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Police continued with their nationwide crackdown on Bersih 2.0 supporters, arresting those clad in yellow, including two elected representatives from PKR in Perak.
The 2011 Bersih 2.0 rally (also called the Walk for Democracy) is a planned demonstration in Kuala Lumpur to be held on 9 July as a follow-up to the 2007 Bersih rally. The rally, organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), is supported by Pakatan Rakyat, the coalition of the three largest opposition parties in Malaysia but has been deemed illegal by the government.
Bersih, chaired by former president of the Bar Council Ambiga Sreenevasan, are pushing the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) to ensure free and fair elections in Malaysia. They have demanded that the EC clean up the electoral roll, reform postal voting, use indelible ink, introduce a minimum 21-day campaign period, allow all parties free access to the media and put an end to electoral fraud.
The biggest threat – as perceived by the present administration – to Malaysia’s internal security is a demand for free and fair elections. The current administration has responded with brute force against the organisers and supporters of the walk for free and fair election. This event, organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections 2.0 (popularly known by its Malay acronym - BERSIH 2.0) is scheduled for 9th July, 2011 at 12.00 p.m. (Malaysian time)
What exactly is BERSIH 2.0 and why does the government fear it?
On 10 November 2007, The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, (BERSIH – which means clean), comprising opposition political parties and some 60 civil society organisations, held peaceful mass demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur in support of free and fair elections. Estimates of the numbers taking part vary from 50,000-100,000 – a large turnout considering that police had declared the demonstration illegal and made every effort to prevent it taking place.
The success of this demonstration, held just a year after the official launch of BERSIH, has been widely credited with contributing to the subsequent opposition success in 2008 elections. For the first time ever the opposition prevented the government obtaining a two thirds majority in parliament (important both psychologically and to ensure the constitution cannot be changed at will), and won power in its own right in five states.