Ambiga, a people's hero but no politician

Though the event “Datuk Ambiga (Sreenevasan) Bersama Rakyat” in Kedah yesterday seemed like a political outing, the Bersih icon was quick to dismiss the notion when she said “we are not politicians”.

“We are not fighting for BN (Barisan Nasional) or Pakatan Rakyat. We are fighting for you. We want your vote to mean something. We want to make sure they do not steal the value of your vote.

“Whoever comes into power, we should be able to remove them in five years if they are not good,” added the Bersih co-coordinator, as the largely Indian crowd in Paya Besar clapped thunderously.

“We also want the government to support Bersih (the electoral reform coalition). It’s been 55 years, one of the longest (rule) in the world. It is time to make our politicians accountable”.

The pouring rain in Padang Serai failed to deter 1,000-odd crowd  who turned up at the Bersih event yesterday evening, led by Kulim Hindraf chief M Asokan, and other local NGOs.

Ambiga was accompanied by a string of other speakers including Kedah state executive council member Aishah Ghazali, Selambau assemblyperson S Manikumar, PKR vice-president N Surendran, Kedah senator Saiful Idzham, Suaram ecretariat member Cynthia Gabriel and National Indian Action Team chairperson Thasleem Mohd.

Will the cops call these 'seditious acts' as well?

For the first time ever, the authorities are on the hunt for individuals accused of showing disrespect for public figures by means of stepping on their photograph or in one case, baring a bottom at their photograph.

Currently, the police have identified 11 individuals accused of performing such acts during the eve of Merdeka Day at Dataran Merdeka.

Thus far, a handful of people have surrendered themselves to the police and in one case, a teenager was even put in handcuffs for her alleged crime.

However, it has been pointed out that the 11 are subjects of selective persecution, exacerbated by the haste in investigations and the uncanny ability of the police to identify them with such uncanny accuracy.

The police, however, have denied taking sides and vowed to probe similar instances involving Pakatan Rakyat leaders, provided police reports are lodged.

Ambiga to quit as Bersih co-chair after GE13

Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevesan has revealed her intention to step down from her post in the electoral reform movement after the next general election.

In an interview with financial news-wire Bloomberg published today, Ambiga said this would allow her to focus on her legal firm which specialises in commercial, intellectual property and industrial law.

It would also allow her time for personal interests such as cricket and the arts, which she has put aside to hold up the Bersih banner, the report added.

Ambiga said she also has unfinished work particularly on women's rights, which she had been advocating prior to taking the reins of Bersih, particularly when this involves issues of conversion to Islam.

“The courts have abdicated their responsibility over a lot of family law issues in these situations involving both the Syariah courts and civil courts,” she was quoted as saying.

She noted that, as a solution, the government had in 2008 proposed a law to require individuals wanting to convert to Islam, to first inform their family members. However, the process has stalled at the Council of Malay Rulers who are responsible for Islamic affairs.

“This should be first in line for resolution... The ordinary Malaysian is beginning to realise that it is not acceptable to play up religion and race in politics. There is a real maturing," she reportedly said.

Ambiga had led two major street protest to demand clean and fair election - these were the largest since the reformasi movement which started in 1998.

Her role has seen her subjected to harassment, death threats as well as vitriol from government lawmakers.


Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/206856

Niat lists GE demands - seeks M'sian Indian DPM

The National Indian Rights Action Team (Niat) has listed out its demands for the next general election today, including calls for a Malaysian Indian deputy prime minister.

This was among the NGO’s five demands that it wants the next government to implement within the first 100 days in office.

The proposal calls a Malaysian Malay prime minister and deputy prime minister, plus two addition deputy prime minister posts.

The first post would be held a Malaysian Chinese and a Sabahan, each serving for half a term. A Malaysian Indian or Sarawakian, also swapping places mid-term, would hold the other office.

“We do not want other people to sideline us. We must make sure that what comes under the ‘Indian’ category should be brought together.

“Otherwise you do not have any justification to ask people to do thing that you won’t do yourself,” said Niat secretary Arun Dorasamy (left), who was also the project director to put together the group’s 42-page booklet to explain the demands.

