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Malaysiakini

Koh Jun Lin, Ahmad Fadli KC & Kow Gah Chie 5:03PM Jun 27, 2012

Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman (TARC) had advised students to wear its official colour – red – to welcome Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to the college today.

But a handful of students defiantly wore yellow, which has come to be associated with dissent and which is the trademark colour of electoral reform group Bersih.

The band of 20 first-year students stood on the roadside to catch a glimpse of Najib as his official vehicle passed by them.

However, Najib did not notice their presence amidst the carnival-like atmosphere of the welcoming ceremony, for which the participants had been waiting since about 2.30pm.
…………

When asked about their choice, the group said they wore yellow “for fun and to welcome Najib”.

They were swamped by red-clad students crowding both sides of the 400 metre road from the campus entrance leading to the main hall of the college.

Banners were held up to welcome the premier, including two reading ‘Ah Jib Kor, you are our inspiration’ and ‘Ah Jib Kor, We love you!!!’.

‘Ah Jib Kor’ in Mandarin means ‘brother Najib’. The moniker is used on the prime minister’s Facebook page, aimed at engaging the Chinese Malaysian community.

When asked, a student who declined to be named said that the college did not ban yellow shirts, but it was discouraged.

He said that lecturers told him that if they were arrested for wearing yellow, they would be powerless to intervene.

Malaysiakini also spoke to three students who carried banners, 18-year-old Chan Phei Yong and Ng Hwa Ee, and 19-year old S Nareisha.

Holding the ‘Ah Jib Kor, We love you!!!’ banner, Chan (right) said he was proud to be chosen by his teachers out of some 6,000 students to carry it.

When asked whether he really loved Najib, he unhesitantly said, “Of course, that’s why I am holding this banner. I am not doing this blindly.”

……….

When asked, he denied that the school was trying to flatter Najib, but it was merely a mark of respect.

………..

When asked about the ‘Ah Jib Kor, you are our inspiration’ he was carrying and how did Najib inspire him, Ng paused for a thought, then replied, “I can’t think of anything… no comment.”

www.malaysiakini.com/news/202057 – Cached

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Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Malay rights group Perkasa today demanded that Singapore withdraw three of its diplomats accused by local right-wing groups of being involved in the April 28 Bersih rally here despite the republic denying the charge.

Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali today led 300 supporters to submit a protest note to the Singapore High Commission at Jalan Tun Razak, in a move that appeared to be from an old playbook of using the republic as a bogeyman to unite the Malays.

Umno has previously targeted Singapore to rally Malays against perceived foreign threats, with Perkasa’s focus on Singapore — despite the presence of diplomats from other countries — suggesting a strategic move given the general antipathy here towards the republic.

1. Main – Malaysia – Perkasa wants Singapore envoys expelled …

   Perkasa wants Singapore envoys expelled over Bersih rally; Raub residents revive bid to close down gold mine; Johor says yet to set compensation for Pengerang Rapid project

   www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/perkasa… – Cached

2. Perkasa wants 3 Singapore diplomats out – Malaysiakini

   … pore insists only M’sians involved in event; Singapore envoy hauled up over Bersih rally … Perkasa wants 3 Singapore diplomats out

   www.malaysiakini.com/news/201830 – Cached

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Malaysiakini

Nicholas Wong 1:42PM Jun 24, 2012

All roads to Dataran Merdeka were cordoned off today, but it is not because of another Bersih rally.

Instead, the iconic square acted as the finish line for the annual  Standard Chartered KL Marathon, thus had to be closed off to vehicles.

Nevertheless, the event still attracted its fair share of Bersih supporters who used it as a legitimate reasons to be in Dataran Merdeka and make a point.

Back in April 28, about 100,000 Bersih supporters had surrounded the venue, only to be pushed back by the tear gas and water cannon fire.

This time round, Bersih supporters could freely wear yellow bibs which read “I run for Bersih 2.0” and rush into the square.

Dubbed the Let’s Bersih the Marathon Kuala Lumpur 2012 event, the idea was concieved through Facebook users.

“We couldn’t get into Dataran Merdeka (on April 28) but in Malaysia’s largest marathon, we can!” read the group’s Facebook event page.

According to one of the organisers, Julie Wong, around 500 bibs were given out to runners.

……………..
Retiree KT Wong (left), 55, is no stranger to marathons and is a fervent Bersih supporter.

The 42.2km marathon is his 28th outing, and it is not the first time he has sported a yellow shirt to ‘run for Bersih’.

He also wore yellow to an event in Singapore last October, several months after the Bersih 2.0 rally in July.

Asked how it felt to finally cross the finish line and run into Dataran, he said it felt “wonderful”.

