The coalition for free and fair elections urged
the authorities to take stern action against the protesters outside the
home of its co-chairperson, S Ambiga.
PETALING
JAYA: Bersih 2.0 will not hesitate to take legal action against both
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the police should any untoward
incident occur during the protests in front of the home of Bersih
co-chairperson S Ambiga.
Bersih today sent two separate letters to the Inspector-General of
Police Ismail Omar and City Mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail voicing its concerns
over the inaction of the authorities in dealing with these protesters
who have been harassing Ambiga for the last two weeks.
“We are fully aware that [you] do not support the activities of Bersih 2.0 and was against Bersih 3.0 gathering…
“However, opposition to these activities cannot lead [you] to
silently acknowledge and endorse the harassment and criminal
intimidation being perpetrated here,” the letter to Omar stated.
Both letters were signed by its co-chairperson, A Samad Said.
The letter to Omar added that Ambiga, like any other citizens, expects the police to ensure her safety.
Bersih said that it was deeply concerned over the failure of the
police to take any “remedial or preventive” action as this may be deemed
as endorsing such activities.
The series of protests outside Ambiga’s residence do not show any
signs of ceasing. Yesterday, Kuala Lumpur Petty Traders Action Council
said that it was going go ahead with its “pasar malam” protest despite
not getting permits from DBKL.
Ahmad Fuad said that if he were to give the green light to these 60 petty traders, there will no end to the protest.
He said that although it was all right to protest peacefully outside
Ambiga’s residence, he had to draw the line when it came to erecting
stalls as it went against local by-laws.
Medical emergency
Earlier, the petty traders had written the words “Bersih 4″ in yellow
paint on the road opposite her house in an symbolic attempted to sell
that space as a “lot” for their night market.
On May 10, a group of burger sellers staged a protest in front of
Ambiga’s house by distributing 200 burgers. Malaysia Small and Medium
Entrepreneurs Alliance (Ikhlas), the NGO which organised the protest,
said that it was doing so because burger stall owners had suffered
losses amounting to RM200,000 as a result of the rally..
Five days later, a group of 15 army veterans carried out butt flexing exercises facing her house.
Last week, Ambiga said that since people know where she lives, they
have been constantly coming to her house and asking her for free burgers
at her gate.
The disturbance caused to the residents in the neighbourhood was highlighted in Bersih’s letter to the mayor today.
“Not only do these activities interfere with the free flow of traffic
on the stretch of the road, they constitute either or both a health and
safety hazard,” the letter stated.
It added that the mayor should be concerned that people have no space
for recreational activities and so have resorted to carrying our “butt
exercises” in residential areas.
“We are also concerned that if any of these army veterans were to
suffer a medical emergency [while doing their exercise outside Ambiga's
home]… it may not be easy [for an ambulance] to locate them.”
They urged Ahmad Fuad to take “immediate and strenuous action” against these “unauthorised and unlicensed” activities.
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