KUCHING: Bersih 2.0 and 36 other civil society organisations have expressed extreme distress by the break-up of the elected Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition that was voted in after the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018.
The PH coalition has collapsed through the departure of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) and the defection of 11 Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) MPs.
In a joint press statement issued in Kuala Lumpur, they said: “We view the attempted formation of a backdoor government as undemocratic and a betrayal of voters who voted for change.
“The rakyat voted for Pakatan Harapan and its coalition parties based on their promises and policies in their respective manifesto. Such reconfiguration of the component parties mid-term through the shifting of alliances and defections has nullified the election manifesto of PH, the Buku Harapan.”
They said as voters, they were utterly disgusted by such political machinations by both the government and opposition MPs who defied democratic norms of responsible party politics.
Parties were to compete with each other to offer the rakyat meaningful choices, not to sabotage each other after elections and form a government that the people did not vote for at the general election, they added.
In the statement, they demanded following actions be taken:
All PH MPs who won on the PH ticket, but have changed alliance, to resign immediately as they no longer have the mandate of the rakyat.
Failing which, we call for a dissolution of Parliament and fresh elections to be held to seek a fresh mandate from the rakyat. We urge the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to give his consent for such a dissolution.
The organisations also called on all citizens to voice out their anger and disappointment and make the two demands together with the civil society at this betrayal and abandonment of the mandate given to the PH government.
They said the people could express this through social media, writing to their MPs and even organise peaceful assemblies wherever they are. The formation of any backdoor government must not be tolerated and cannot go down without any form of protest.
The statement said Bersih 2.0, as the lead issuer of the statement, would call for Bersih 6 should the above two demands were not met.
Thirty-five other organisations that jointly issued the statement are KRYSS Network, Monsoon Malaysia, Suara Rakyat Malaysia; Amnesty International Malaysia, Persatuan Ikram, Tindak Malaysia, Tenaganita, Global Bersih, Action for Justice and Unity Foundation, ENGAGE, GERAK, Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia, All Women’s Action Society, Gerakan Pembebasan Akademik, TI Malaysia, Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia, Asylum Access Malaysia, IDC, Article 19, Center for Independent Journalism, Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Youth, Persatuan Sahabat Wanita, Foreign Spouse Support Group, Freedom Film Fest Network, North South Initiative, Sisters in Islam, EMPOWER, UMANY, Women’s Aid Organization, Community Action Network, Pusat Komas, Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism, PATRIOT, LLG Cultural Development Centre, Baram Kini and Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy.