Having also attended the rally last April, he lamented how the authorities had wrongfully kept the public away from Dataran Merdeka.

“The problem shouldn’t even arise,” he said, contrasting the “wonderful” run he had today with feeling “restricted” on April 28.

An auditor who wanted only to be known as Chee (right) said she found out about the campaign through Facebook, and came with her aunt.

Creating awareness

She could not make it for the Bersih 3.0 rally, so she decided to run the 10km race and “create awareness” for the cause instead.

The 25-year-old hopes elections will happen later rather than sooner, as it is a busy time of year for her.

malaysiansmustknowthetruth.blogspot.com/2012/06/bersih… – Cached

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Free Malaysia Today

Student in Bersih t-shirt nabbed at PM’s event

Is wearing a yellow Bersih t-shirt a ‘crime’ again?

KUALA LUMPUR: A Universiti Malaya (UM) student was today hauled up by police for questioning at a function featuring a dialogue with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak when he turned up wearing a Bersih 3.0 t-shirt at the campus.

Koh Cher Hao, 21, a first year Sports Science student, said that three plainclothes police walked up to him at about 2.30pm at the Tunku Chancellor Hall and asked him to follow them.

He alleged that police were “unprofessional” as they refused to tell him why they wanted him to go to the Pantai police station.

……….

Simple questioning

Meanwhile, Brickfields district police chief Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul
Khalid clarified that police did not “arrest” Koh but had simply called him up to question him.

“We just called him to question, that’s all. We held him for a bit and released him after we had spoken to him.

“We were just curious why at the event he was the only one wearing a Bersih t-shirt and we wanted to ask him. That’s all. There are provisions for us to inquire, if police can’t even ask you questions, how are we to do our job?” he told FMT.

In a Malaysiakini report, Teo said: “Seizable offences includes murder, kidnap, rape, theft or burglary. When I asked the police, what is the seizable offence here, they could not answer.

The DAP Serdang parliamentarian and laywer alleged that police were plainly abusing their powers.

The dialogue was organised by the Eight Major Chinese Youth-based Organisations (Emco) and MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek was present. Koh was arrested before Najib’s arrival.

[Photo No 2 shows Koh with Bersih co-chairman S Ambiga]

Student in Bersih t-shirt nabbed at PM’s ev…

www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/06/24… – Cached

www.malaysiakini.com/news/201759 – Cached

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Bersih 3.0 is over BUT the aftermath is still saturated with news of police arrests, a government initiated so-called independent panel on Bersih 3.0, the further demonization of Ambiga, explicit denouncements of Bersih 3.0 as an attempt at a coup d’etat, the Bar Council EGM’s criticism of police violence, etc…

Just what will happen next is anyone’s guess.

My view is: Keep your eyes open and wait and see….

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Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — Bersih Singapore 3.0 has denied it is responsible for a planned protest this afternoon in front of the Singapore High Commission here to protest the island republic’s alleged interference into Malaysia’s affairs.

“Bersih 3.0 Singapore has been made aware of a call to demonstrate on June 22 in front of the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur to protest against the alleged ‘planned interference by foreign interests’ in Malaysia in the upcoming 13th General Election,” said Ong Guan Sin, co-ordinator of the Singapore offshoot of the electoral reform movement, in a statement to The Malaysian Insider today.

A screenshot of the photo posted on the mymassa.blogspot.com website accusing Singapore of working to topple BN from power in Malaysia.

“The allegation started from a blog, MyMassa, purporting to have proof of preparation by Singaporeans being trained as polling/counting agents for GE13.

“The blog used the specific training event organised by Bersih 3.0 Singapore as ‘proof’ of such preparation for intervention,” he added.

The protest instead is believed to be organised by a pro-Umno blogger who goes by the moniker “mymassa”.

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Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is claiming RM351, 203.45 in damages from Bersih for the April 28 rally here, just weeks after Putrajaya sent a claim for RM122,000 from the coalition calling for clean and fair elections.

The Malaysian Insider understands a letter of demand was sent to Bersih co-chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan as well as steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah this morning.

The letter, signed by DBKL director Datuk Haji Salleh Yusup, gave the two Bersih leaders 14 days to make the payment, failing which legal action would be initiated.

“Yes, I received the letter of demand this morning. We have referred it to our lawyers and they will be responding to it,” Ambiga told The Malaysian Insider.

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Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — Electoral watchdog group Bersih has dismissed Datuk M. Kayveas’ claims of paid participants during the April 28 rally here and challenged the Barisan Nasional (BN) component party leader to produce evidence or apologise for making the allegations

The Malaysian Insider ran an exclusive interview yesterday with the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) president, who alleged schoolchildren, “blind” anti-BN supporters and paid participants had attended the Bersih 3.0 rally for clean and fair elections. He claimed 99 per cent of the thousands who gathered did not know what they were rallying for that day.

