KUALA LUMPUR: Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah has called for Pakatan Harapan (PH) to promise to sack Election Commission (EC) chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah if it comes to power.
Speaking at a forum entitled “Political Prosecution Continues” at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall today, Maria said Hashim had failed to realise the EC’s true purpose, citing in particular the controversial redelineation exercise.
“We must strengthen institutions such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the EC because currently, they are not doing their work,” she said.
The forum was held in solidarity with PKR vice-president Tian Chua, who was recently arrested for refusing to obey a police order to leave a restricted area following the Bersih 3 rally in 2012.
Maria claimed Tian Chua’s arrest was a reflection of a long-running problem – the prosecution of those who express dissent against the government.
“The government has used all kinds of laws, including the Sedition Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act, and the Film Censorship Act to stifle the right to dissent, the right to freedom to assemble and the freedom of expression.”
In an unexpected move on Sept 29, Batu MP Tian Chua withdrew his final appeal filed earlier against his conviction and one-month jail sentence.
In his statement to the court, he said he had been arrested along with 500 other people during the Bersih rally on April 28, 2012, and sent to the Police Training Centre (Pulapol), which was a restricted area.
“I was not charged with taking part in an illegal assembly but in connection with my presence in Pulapol,” he said, adding that he was detained in the police training academy that day.-FMT NEWS-
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