ELECTORAL reform group Bersih 2.0 has renewed calls for Putrajaya to declare Dataran Merdeka a public space which can be used as a venue for protests and demonstrations.

Bersih has in the past applied a total of five times to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for the use of the iconic square located in the city centre, in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building where the supreme court used to be housed.

Acting chairperson Shahrul Aman Mohamad Saari said a letter has been sent to Dr Mahathir Mohamad to discuss their request, but he has yet to receive a reply.

“I think the letter is still on his desk,” Shahrul told participants at the International Malaysia Law Conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Shahrul, however, said he does not expect a meeting soon, saying the prime minister likely has other immediate concerns. 

“I think priorities are not with us for the time being. But we are definitely pushing for things like this, the reclamation of space,” he said during a session on civil societies. 

Shahrul said Bersih was “demonised” during the previous government, pointing to articles by government-linked media on the funding it received from hedge fund manager George Soros. 

“We were demonised time and time again. Although we received money from Soros in 2011, it was very, very little compared with what they accused us of. We did use it for training purposes.”

Bersih sued New Straits Times for a report saying it received RM4.5 million, which resulted in the newspaper taking back the claims and a half-page apology. 

In 2016, Bersih was accussed again of receiving RM3.2 billion and being an accomplice to Soros. 

“This time it’s RM3.2 billion, which is bigger than RM2.6 billion,” Shahrul said, referring to the amount alleged to have been transferred into former prime minister Najib Razak’s account from 1Malaysia Development Bhd. 

Shahrul said religious leaders condemned the act of receiving foreign funding as “haram”.

“The narrative is almost the same. You attack them and after that, you come up with a religious narrative. But this never stopped people from coming out.”

Shahrul said Bersih would only shutter its operations if all the legislations it is pushing for are passed into law.

“It’s important that reforms are not to the whims and desires of leaders that come and go. It must be legislated. We will continue to stand and criticise.” 

Meanwhile, Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) director Cynthia Gabriel said civil societies had to source for funding since they are not backed by the government.

“Normally, in a functioning democracy, a small percent of national budget goes to development aid, human rights issues, and other causes.”

“But (the previous administration) funded things like an orchid society, because they didn’t like to be questioned about corruption.

“I think it’s actually important to ask questions when there is no space. To call for accountability for issues that the government doesn’t want you to.”

Gabriel currently serves an advisory role in a committee to look into 1MDB set up by the Council of Eminent Persons. – August 15, 2018.