Amanah says Bersih 3.0 justifiable

Syed Jaymal Zahiid

Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir says the government's sincerity to clean up the election process was questionable.

KUALA LUMPUR: Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah) today backed Bersih’s plan to hold a mass protest on April 28, saying it is justifiable as Putrajaya had failed to ensure poll reforms are in place before the 13th general polls.

Its deputy chief Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir said in a statement that the government’s sincerity to clean up the election process was questionable, citing the hasty approval of the parliamentary select committee (PSC) report last Tuesday.

The report was tabled and approved in Parliament without debate while House Speaker Pandikar Mulia Amin, who has been criticised for bias on numerous times, had rejected the minority report which included the assurance that poll reforms are in place before elections commence.

“Furthermore, there are no timelines mentioned at all in the report as to when the various recommendations will be implemented and completed if at all. Certaintly this raises great concern and worry amongst the people. Hence the justifiable talk on Bersih 3.0,” he said.

Bersih leaders announced on Wednesday that it will proceed to hold a protest after they deemed Putrajaya’s election reform pledges a failure following the committee’s refusal to meet the key demand.

Kadir, a former member of Umno who quit the ruling party after his criticism against Putrajaya exposed him to media attacks, said the PSC had also failed to heed two of Amanah’s most important recommendations submitted to PSC at its meeting in Johor Bahru recently.

The group had repeatedly called for the government to release its grip on the media and the “neutralising” of all government departments, semi-government departments, government-linked companies including the police and the army.

The former federal minister claimed these institutions are often “blatantly” exploited for a lopsided campaign during the “countdown period” leading to the elections.

“Amanah feels that our above proposals together with the other recommendations can be implemented very easily and very fast and this will be all to the credit of the ‘Political Transformation’ that has been announced”.

He said Amanah echoes the views of other groups who call for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak against holding elections until all poll reform pledges are met.