“His statement is irresponsible, defamatory and arrogant, in particular his accusation that Bersih supporters were paid,” Bersih steering committee member Dr Wong Chin Huat told The Malaysian Insider. “That is an example of what we fight against — ‘dirty politics’ and he (Kayveas) was probably projecting himself onto us,” Wong added when contacted yesterday

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Malaysian Insider

JUNE 18 — Dear Datuk Kayveas,

I, as part of a younger generation of Malaysians and a participant of Bersih 3.0, am totally disappointed with your statement which states that 99 per cent of those who went for the sit-in demonstration did not know why they were there and that they were paid. Your statement is not only absurd and irresponsible but also insulting.

If the people do not know the purpose of the sit-in demonstration, why would they want to waste their time? Were they there to get a taste of the tear gas, water cannons and how it feels to be beaten up by the police?

I would like to tell you that I was there; neither because my parents asked me to (in fact, I am the one who asked my dad to tag along) nor because I was paid. I was there because I was aware of the fact that elections in Malaysia are not clean, free or fair. I was there because I fully understand that we need clean, free and fair elections. Only clean, free and fair elections will guarantee a better future. Only clean, free and fair elections will make Malaysia a true democracy.

………

ou have insulted the intelligence of the people for saying that they did not know what they were doing. You have insulted the people for saying that they were there because they were paid. I would like to tell you that we, the ordinary citizens of Malaysia, are not like those kataks in politics who can be bought with money nor are we prostitutes who will betray ourselves just for money.

So, please stop insulting us!

Tan Zhong Yan

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

An open letter to Datuk Kayveas — Tan Zhong Yan

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What is PPP and who is M Kayveas?

PPP once had the trust of Perak but betrayed the people, so it got dumped. M Kayveas? A loser in GE 12.

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) was formed in 1953 by the Seenivasagam brothers mainly as an opposition party to the Alliance; the party’s first president was Dr Kanagaratnam Pillai with the Seenivasagam brothers as office bearers. It was hugely popular party upon inception, particularly due to the popularity of the brothers who spoke up for justice, equality and the common man.

1993: M Kayveas becomes President following Mr S I Rajah’s retirement from active politics.

2008 March: Kayveas loses his seat as the Member of Parliament for Taiping in the 2008 General Elections  to a candidate from the opposition DAP. 

MAN WHO LOST HIS SEAT SPEAKS WITH FOOT IN MOUTH.
IS HE BLIND? HAS HE WATCHED ANY VIDEOS OF BERSIH 3.0?

CHILDREN AND PAID PARTICIPANTS?

Many of my friends PAID to go to KL for Bersih 3.0. They paid for transportation, meals and accomodation. UMNO and BN are used to paying for people to attend their gatherings, so they assume that Bersih does the same. No, it doesn’t work out that way.

BERSIH SUPPORTERS PAY TO ATTEND!!!

Malaysia Chronicle

KUALA LUMPUR — Schoolchildren, “blind” anti-Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters and paid participants had marched for Bersih 3.0, Datuk M. Kayveas has said, adding that 99 per cent of the thousands who gathered did not know what they were rallying for on April 28.

Kayveas, who leads the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), raged that many of the participants were those who have “shut their eyes to BN’s goodness” and were intent on blaming the ruling pact for their own failures in life.

He pointed out that he had come from a very poor family and had lived among squatters for some 25 years but still supports BN for what it has done for the country.

“It was because of what BN has done for the past 50 years that I can be what I am today. But there are those who grew up with me, who are still there… they never moved out of it.

“These people who are now supporting the opposition you see, they are forever making complaints or giving excuses for whatever failure of theirs to change themselves. They want to blame others, or find someone to blame,” he told The Malaysian Insider during a recent interview at his office here.

“But I always say — to be born poor is not a sin but to remain poor is.”

These “blind” supporters, added Kayveas, were the ones willing to spread discord on the streets and break the law as they knew their political leaders would later argue in their defence in Parliament.

The former deputy minister and Taiping MP said these supporters were even willing to “beat up policemen” and “damage police cars”, referring to the violent incidents that occurred during the thick of Bersih 3.0 when police rained down tear gas canisters and chemical-laced water to disperse protesters from the

99% of those attending Bersih 3.0 didn’t know why they were there – Kayveas

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Malay Mail

BERSIH’S VIEWS: Ambiga wants government to fulfill demands for a clean election

BERSIH co-chairman Datuk S. Ambiga has hit out at claims by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that the April 28 protest could have been a “psychological warfare tool” by the Opposition.