The Economist: Attacks on Ambiga may hurt PM

The persistent attacks against Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan might tarnish Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, said influential international magazine The Economist.

In an article that appeared in this week's Asia edition, the magazine said Umno underlings' demonsing campaign is to likely to undo Najib's effort to brand himself as a liberal champion of multiracial politics.

The magazine notes that Najib failed to speak up against the attacks, but at the most only mildly reprimanded Sri Gading MP Mohamad Aziz who wanted Ambiga to be hanged.

"When under pressure, the 'warlords' of Umno who constitute its nationalist backbone have often drawn on racial politics.

"(They) play up to Malay voters the supposed threats that Chinese and Indians pose to their institutionalised privileges in jobs and education.

"Under Mr Najib people had hoped for something better. Ms Ambiga (left) accuses him of being 'wet' for failing to take a stronger stand.

"His belated rebuttal of Mr Mohamad merely urged MPs not to say things that might 'hurt the feelings of other races'," read the article.

Mohamad was among the long list of examples the article drew on to illustrate how those aligned to the federal government have been targeting her of late.

On June 26, Mohamad had asked in Parliament if Ambiga should be sentenced to hang for treason. He grudgingly retracted the remark two days later.

Indian votes affected?

Other examples cited by the magazine includes a group of Malay burgers flipping beef burgers in front of her house.

"Silly stuff, though still offensive to a Hindu vegetarian.

"Sillier still, a group of ex-soldiers marched on her house and shook their buttocks at it, calling her a subversive," the article said.

The article quickly established that the attacks against Ambiga are overtly racist.

"Ms Ambiga believes the attacks on her, all by Malay men, are racist.

"She points out that her Malay co-leader of Bersih, a famous writer called A Samad Said, has never been targeted," the article said.

It noted that the Indian community had reacted negatively to the pressures faced by Ambiga, suggesting that BN's Indian vote may be affected.

"After the BN's Indian vote fell at the last election in 2008, Mr Najib worked hard to court Indians. Now, that may have been to little avail," the article added.

Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/203496

Gov't anti-Bersih leaflets making rounds in KL cabs?

Government-issued anti-Bersih leaflets are among those believed to be currently circulating in taxis in the Klang Valley.

According to one passenger, Adrian Anthony, the leaflet was among many others by the Information Department distributed in a taxi he hailed this morning.

“There was a specially made casing with the TR1MA logo, which had all the leaflets,” he said, referring to the Teksi Rakyat 1Malaysia programme recently launched by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Contacted today, Adrian said the casing was at the back of the front passenger seat and that the taxi he was in had a TR1MA sticker on its window.

“(The sticker) had Najib’s face on the it,” said Adrian, who said that he had hailed the taxi at Damansara Utama at about 10.30am today.

The leaflets, photographs of which are now circulating through social media, had used photographs from the Bersih 3.0 rally on April 28 with the caption “Hidup biar beradab, bukan biadap!” (Live courteously, not rudely!).

The photographs used were that of the tail end of the rally, where pockets of protesters allegedly attacked a police patrol vehicle.

There is also a photograph which depicted tens of thousands of people in yellow at the corner of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Tun Perak.

Indian community unites for Ambiga

COMMENT

There is an old joke about unity within the Indian community.

During British rule in Malaya, the British ruler was asked: How do you manage the three distinctively different races in Malaya? He answered: “It is simple. To the Malays, I give them government jobs and they are happy. To the Chinese, I give them all the business licences they want and they are happy. For the Indians, I approve all the associations they want to form. They will fight among themselves and they will never come back to me for anything.”

The Malaysian Indian community has so many diversified views on issues and there are so many NGOs representing the Indian community on various sectors. These NGOs often clash among themselves and, on most occasions, face internal squabbles.

Indians are also politically divided through several political parties despite being a minority community.

However, during the last one week, surprisingly all the Indian NGOs and political leaders alike were united in their common stand in defending Bersih leader S Ambiga on the remarks passed against her by the Sri Gading MP Mohamad Aziz.

For the last one week, the Tamil media were flooded with press statements by notable Indian personalities, political leaders and Indian NGOs who came out in full force defending Ambiga and demanding action against Mohamad for his remarks. It was a rare moment for the Indian community to witness such a unity in recent times.

