ELECTORAL watchdog Bersih will continue to speak out on behalf of the people in matters related to reform, its newly elected chairman Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz said.

Faisal, who was elected last week after the sudden resignation of Thomas Fann, emphasised that the organisation will not be a lapdog to any political party or the government.

He also said he wants to shift people’s perception that Bersih is an urban movement.

“We don’t want to be known as an elite movement. We want the grassroots to be part of our struggle.

“My plan is to get to the rural folk, to make them understand what we fight for. From the rural parts of Sarawak and Sabah to Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Formed in July 2005, Bersih’s objective is to push for a thorough reform of the electoral process in Malaysia.

Two years later in 2007, Bersih organised its first public rally, which was the start of the country’s electoral reform.

“First and foremost, Bersih will continue to carry the people’s voices. We will fill that vacuum and we will express our thoughts or disagreement with the government for a better administration.

“We will also be critical on issues such as corruption, abuse of power and of course, election. We will gather people from all walks of life to make their voices heard,” said the former Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia president.

Faisal was elected chairman after beating rival Gopalan K. Papachan by a single vote.

Faisal polled 23 votes while Gopalan, a former secretary-general of the Malaysian Workers Party, before it was rebranded Parti Amanah Negara, received 22.

The Bersih poll was held after Fann quit as chairman despite winning the election, claiming that he did not enjoy the support of a divided steering committee pulling in different directions.

In his resignation letter, Fann said while he wanted to evolve Bersih to become a people’s institution, his new deputy chairman, Wong Yan Ke, wanted to keep Bersih as a people’s movement.

Engaging all parties

Faisal said Bersih will seek to cooperate with both the government and opposition.

He said Bersih will engage with all parties on issues related to reforms as well as on the issue of equal allocation to MPs.

“We are non-partisan. Our objective is to engage with everyone. We will meet government representatives to pursue our agenda for reform and will also push for equal allocation.

“We want to be inclusive and whether we like it or not, we have to move forward,” said Faisal.

Bersih was associated with the opposition prior to the formation of the Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government and even before Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration in 2018.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) government at the time, especially Umno, had accused Bersih of being anti-government and went as far as accusing the organisation of being funded by foreign intelligence entities such as the Central Intelligence Agency.

There had been no engagement between BN and Bersih prior to the change of government in 2018.

Asked about what would be the major obstacles for Bersih, Faisal said that a re-delineation exercise will be a major concern, especially if race and religious sentiments are used by certain quarters.

Faisal was also confident that he will have the support from all steering committee members to lead the organisation.

He disclosed that in a recent meeting, it was agreed that every member will respect the mandate.

“Everyone has agreed to respect the mandate. I am confident that Bersih will continue to be a vocal advocate for democracy,” he said. – December 19, 2023.