Reject Political Corruption, Uphold Reform Commitments
Year: 2018
UPR Review
Global Bersih took part in the 31st Session of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review(UPR) Working Group held in Geneva from 5th to 16th November 2018. Malaysia’s human rights records were reviewed during the session. Please read the summary of the proceedings below to find out more.
Read MoreGlobal Bersih at the Parliament
Global Bersih with Kofi Annan Foundation, International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance (“IDEA”) and International Foundation for Electoral Systems (“IFES”), the Speaker’s Office of Dewan Rakyat and Election Commission (“EC”) organised an Electoral Reform Roundtable discussions on Advancing Electoral Reform in Malaysia from 30th November to 1st December 2018. The idea was to collect best practices from all over the world and to exchange ideas on the needed electoral reform for our nation. Read the summary of the event below:
Read MoreCall for voting process to be revamped
Electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 and its overseas arm Global Bersih have called for the voting process for overseas Malaysians to be revamped, citing the alleged failure of the Election Commission (EC) to manage the existing process for the 14th general election (GE14). Both organisations held a press conference today to announce findings from a post-GE14 survey conducted by Global Bersih, which included the EC’s lack of adequate and timely information on the registration and voting process, as well as an illogical and impractical timeline for overseas voting…
Read MoreThe flawed Overseas Voting Process of GE14 must be reformed in new Malaysia
JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT A timely and comprehensive reform to current voting procedures for Malaysians living abroad must happen in this Parliament if the promise of a new, more democratic Malaysia is to be realised, say Global Bersih and Bersih 2.0. According to recent United Nations (UN) estimates, the number of Malaysians abroad soared to 2.7 million in 2017 from fewer than 1.3 million in 2010 (1). As most Malaysians abroad tend to be recent emigrants, it is likely that the majority are registered voters – and there is an urgent…
Read MoreData Collection on Malaysia’s 14th General Election – Overseas Voting Process
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Global Bersih’s findings from our data collection of the 14th General Election (GE14) are as follows: The Election Commission (EC) and foreign Malaysian missions did not provide adequate and timely information on the registration and voting process. The information that was relayed conflicted and varied from agency to agency. This caused widespread confusion, frustration and disenfranchisement. The EC demonstrated incompetence by not processing applications and notifying citizens of their voting status in a timely manner, allowing discrepancies on the electoral roll, erring with regards to voter eligibility and…
Read MoreGlobal Bersih denies baseless allegation it was created by political parties to advocate an Arab Spring-like uprising
MEDIA RELEASE Global Bersih categorically denies the baseless allegation that Malaysian political parties formerly in the Opposition (prior to the 14th General Election) “had established NGOS such as Bersih Global (sic) to advocate an Arab Spring-like uprising in Malaysia”. (1) As reported by Malaysiakini on 19th July 2018 (2) and Free Malaysia Today on 20 July 2018 (1), these allegations were detailed in a letter dated 4th May 2018 from Hasanah Abdul Hamid, then Director-General of the Research Department in the Prime Minister’s Department, on behalf of the Malaysian External…
Read MoreGlobal Bersih condemns police harassment of human rights lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri
MEDIA RELEASE Global Bersih strongly condemns the police harassment of human rights lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri. The new Malaysian government must uphold democracy and free speech in keeping with its reform agenda, as outlined in the Pakatan Harapan manifesto for the 14thMalaysian General Election. Fadiah was hauled up by the police on 11 July 2018 over an opinion article about the monarchy (1), and questioned under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 233 of the Communications & Multimedia Act 1998 (2). On 17 July, Fadiah will face…
Read MoreInstitutional reform committee invites written representations from public
KUALA LUMPUR (May 22): The Committee for Institutional Reforms has invited the public to alert the panel about institutions that have structural defects or have failed to function according to the law. Individuals and groups have also been invited to write to the committee about institutions that have poor governance or ineffective decision-making processes or inadequate redressal mechanisms. In a statement, the committee said today that the written representations should be submitted by May 28 to the Secretariat, Committee for Institutional Reforms, at Level 32, Ilham Tower, Jalan Binjai, 50450…
Read MoreChange of gov’t necessary but insufficient for a more democratic Malaysia, electoral and institutional reforms urgently needed
MEDIA RELEASE 10 May 2018Global Bersih welcomes the historic step taken towards a more mature democracy in Malaysia as Malaysians voted for the first ever change in the governing party since the country’s independence (1957 for Malaya/West Malaysia and 1963 for East Malaysia). Given the high level of irregularity, gerrymandering, malapportionment and blatant corruption that marred the 14thMalaysian General Election (1), as well as the severe institutional failures revealed by the 1MDB and other recent scandals (2), we call on the incoming government to urgently set in motion the institutional,…
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