Bersih
has slammed Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim
for joking that Bersih 3.0 supporters should be given the 1Malaysia
moral guide because they had "rioted, been rough and violent".
This, they said, was yet another example of a minister making a prejudicial statement even before the government-appointed inquiry panel into the April 28 protest concluded its work.
"This is a direct insult to 250,000 Malaysian citizens and their family members and such insinuations have to cease.
"This report comment is also biased because he has said nothing about the police personnel who indulged in brutality against the public," said Bersih’s steering committee in a yesterday.
Rais made the comment while launching the government's 1Malaysia Values' book (right) this week.
The remark follows the panel's chairperson Hanif Omar himself who prior to his appointment had made a prejudicial statement suggesting that Bersih had been infiltrated by communists.
Bersih added that the former inspector-general of police had also compromised his credibility as the panel's chair when he endorsed the Home Ministry's plan to release the government’s videos of the Bersih 3.0 rally before the panel concluded its investigation.
Such an act, it said, would subject the issue to a "trial by media" that would influence the panel’s perception.
"This again raises the question of the suitability and integrity of the panel set up by the Home Ministry, which Hanif (left) leads." the committee said.
However, the group noted that Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has finally decided to withhold the video from public viewing and hand it instead to the panel, despite having promised for several days to air it.
Regardless, Bersih reiterated that it will be giving its cooperation to the other inquiry initiated by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), pointing out that the public deserves a "credible, independent and impartial inquiry".
Ambiga countersues gov't
Meanwhile, in a related development, Bersih co-chairperson yesterday filed a countersuit against the government for allegedly violating her constitutional rights, according to a news report.
The
government, in another move preempting the inquiry panel, had slapped
10 Bersih steering committee members with a RM122,000 lawsuit for
alleged negligence and damages caused during the Bersih 3.0 protest.
In her countersuit, Ambiga (right) charged the government with abusing its powers by attempting to prevent the sit-in rally in Kuala Lumpur.
“The plaintiff, whether acting through its agencies (including the police, DBKL and mass media) or otherwise, wilfully and deliberately took all measures to prevent or thwart the holding of the assembly by Bersih at Dataran Merdeka on 28th April," the counterclaim read, according to The Malaysian Insider.
The
former Bar Council president added that the events that unfolded place
at the rally's end were the result of police conduct and the
government was liable for this.
She also challenged the constitutionality of the authorities’ attempts to block the rally at Dataran Merdeka and argued that the Peaceful Assembly Act does not empower the government to sue the organisers.
This, they said, was yet another example of a minister making a prejudicial statement even before the government-appointed inquiry panel into the April 28 protest concluded its work.
"This is a direct insult to 250,000 Malaysian citizens and their family members and such insinuations have to cease."This report comment is also biased because he has said nothing about the police personnel who indulged in brutality against the public," said Bersih’s steering committee in a yesterday.
Rais made the comment while launching the government's 1Malaysia Values' book (right) this week.
The remark follows the panel's chairperson Hanif Omar himself who prior to his appointment had made a prejudicial statement suggesting that Bersih had been infiltrated by communists.
Bersih added that the former inspector-general of police had also compromised his credibility as the panel's chair when he endorsed the Home Ministry's plan to release the government’s videos of the Bersih 3.0 rally before the panel concluded its investigation.
Such an act, it said, would subject the issue to a "trial by media" that would influence the panel’s perception.
"This again raises the question of the suitability and integrity of the panel set up by the Home Ministry, which Hanif (left) leads." the committee said.However, the group noted that Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has finally decided to withhold the video from public viewing and hand it instead to the panel, despite having promised for several days to air it.
Regardless, Bersih reiterated that it will be giving its cooperation to the other inquiry initiated by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), pointing out that the public deserves a "credible, independent and impartial inquiry".
Ambiga countersues gov't
Meanwhile, in a related development, Bersih co-chairperson yesterday filed a countersuit against the government for allegedly violating her constitutional rights, according to a news report.
The
government, in another move preempting the inquiry panel, had slapped
10 Bersih steering committee members with a RM122,000 lawsuit for
alleged negligence and damages caused during the Bersih 3.0 protest.In her countersuit, Ambiga (right) charged the government with abusing its powers by attempting to prevent the sit-in rally in Kuala Lumpur.
“The plaintiff, whether acting through its agencies (including the police, DBKL and mass media) or otherwise, wilfully and deliberately took all measures to prevent or thwart the holding of the assembly by Bersih at Dataran Merdeka on 28th April," the counterclaim read, according to The Malaysian Insider.
The
former Bar Council president added that the events that unfolded place
at the rally's end were the result of police conduct and the
government was liable for this.She also challenged the constitutionality of the authorities’ attempts to block the rally at Dataran Merdeka and argued that the Peaceful Assembly Act does not empower the government to sue the organisers.
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