This prompted even Mohamad to credit the Indian community for coming out united in their stand in defending Ambiga.

Even MIC supports Ambiga

Even MIC president G Palanivel voiced his objection on the remarks by Mohamad and warned the Umno-BN leadership that they will fail to get the Indian votes in the 13th general election if the attacks on Ambiga continue.

He was concerned that while MIC and Prime Minster Najib Tun Razak were working hard to convince the Indian community to vote for BN through their various initiatives, there were elements like Mohamad, who derailed their plans by making racially slanted remarks.

Another MIC leader, M Saravanan, despite being a deputy minister, also slammed the government for making Ambiga popular with its actions.

Ambiga’s stupendous rise in popularity has clearly affected and dented the political image of MIC, which now fears she could become their real threat in the election, only if she decides to campaign openly against BN.

In 2008, MIC had to convince the Indian voters to vote for BN despite the five Hindraf leaders being held under ISA. The MIC then failed miserably in its mission.

This time when MIC was happy that there were no such issues, the government’s attacks on Ambiga have put the party in another dilemma.

Will Ambiga contest?

Ambiga has even started attending Indian-based functions and has begun interacting with Indian- based NGOs. Recently, she attended a Tamil community function in Klang and was given a grand reception.

She received thunderous applause during her appearance on stage but was ridiculed by some in the Tamil newspapers later for her lack of proficiency in speaking in Tamil despite it being her mother tongue.

It is believed that in addition to the Pakatan Rakyat parties, many Indian-based NGOs are lining up to invite her for their functions.

This has put MIC and other Indian leaders in BN component parties like Gerakan and PPP in a quandary. Instead of highlighting the BN policies and future plans for the betterment of the Indian community, every other day they are forced to defend the government.

With the Indian community’s total attention and focus now on Ambiga, the question that looms in everyone’s mind is whether she will contest in the forthcoming general election.

Although she has denied the prospects of contesting in the 13th general election, political sources believe that the continued attacks on her may force her to choose a political platform to continue her public role after the polls. Pakatan parties would be more than willing to accommodate her for a parliamentary seat.

Recently, there were some reports that she might be fielded as a common independent candidate for the Bersih movement in one of the seats in the Klang Valley and that the opposition would let her win by not fielding any candidates against her, paving the way for her to be elected as an independent candidate and to be the voice of Bersih in Parliament.

Alternatively, she may choose to campaign for the opposition without contesting for a seat. In such an event, without any doubt, she would sway a bulk of the Indian votes away from BN.

Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/07/03/indian-community-unites-for-ambiga/

Demonising Ambiga could cost BN Indian votes

COMMENT The move to demonise Bersih chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan in the mainstream media, especially in the Malay language media and television, is beginning to have an negative effect on Indian voters, going by comments two MIC leaders made this week.

MIC central committee member S Vell Paari and MIC vice-president M Saravanan have expressed disappointment with the continued harassment of Ambiga and other members of the Bersih steering committee.

Recently, Kuala Lumpur City Hall sent a RM350,000 tab to Ambiga and steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah for losses it claimed to have suffered on April 28, the day of the Bersih rally for clean and fair elections.

Earlier, the government sent the steering committee a bill demanding RM122,000 for damages to police vehicles, among other losses.

Vell Paari (right), whose name has been mentioned as an MIC candidate for Sungei Siput, feels the issue transcends political and racial boundaries.

He said sending the bills and the earlier demonstrations outside Ambiga's house constituted to demonising and harassment.

Vell Paari went on to call on the people to send messages to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the form of letters, postcards and telegrams, on how they feel about such treatment.

DBKL slaps RM351k 'Bersih bill' on Ambiga, Maria

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has sent a notice of demand to Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan and committee member Maria Chin Abdullah, demanding compensation of RM351,203.45 for “losses” incurred during the Bersih 3.0 rally.

They were ordered to settle the bill together with a RM100 notice fee within 14 days of receiving the notice, failing which legal action would be taken against them.

The letter, signed by DBKL director-general Salleh Yusup, was hand-delivered to Ambiga's house this morning.

Salleh even attached an itemised bill for ‘damages’ incurred by each department of DBKL.

