Malaysia Government Forces Protest Rally Out of Capital
By Manirajan Ramasamy and Gan Yen Kuan - Jul 7, 2011 5:41 PM GMT+0930
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, a Malaysian election-rights group, must hold its planned July 9 protest in a stadium outside of the country’s capital to avoid creating traffic chaos, the government said.
The group, comprising more than 60 non-governmental organizations, had wanted to stage its rally in Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka Stadium, after taking the king’s advice to cancel street demonstrations. The coalition, also known as “Bersih,” should instead take up an offer to use a venue in opposition-controlled Selangor state, said Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
“We don’t want them to create traffic congestion in the city,” Muhyiddin told reporters today in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur. “The Merdeka Stadium is a historic venue, where our independence was declared. I don’t think the venue will suit Bersih’s purpose.”
More than 300,000 people may attend this weekend’s assembly, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told reporters yesterday. Bersih wants electoral changes, such as lengthening campaign periods to at least 21 days and using indelible ink on fingers to prevent people from voting more than once.
The cabinet reached a unanimous decision yesterday on blocking the event from being held in the capital, Muhyiddin said. Bersih still needs to apply for a permit through a legal body to hold the rally, he said.
The coalition picked Merdeka Stadium as its preferred venue due to its “symbolic nature” and central location, Bersih said in a statement today, ahead of Muhyiddin’s remarks. “We will not for one moment be swayed from our decision to gather there peacefully,” it said.
Royal Advice
Similar protests by the group seeking changes to the electoral system in 2007 drew 40,000 people in the capital of Kuala Lumpur and water cannons were used to disperse crowds. Selangor, which is controlled by Anwar’s People’s Alliance coalition, borders Kuala Lumpur.
Bersih scrapped plans for street protests after King Mizan Zainal Abidin expressed concern this would harm the country. The monarch intervened following the arrest of more than 100 activists over the past two weeks, drawing criticism from groups including Amnesty International andHuman Rights Watch.
To contact the reporters on this story: Manirajan Ramasamy in Kuala Lumpur atrmanirajan@bloomberg.net; Gan Yen Kuan in Kuala Lumpur at ykgan@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Barry Porter at bporter10@bloomberg.net
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