Reiterating her stand that Bersih did not favour any political party, the former Bar Council president said all Bersih was interested in was the fulfilment of its demands concerning the electoral roll.

“I believe there is a misunderstanding of Bersih’s objectives. We are not concerned about who wins in the elections. Our only concern is that there must be by clean and fair elections. Only then will it truly reflect the will of the people. That is all we ask,” she told The Malay Mail yesterday.

www.mmail.com.my/story/bersih–neutral–insists–ambiga

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Uncle Lawrence Saw (Sasterawan Bersih 3.0)

http://youtu.be/uBUI15rpDI0
He sings, he teases, he recites poems…

AMAZING!!!

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ONE MONTH AFTER BERSIH 3.0

1 PENANG

Malaysiakini

Low Chia Ming 9:44PM May 27, 2012

Chaos erupted at Suaram’s rally in Penang to mark Bersih 3.0’s one month anniversary, after a group of men started shouting at a state assemblyperson.

Trouble started when the unidentified group started heckling the gathering at the Esplanade today, challenging Pantai Jerejak assemblyperson Sim Tze Tzin to a debate.

Despite the provocation, no one responded and participants of the rally who were already dispersing, tried to distance themselves from the venue at the Speaker’s Square.

The noisy group however persisted, shouting at a participant Dalbinger Singh who was speaking at another corner, challenging him t

www.malaysiakini.com/news/199200 – Cached

2 KUALA LUMPUR

Leven Woon 11:37AM May 27, 2012

Activists taking part in a candlelight vigil last night to commemorate the one-month anniversary of the mammoth Bersih 3.0 rally have all concurred that the government has been a fearmonger in the past month.

Speaking to reporters at a bus stand outside KL Lake Garden, where the vigil was held, Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah (left) said the government “has gone all out to hunt” for members of the Bersih committee and their supporters after the April 28 rally.

www.malaysiakini.com/news/199155

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Truth Will Out in Suhakam Inquiry

Kee Thuan Chye

Tuesday, 22 May 2012 14:03

We have witnessed much madness and asininity displayed in the aftermath of the Bersih 3.0 rally of April 28, especially exemplified in the laughable antics of anti-Bersih groups, such as hawkers’ group Ikhlas, the army veterans who shook their buttocks in front of Bersih chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasen’s home, and the Kuala Lumpur Petty Traders Action Council.Some of it can also be seen in the comments on the rally made by government leaders, including Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim’s incredulous declaration that only 22,270 people took part in it. But most risible of all is the Government’s appointment of ex-Inspector General of Police Hanif Omar as chairperson of the so-called independent panel to investigate the violence that occurred on April 28.So it is with considerable relief that we now welcome the decision of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to conduct its own public inquiry into the violence when earlier it had said it would wait for the Government’s panel. Suhakam decided to go ahead because the panel has yet to come out with its terms of reference, and also because it has received numerous complaints from the public about the police brutality committed during the rally.

Kee Thuan Chye
malaysiandigest.com

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Malaysiakini

Two weeks after the mammoth Bersih 3.0 rally that drew over 100,000 protestors, the authorities today cordoned off Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur again, with police officials conspicuously present.While the closure is said to be for a cycling event tomorrow, the curious presence of the police in the square lent an unusually sombre atmosphere to the popular tourist site.Barricades were placed at the two entrances of the Dataran on Jalan Raja and the back alley of Sultan Abdul Samad’s building, with four to five policemen guarding every corner.Also present were two truckloads of about 30 KL City Hall (DBKL) enforcement officials.A DBKL enforcement official, who declined to be named, explained that the square was being closed off to make way for workers to install a canopy, and that the closure will be lifted by  tomorrow evening.”We need to set up a canopy because the youth and sport minister is coming tomorrow,” she said.Bernama reports that the sixth stage of the 1Malaysia Cycling Tour 2012 from Ipoh, Perak will end up at the square tomorrow at 10am.

Police mum over presenceA senior police official, when approached by Malaysiakini, declined to say why the police were called in for a DBKL exercise, saying they were merely doing their job.When pressed the nature of the “job”, he refused to answer. Asked again if it was related to Bersih, he said, “Maybe.”Meanwhile Suardi Mohd Said, a security guard at Sultan Abdul Samad building, said that the police had told him they were there to prevent a demonstration from taking place in the iconic square.Earlier at 2pm, members of the grassroots assembly movement Occupy Dataran staged a picket outside the Bar Council building about 50m from the Dataran to condemn police brutality during the Bersih 3.0 rally.

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