera membuat "senaman punggung" selama kira-kira 15 minit di hadapan rumah Ambiga.

Pada 10 Mei lalu, sekumpulan peniaga kecil mendirikan gerai burger di hadapan rumah Ambiga sebagai tanda protes terhadap himpunan BERSIH yang didakwa menyebabkan kerugian kepada perniagaan mereka.

Samad turut membidas kenyataan polis sebelum ini yang membenarkan perhimpunan yang diadakan di luar rumah Ambiga.

"Pihak berwajib seharusnya bersuara mengutuk apa yang sedang dilakukan terhadap seorang pemimpin masyarakat madani.

"Jika kerajaan dan pihak berwajib senyap dan membisu ini bermakna mereka menyokong kerja bangan dan perangai hina ini," katanya.

Tiada niat runtuhkan kerajaan
 
Pak Samad seterusnya menegaskan bahawa BERSIH hanya menuntut pilihan raya yang bersih dan adil dan tidak pernah berniat menggulingkan kerajaan melalui cara tidak sah seperti didakwa mantan perdana menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dan tiga bekas ketua polis.

"Itu tindakan sama yang (cuba) menunjukkan BERSIH ini membahayakan.

"Padahal apa yang kami lakukan adalah membersihkan mandat demokrasi, bukannya menentang kerajaan.

"Tidak ada niat lain walaupun di sebelah sana sentiasa menyatakan kami ingin meruntuhkan kerajaan," kata sasterawan negara itu.

Dalam sidang media sama, BERSIH melancarkan kempen baru bagi melawan dakwaan penipuan dalam pilihan raya umum akan datang.

Berasakan konsep undi dan pantau BERSIH menyeru rakyat Malaysia agar meningkatkan peratusan keluar mengundi dan memantau sebarang penipuan yang mungkin berlaku pada hari mengundi.

"BERSIH menyeru semua warga yang berdaftar mengundi menggunakan undi mereka sebagai benteng melawan penipuan.

"Kami (juga) menyeru semua penyokong BERSIH untuk sama-sama melawan penipuan dengan menjadi pemantau, pengira undi dan agen pengundi," kata BERSIH dalam kenyataannya.- malaysiakini

Kalau polis belasah, apa perlu mahkamah

cheers.