NOWADAYS, Bersih 2.0 is often accused by many as being a “toothless tiger”. It is important that I explain that Bersih is a civil society body with no power conferred to it by the government or Parliament. We are, indeed, quite “toothless”. I would say, we are more a barking dog; an election watchdog. Like a faithful guard dog on a leash (the law), we can only bark to alert our boss (the rakyat). Apart from monitoring elections, we also advocate on electoral reforms and recommend good practices for our democratic institutions. We do this on our own volition on behalf of the public, with public support and a steering committee who are all volunteers, including myself. We report to no one other than you: the rakyat.

When it comes to elections, we monitor the conduct of elections and call out offences as listed in the Election Offences Act 1954. This also includes those not listed but are considered high ethical conduct for elections. We do this because we believe elections must be free, clean and fair so voters can make informed choices without any pressure and to ensure there is a level-playing field for all contestants. 

When an election offence is committed, we call it out and urge witnesses of the offence to make a police report. Why witnesses and not Bersih? The reason is, when the matter is brought to court, it must withstand the counter arguments of defence lawyers and the judge. For example, the questions that are likely to be asked are: did you witness the offence yourself? Did you take photos or videos of the incident? Were you present when the offence was committed? If not, how can you be certain? If Bersih members lodge police reports on every offence we read about in the media, it would be quite useless as we are not witnesses. This would result in us discrediting ourselves and it would be a waste of the court’s time and taxpayers’ money.

Now, if you ask, what is the purpose of monitoring and calling out offences then, if we are so “toothless”? The answer is public education. We hope our statements and reports will lead to public action, either through their voting choice or police reports, if they are witnesses. How do you think the public, including many who accuse us, know about election offences and other electoral misconduct, like dirty electoral rolls, phantom voters, malapportionment and gerrymandering, if not for the “barkings” of this toothless tiger or dog on a leash? I am sure you would agree that our constant “barkings” over the past 12 years have not been a futile exercise. In fact, I myself was awakened by these “barkings” many years ago and decided to take action against those “thieves” who tried to steal our elections.

Then, there are trolls and such who ask: why not call for another Bersih rally when new offences are committed in recent by-elections? Are you serious? What kind of an organisation would Bersih be if it called for a protest every time an election offence is committed? Having organised five mega rallies, I can tell you that when it comes to calling for one, it is not something we take lightly. The responsibility of ensuring the safety of participants, the gravity of the triggering issue, the correctness of our message and the clarity of our purpose or demands must all be weighed carefully. We are never reckless or hasty when it comes to organising big rallies. Having said that, holding peaceful rallies are never, and can never be, “off the table”, even in Malaysia Baru.

Many who witness offences, instead of doing the needful by reporting it to the authorities, be it the police, Election Commission (EC) or Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, prefer to post it on social media to garner views, in the hopes that it will go viral to score points against their political opponents, or to troll or incite others to troll Bersih and the EC for not doing anything. Apart from making headlines for a few days, what does it achieve other than discredit the sincere efforts of organisations like Bersih? Would it be better for Bersih to “close shop”, as many have suggested, and allow this barking dog to retire? Can you trust politicians to self-regulate and look after the best interests of the rakyat? Or has the new EC, under Azhar Azizan Harun, rendered Bersih obsolete? Are we so sure that the EC will remain forever neutral and independent, and Azhar will live forever?

So, on behalf of all other election observer groups and Bersih, I ask for the public to understand the important role we play as the voice of the rakyat when we expose electoral wrongdoings. Please also understand that we are not empowered by law to take action against offenders (and should never be!), and even when we make police reports, we ourselves must be reliable witnesses and be able to stand the scrutiny of the court. Again I say, we do not answer to anyone, be it the government of the day or the opposition. We have been accused of being partisan to Pakatan, both when it was the opposition and now, when it is the government but one need only scrutinise our public statements since May 9, last year to see that 90% of them are critical of PH. If we are partisan, then yes, we are always more pro-opposition and with the smaller parties as the underdogs, and definitely pro-rakyat, but we always try to be principled in our positions.

Bersih and the many volunteers who have taken up this task of monitoring elections and are constantly pushing for reforms didn’t do it for any other reason other than because it is necessary. We love this country and we believe that free, clean and fair elections are still the best way to elect leaders in a democracy. – March 4, 2019.

* Thomas Fann is a private citizen who also happens to be Bersih 2.0 chairman.