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…
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Change 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,…
Read MoreGlobal Bersih welcomes UK Government Call for External Election Observers ahead of Malaysia’s General Election on May 9th
London – April 19, 2018 – Global Bersih, the international non-profit organisation of the Malaysian diaspora promoting democratic and electoral reform, and human rights, welcomes the UK Government’s call for Malaysia to invite external election observers, in advance of the 9 May election. On the 28 March 2018 Ann Clywd MP (Chair of the UK Parliamentary Working Group on Human Rights) tabled a series of questions in relation to the concerns over electoral fraud in Malaysia’s upcoming elections, electoral boundary changes and recent legislation such as the Anti-Fake News Act…
Read MoreElection Commission sabotaging overseas postal voting system
PRESS RELEASE 25 APRIL 2018 The Election Commission is sabotaging its own overseas postal voting system, which was established after the 2012 Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform. In 2013, Malaysian voters living overseas (except in Singapore, southern Thailand, Kalimantan and Brunei), were able for the first time to vote by post, following the recommendations of the 2012 Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform. In 2013, the delivery and return of Malaysian overseas postal votes was undertaken by Wisma Putra, with Malaysian overseas postal voters filling out their postal votes…
Read MoreElection Commission obstacles stop many overseas Malaysians from voting
MEDIA RELEASE 11 April 2018 Global Bersih and MyOverseasVote (MOV) strongly condemn the recent decision by the Election Commission (EC) to fix a short 11-day campaign, culminating in polling on a Wednesday, which places yet another unreasonable obstacle in the way of millions of overseas Malaysians voting in the upcoming 14th General Election (GE14). According to recent United Nations estimates, the number of Malaysians abroad soared to 2.7 million in 2017 from less than 1.3 million in 2010 (1). As most of the Malaysian diaspora are recent emigrants, it is…
Read MoreRakyat Malaysia di Singapura dan seluruh dunia bersiap sedia untuk mengundi di PRU14
KENYATAAN AKHBAR 28 Mac 2018 Global Bersih terperanjat apabila mendapati bahawa kerajaan Malaysia secara aktif tidak menggalakkan rakyat Malaysia untuk menjalankan hak asasi mereka sebagai rakyat untuk mengundi. Pada 27hb Januari, telah dilaporkan bahawa Timbalan Menteri Dalam Negeri, Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed “meramalkan” bahawa rakyat Malaysia yang akan pulang dari Singapura untuk mengundi di Pilihan Raya Umum…
Read MoreMalaysians in Singapore and around the world are gearing up to vote in GE14
PRESS RELEASE 28 March 2018 Global Bersih is appalled that the Malaysian government has actively discouraged Malaysians from exercising their basic civil right of voting. Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed was reported on the 27th January as ‘predicting’ that Malaysians returning from Singapore to vote in the 14th General Elections (GE14) will have less of an impact than they did in previous elections. He also claimed those who returned to vote in the past had been ‘cheated’ by ‘opposition propaganda’. Malaysians living in southern Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and…
Read MoreOverseas Postal Voting Needs To Be Fair, says Global Bersih
Press Release 7 February 2018 Global Bersih demands that the postal voting process for the 14th General Election (GE14) for registered voters residing abroad be strengthened by inviting reputable international observers such as the United Nations and The Commonwealth. The Election Commission (EC) chairman has promised to appoint local and international election observers during GE14. Global Bersih welcomes this development and would like assurance that these same observers will scrutinise the issuance, receipt and counting of ballots. We are also urging the Malaysian government to invite the Commonwealth to send a…
Read MoreGlobal Bersih: Overseas Voting Process Unclear and Problematic – Malaysians Abroad Not Consulted
The postal voting process for the 14th General Election (GE14) – as announced by the Election Commission (EC) chief Mohd Hashim Abdullah for registered voters residing abroad – is riven with unresolved problems that threatens to deny the right of hundreds of thousands of Malaysians abroad to vote at the next elections, Global Bersih warned today. It is particularly worrying that Pos Malaysia Berhad will be fully managing the sending and return of ballots. For the previous elections of 2013 (GE13), there were about two weeks between dissolution of Parliament…
Read MoreThe 2017 New Zealand Elections
Lydia Chai is a Malaysian living in New Zealand. Here she shares her experience voting in the New Zealand general elections as a permanent resident. NEW ZEALAND : Voting is EASY The New Zealand general elections were held on 23 September 2017. Like Malaysia, voting in New Zealand is not compulsory. If there’s one thing I am grateful for when I cast my vote here, it’s how easy it is to vote. Advance voting is available to anyone. Whether you’re a normal voter, a permanent resident, voting outside of…
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