Sarawak PKR urges the government to respect the call made by King for consultations.
State women leader Voon Shiak Ni said: “The acknowledgement of our King shows the relevance of Bersih and the need for electoral reforms.”
“In view of the message from the King and also the voice of the people and the civil society, the PKR women wing in Sarawak calls on the prime minister to ensure that the EC look into the reforms contained in the Bersih memorandum.
“The government must make the amendments immediately to avoid another Bersih 3.0.”
She also urged the EC to introduce automatic registration of eligible voters who have reached the age 21 to enable another 400,000 Malaysians to vote for the government of their choice in the coming parliamentary election.
“We also want Sarawakians who work in Peninsular Malaysia to have a channel to cast their votes, especially for those who cannot afford to fly back to Sarawak during polling day,” she said.
Voon, who is a lawyer, also called on the police to immediately release unconditionally the party’s Youth secretary, Zulhaidah Suboh, and other Bersih detainees across the nation.
She said the police and the government should respect the call made by King for consultations.
“We urge the police and the government to stop the crackdown on Bersih-related activities from today onwards and not defy the message from our King.
“Like everybody else, the police are not above the law and they should immediately stop their illegal arrests,” Voon said in a statement yesterday.
Zulhaidah, who is under police remand, was arrested on Tuesday for wearing a yellow T-shirt.
Police have outlawed the use of yellow T-shirts on July 9, as the colour is now synonymous with the Bersih 2.0 rally.
Infringement of rights
Meanwhile, in Miri, Zulhaida’s lawyer Ling Sie Kiong expressed his disappointment at the way the police handled her arrest and detention.
Ling, who is also the state assemblyman for Piasau, said Kapar MP S Manikavasagam, had also been detained and investigated under the same section, but was released four hours later after his statement was taken.
“I believe the police here have the same capability and efficiency to complete their investigation.
“In my client’s (Zulhaida) case, she was arrested at 1.45pm on Monday and the police have ample time to carry out an investigation.
“Further remand was not necessary and the reason stated by the police is inadequate. I am disappointed by the three-day remand granted by the court.
“We feel that the BN government is using the police to deter the people from the planned rally on July 9,” Ling said.
Lesley Kalom, PKR Sarawak Youth publicity chief, who was also present at the press conference, said that Zulhaidah will be produced in a magistrate’s court tomorrow on a charge under Section 47 of Societies Act 1966, which prescribed imprisonment of two years and a fine of RM5,000 or both upon conviction.
He said the 1966 Societies Act gives the home minister broad powers to declare an organisation illegal.
It also requires that all organisations register with the authorities, which subject their freedom of expressions and movement to government consent.
“This infringes the right to freedom of association, enshrined in Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and also Article 10 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia,” said Kalom.
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