KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — The Najib administration has finally
responded to days of heavy criticism in the foreign media over its
handling of Saturday’s Bersih rally, insisting in a letter to the Wall Street Journal that Malaysia is a “true democracy”.
The international business newspaper has been one of the fiercest critics of Putrajaya following clashes between police and tens of thousands of demonstrators who demanded electoral reforms last weekend, accusing the government of creating an atmosphere of “fear and repression”.
But a senior Wisma Putra official has denied the claim by the WSJ that “protesters in Kuala Lumpur have suffered “intimidation” and “repression” at the hands of the government in recent weeks,” referring to the editorial titled “Crackdown 2.0 in Malaysia” that was published on July 12.
The international business newspaper has been one of the fiercest critics of Putrajaya following clashes between police and tens of thousands of demonstrators who demanded electoral reforms last weekend, accusing the government of creating an atmosphere of “fear and repression”.
Bersih protestors running away from the police at Saturday’s rally. — File pic
“To claim that Saturday’s events mean Malaysia is not a ‘true democracy’ is simply wrong.
“As the strong performance of opposition parties in the last general election demonstrates, the ballot box remains the most powerful force in Malaysian politics,” said Ahmad Rozian, the Foreign Ministry’s undersecretary of information said, repeating the ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) coalition’s line on the credibility of elections in Malaysia.
Although Ahmad admitted that Malaysians have a constitutional right to peaceful assembly, “protest organisers chose to reject” Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s offer of a “large-capacity stadium where the event could be held safely and without disrupting the lives and businesses of ordinary Malaysians.”
“Instead (they called) on supporters to assemble at a much smaller stadium ‘come what may,’ despite the fact that it was unavailable,” he said of the electoral reform group’s insistence on gathering at the historical Stadium Merdeka.
Bersih had initially accepted the prime minister’s offer to move its street rally to a stadium which came after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had intervened to diffuse tension, calling on both parties to negotiate over the issue of free and fair elections.
But the authorities told the coalition of 62 NGOs to move its rally outside of the capital and refused to issue a permit to gather in Stadium Merdeka, resulting in chaotic scenes on July 9 where nearly 1,700 were arrested, scores injured and one, the husband of a PKR leader, dead.
“Faced with thousands of people attempting to enter an unsuitable venue in a densely populated area, the police were forced to intervene to disperse the crowd, a task that was made more difficult by the presence of a small minority of protesters intent on violence,” Ahmad explained.
The police clampdown, which began with over 100 arrests in the weeks leading up to the rally, has led to widespread criticism from international media.
This includes influential American and British publications such as the WSJ and the Guardian, television channels (Al-Jazeera) and also top regional newspapers like the Singapore Straits Times and Jakarta Post.
The Najib administration has embarked on a damage control exercise, sending Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to Indonesia to explain the government’s actions while the prime minister himself has had to field persistent queries on the rally in his ongoing London visit.
“As the strong performance of opposition parties in the last general election demonstrates, the ballot box remains the most powerful force in Malaysian politics,” said Ahmad Rozian, the Foreign Ministry’s undersecretary of information said, repeating the ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) coalition’s line on the credibility of elections in Malaysia.
Although Ahmad admitted that Malaysians have a constitutional right to peaceful assembly, “protest organisers chose to reject” Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s offer of a “large-capacity stadium where the event could be held safely and without disrupting the lives and businesses of ordinary Malaysians.”
“Instead (they called) on supporters to assemble at a much smaller stadium ‘come what may,’ despite the fact that it was unavailable,” he said of the electoral reform group’s insistence on gathering at the historical Stadium Merdeka.
Bersih had initially accepted the prime minister’s offer to move its street rally to a stadium which came after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had intervened to diffuse tension, calling on both parties to negotiate over the issue of free and fair elections.
But the authorities told the coalition of 62 NGOs to move its rally outside of the capital and refused to issue a permit to gather in Stadium Merdeka, resulting in chaotic scenes on July 9 where nearly 1,700 were arrested, scores injured and one, the husband of a PKR leader, dead.
“Faced with thousands of people attempting to enter an unsuitable venue in a densely populated area, the police were forced to intervene to disperse the crowd, a task that was made more difficult by the presence of a small minority of protesters intent on violence,” Ahmad explained.
The police clampdown, which began with over 100 arrests in the weeks leading up to the rally, has led to widespread criticism from international media.
This includes influential American and British publications such as the WSJ and the Guardian, television channels (Al-Jazeera) and also top regional newspapers like the Singapore Straits Times and Jakarta Post.
The Najib administration has embarked on a damage control exercise, sending Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to Indonesia to explain the government’s actions while the prime minister himself has had to field persistent queries on the rally in his ongoing London visit.
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