UPDATE 28/4/2012: More than a thousand rally in Melbourne for Bersih 3.0.
Follow @meldmagazine for updates from the rally as it unfolds in Melbourne.
You may also wish to read our interview with Wong Chin-Huat, Bersih steering committee member, former ISA detainee and journalism lecturer about Bersih 3.
UPDATE: The venue for the upcoming Bersih 3.0 rally has been announced. Bersih Australia’s organiser David Teoh says the April 28 rally will be held at St Paul’s Court, Federation Square.
Bersih 2.0 rally in Melbourne, July 2011. Photo: Shaun Lee.
A BERSIH 3.0 rally will be held in Melbourne amid claims a parliamentary select committee failed to introduce meaningful electoral reforms in Malaysia. Sumisha Naidu reports.
Bersih, a Malaysian movement for free and fair elections, announced Wednesday it will be holding a sit-down protest in Kuala Lumpur later this month amid claims parliamentary select committee failed to introduce meaningful electoral reforms.
The 84-member coalition of activists and NGOs have set the rally for April 28, more than nine months after their last demonstration in July which brought tens of thousands of activists, politicians and citizens into the streets of Kuala Lumpur.
Bersih Australia’s organiser David Teoh said a rally would be held concurrently in Melbourne in solidarity.
Last July, hundreds of Malaysians descended on Federation Square for Melbourne’s Bersih 2.0 rally, donning yellow t-shirts and holding placards outlining Bersih’s eight “demands” for a clean electoral roll, reformed postal ballots, the use of indelible ink, a minimum of 21 days for campaigning, free and fair media access, strengthened public institutions, a stop to corruption and an end to “dirty politics”.
“Malaysia cannot go to elections with electoral rolls as it stands,” Mr Teoh said.
“We want overseas voting addressed and we also call for Malaysia to allow full access to international observers, just like in Timor and Burma.”
Keep checking Meld Magazine for the latest developments on Bersih 3.0 in Melbourne.
Need any help, David?
I am a registered voter in Malaysia currently live in Malaysia, just want to find out how can I vote in the next election, if I am in Australia.
Hey David,
What time should we be at the Fed Sq? 7am? And how can we get the supporting yellow tshirt? Don’t mind paying. Thanks.
Hi all, the rally starts at 2 pm 28 April in Melbourne’s Federation Square. T shirts will be available at $15 on that day. Profits go to Bersih in KL.
If you are a registered voter, you can’t vote in Australia unless you are a full time student registered as an absent voter. It’s all very convoluted.
Visit http://www.globalbersih.org for more info. Thanks all. Follow us on facebook via website.
Just want to say some words and advice of the reality of Malaysian politics
Firstly whatever that bersih is trying to achieve its just another biggest waste of time both energy and financially
Secondly whatever bersih is trying to achieve in this instance fair election, I am afraid it’s going to fail if at all they succeed. There are too many influential lobby groups and big conglomerate companies in Malaysia that plays and finance the biggest role in forming the next government and unfortunately this is not the case for BERSIH. government leaders aren’t really leaders they are there for a reason and for that it’s always to excert vested interest groups that put them there in the first place
Thirdly BERSIH is just another minority body that looks after minority races.
Fourthly for a totally change of government there must be outside influence be it military or a coup. Not all these gathering by the masses.. It’s just all talk and talk and talk.
Fifth if BERSIH is serious about government change there must be human sacrifice. History does show that if you excert force there will be change. words can only go so far … For example recent bloody protest in middle east that led to the fall of Hosni Mubarak, the ousted of Muamma Gaddafi in Libya just to name a few.. These are not just protest with loud speakers but both these country people sacrifice their lives for change
Wi, please don’t quote history when you clearly have no clue about it. You’ve completely missed the point of non-violence movements that have been prevalent since Gandhi (if not earlier).
For the first time since Merdeka, the people from all races have come together to protest against the injustice, corruptions and abuse of power that the ruling clique has exerted on the rakyat. Recently the government has even pimped for Canberra to have the Lynas radioactive rare-earth plant set up in Kuantan, totally ignoring the harm that the plant may bring to the people of Malaysia. Why should such a processing plant be constructed in a tiny and a much more densely populated country like Malaysia when Australia is so many more times larger than Malaysia. Moreover why should Australia transport the rare-earth to Malaysia when, logically speaking, it is should be processed locally, thereby providing jobs to the local population ? The division of the rakyat’s ethnic and religious differences by Putrajaya, through threat and vote-rigging during election has been going on for too long. The impotent judiciary system and the bias police are making fairness and justice a big joke in Malaysia. A time to change for the betterment of the rakyat has come. If a country like Myanmar can get so much attention, why shouldn’t Malaysia also be under international focus ?
Hi Bersih Melbourne/David Teoh,
Appreciate if you could give me your email or email me at hoeyoon.chang@gmail.com or contact me on fb Hoe Yoon Chang as I need some help regarding overseas postal voting.
Thanks/HY Chang