This included damage to landscaping and trees, the cost of setting up metal barricades, cost of transport and support staff, damage to signboards and barriers, as well as overtime allowances, food, drink and transport costs for law enforcers.

The letter says the mayor had banned the rally to be held at Dataran Merdeka because the square is a historic place and tourist attraction.

It points out that the ban was supported by the police and a Kuala Lumpur magistrate who had on April 26 issued an injunction prohibiting any rally at Dataran Merdeka from April 28 to May 1.

“...but you (Ambiga and Maria) had gone ahead to hold the Bersih 3.0 rally on April 28, 2012, which went out of control and caused chaos in Kuala Lumpur city and damages to public properties.

Then Hindraf, now Ambiga

In recent Indian gatherings, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is well-known for his timely political oratories, has been consistently driving home a few key points into the minds of Indian voters while drumming up support for the opposition.

He begins by saying that when the opposition forms the next federal government, he will reduce the price of petrol and secondly he narrates how he will raise RM5 billion to provide free education for all Malaysians irrespective of race.

Next, he comes to one of the core Indian issues: citizenship for all Indians who are still with red identity cards and without proper birth certificate and registered documents. Then he raises the most important issue which is plaguing the minds of the Indians today: S Ambiga.

Anwar goes on to explain how Ambiga is being ridiculed and insulted under Najib’s leadership and the BN government. The fact that Najib and MIC’s top leadership have not come in support for Ambiga gives him further ammunition against BN.

Hisham: Cops will act if Bersih rally at Dataran

Putrajaya has today showed the clearest sign yet that a crackdown on the Bersih 3.0 rally is imminent.

At a press conference today, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein the police would take necessary measures to prevent the rally should "stubborn" organisers proceed with their plans at Dataran Merdeka.

"We have already compromised and offered alternative venues to them... but if they choose to be stubborn, it will be up to the police (to take the necessary action," he said, according to Bernama.

He said it was the police's responsibility to ensure public order was not threatened by anyone.

"I hope the organisers can assemble at the alternative venues offered in the spirit of political transformation and changes brought about by the government.

"As such, all parties should contribute towards building a healthy and mature democracy in the country," he said.

Electoral reforms pressure group Bersih 2.0 has on April 4 had announced that it would hold the rally this Saturday.

The rally was in response to what it terms has the failure of the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reforms to properly address comprehensive reforms to the electoral system.

Hisham: There's still time to go elsewhere

Citing the newly passed Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, Bersih 2.0 said it wanted to hold the rally on Dataran Merdeka and informing the police and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) of its plans would be a mere formality.

DBKL has since denied Bersih permission to use the field and instead offered the coalition to move the rally to Stadium Merdeka, about a kilometre away.

However, Bersih claimed that this offer came too late as they were only informed yesterday and the offer could have been considered if it came much earlier.

On what action the police should the rally go ahead at Dataran Merdeka, Hishammuddin: “It will depend on the actions of the organisers”.

He said the police have been instructed to prepare themselves and draw from past experiences.

Hishammuddin said that he hoped organisers will accept alternative venues that have been suggested, stressing that there was still time to do so.

Other than Stadium Merdeka, the other alternative venues that have been offered are Stadium Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium and Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium.

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/196205

Ambiga-KJ showdown next week

Coalition for clean and fair elections (Bersih) co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan will take on Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin in a debate on electoral reforms next week.

The debate, organised by daily the Malay Mail, will take place at 8.15pm on April 25 at the Club on Persiaran Surian, Bandar Utama, Kuala Lumpur.

This will be preceded by a forum the night before, this time involving Ambiga, political scientist Ong Kian Ming and a representative of the Election Commission (EC).

The forum, entitled ‘How Clean will the 13th General Elections Be?’ and organised by NGO Tindak Malaysia, will be held at the Petaling Jaya Civic Centre at 8.30pm.

According to Tindak Malaysia representative PY Wong, the EC has not yet responded to the invitation.

“We actually don’t expect the EC to respond as their position is indefensible,” he told Malaysiakini.

Round two for Khairy, who is also Rembau MP, will be on May 3 against PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli.

The topic, however, will be on the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) loans.

