Bersih warns of rally for EO6

Steering committee members reject a police allegation that the six PSM leaders were prime movers of the July 9 march.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bersih 2.0 today denied that the six detained Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members were prime movers of its July 9 rally and raised the possibility of another rally to demand their release.

“The allegation has no factual foundation,” Haris Ibrahim of the Bersih steering committee said in reference to a police response to affidavits submitted by families of the detained.

He called for their immediate release.

The six, held without trial under the 1969 Emergency Ordinance, are Sungai Siput MP Dr D Michael Jeyakumar, PSM deputy president M Sarasvathy, central committee members Choo Chon Kai and M Sugumaran, Youth chief R Saratbabu and Sungai Siput branch secretary A Letchumanan.

“They were never part of the steering committee,” Haris said. “Neither were they involved in planning or mobilising the crowd” for the rally.

“Don’t force us to rally for the release of the six,” he added.

In attempting to justify the arrest and detention of the activists, Assistant Commissioner of Police Kamarul Zaman Mamat said police had to prevent the July 9 rally because a similar rally in 2007 had caused public disorder.

The police are confused, according to Dr Subramaniam Pillay, another member of the Bersih 2.0 steering committee.

He pointed out that the Bersih 2.0 steering committee had no members coming from any political party, unlike the committee for the 2007 rally.

“PSM cannot claim credit” for the recent rally, he added.

In a related development, PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan blasted de facto Law Minister Nazri Aziz for his recent statement that the Emergency Ordinance was necessary because communism was “still around”.

“The law minister doesn’t understand law,” Arutchelvan said. “EO has nothing to do with curbing communism.”

The six detainees, he pointed out, were being punished for their alleged involvement with Bersih, not communism.

He also noted that Umno had direct links with China’s Communist Party.