KUALA LUMPUR – In an ironic twist, allies and supporters of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim became protesters against his government instead, as they joined a march led by electoral watchdog Bersih on Feb 27.
Some 120 people gathered near Malaysia’s National Monument or Tugu Negara before heading to Parliament at around 8.30am. Protesters held up posters in yellow, to demand that Datuk Seri Anwar implement the reforms he had promised when he was in the opposition. However, unlike previous rallies under the then ruling Barisan Nasional administration, protesters were not allowed to head towards the gates of Parliament and were told to hold their demonstration around 500m away.
Mr Sevan Doraisamy, executive director of Suara Rakyat Malaysia, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that advocates human rights, said in his speech: “Many government MPs (from the Pakatan Harapan ruling coalition) used to march with us during our peaceful assemblies.”
He added: “Ten years ago, we could march straight to the gates of Parliament. Now we are told to stop here, at the junction heading to Parliament.”
Mr Anwar had also participated in rallies organised by Bersih, including the 2011 Bersih 2.0 mega rally that saw hundreds of thousands of Malaysians gathered in Kuala Lumpur to demand that the Election Commission eliminate practices that were unfair to opposition candidates.
This time around, the group, which included representatives from 61 NGOs, made three demands to the government in its memorandum.
The first calls for Mr Anwar’s administration to prepare a timeline and road map for the reforms agenda – which includes combating corruption – and keep its promise to fully implement the agenda.
The group also called for the government to put a stop to the granting of discharges not amounting to an acquittal to politicians on trial for corruption and abuse of power, such as in the case of Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi.
The third demand was to ensure that the law is applied consistently, without double standards, in reference to the recent reduction of the jail term of convicted former prime minister Najib Razak.
The NGOs pointed out that it has been more than a year since Mr Anwar took power in December 2022 but the reforms that he promised, such as abolishing detention without trial under the Sedition Act, have not materialised.
Six federal lawmakers from both sides of the political divide turned up at the rally to accept the memorandum, with backbencher Mohammed Taufiq Johari, the MP for Sungai Petani, promising that he will raise the matter in the Lower House.
Opposition MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari of Pasir Mas in Kelantan told reporters: “Everyone knows Bersih’s close ties with the government, but when Bersih organises a rally like this, it shows that there is something wrong with the government, seeing that they are cooperating with kleptocrats.”
Singapore Institute of International Affairs senior fellow Oh Ei Sun noted that the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition is forced to cooperate with former rivals, whom it had accused of corruption, under the unity government. The coalition is using the need to appease its former rivals as the main excuse to slow down the implementation of reforms, said Dr Oh.
“It highlights the dilemma faced by the Anwar administration, whereby accommodation of its new-found political allies caused the dissatisfaction of its traditional supporters,” he told ST.