PKR proposes an abolition of the student loans, while Umno Youth wants the interest and terms to be revised.

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/195551

Ambiga: Even Burmese law allows street demos

Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan said the proposed Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 was even more repressive than a similar law passed recently in Burma's military-dominated Parliament.

"It is shameful that Burma can propose a far more democratic law than us.

"It is a terrible insult to Malaysians because we were promised more democracy, but now it is the opposite," said Ambiga, who is a former Bar Council president.

At a press conference in Petaling Jaya, Ambiga said Burma's new law allows for street demonstrations and organisers only need to notify the authorities five days in advance.

She said this was a stark contrast against Malaysia's Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011, which proposes banning street demonstrations and imposing a 30 day notice period.Putting the numbers together, Bersih secretariat member Wong Chin Huat said Burma was six times more democratic than Malaysia.

Ambiga conferred France’s top civilian award

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — Resplendent in a black-and-gold sari, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan was tonight conferred France’s highest honour, the Chevalier de Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour).As he pinned the distinctive five-pointed medal on her sari, France’s ambassador to Malaysia, Marc Barety, said the award was to recognise Ambiga’s dedication to human rights and to boost the rule of law in Malaysia.Ambiga joins an exclusive club of some 20 to 25 Malaysians conferred the French award. Among them were the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, airline maverick Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Ipoh-born Hollywood actress Datuk Michelle Yeoh, Barety said.

Yeoh was recognised in 2007 for her contribution to film and the media.Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Aziz was another recipient this year, but was unable to attend the award ceremony, Barety said.“Ambiga is the right person to get it,” Barety told reporters, adding the latest announcements on political transformation by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak after the Bersih 2.0 street rally on July 9 demanding free and fair elections proved the merit of her fight.He noted the leadership of the then president of the Malaysian Bar in a 2008 forum on Orang Asli issues, jointly organised by the French embassy and the European Union, as having contributed strongly to the nomination of Ambiga.

The order of the Legion of Honour is a merit-based award and there are only 55,000 recipients worldwide at any one time.“I think it reflects well on Malaysia’s civil society,” Ambiga said in her acceptance speech, with a nod to Najib’s latest pledge to repeal the Internal Security Act and other security laws that allowed for preventive detention.“It really shows how important civil society is; they are the eyes and ears of the rakyat,” Ambiga said, vowing to continue her charge to improve the rule of law.

Source : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ambiga-conferred-frances-top-civilian-award/

Bersih wants thorough polls reform, panel recommendations made public

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — Bersih 2.0 has welcomed the Najib administration’s move to form a parliamentary select committee to examine the current electoral system, but stated that the panel’s final recommendations should be made available to the public.Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan stressed the election watchdog’s eight demands for electoral reform should be taken into account, and that NGOs as well the public should be involved in the entire process.“Yes, we certainly welcome this move. It is without doubt a step in the right direction and is a positive response to the aspirations of the rakyat.“We hope NGOs will be involved in the process and that our eight demands will receive attention before the 13th general election,” said Ambiga in a text message to The Malaysian Insider.


“We are ready to assist,” said the former Bar Council chairman.Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah said the select committee’s final recommendations should include feedback and views from the public.Maria told The Malaysian Insider last night the government should poll views of Malaysians in the country before deciding on the said recommendations into the current electoral system.“Bersih welcomes the parliamentary select committee but we want full transparency in the process.“There should be public consultation, and it should be included in the final recommendations. The finalised report of the select committee should also be made available to the public,” she said.

Bersih 2.0 mulls legal action against EC

Appalled by how the Election Commission (EC) has dealt with irregularities exposed in the electoral roll, Bersih 2.0 is considering taking it to court.Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan has little doubt that the EC's knee-jerk reaction to arbitrarily delete or amend voters' details is anything but legal."I'm not sure they can actually do that - just remove names and put names and change things. They will say they are operating under regulations that entitle them to correct clerical errors,” she said.

"But these are not clerical errors... so I'm not sure under what law they are proceeding to do this cleaning which they said they are doing on a daily basis."She was referring to the EC's action to remove 'clone' voters from the electoral roll based on Malaysiakini reports.

'Clone' voters refers to those who have two entries in the electoral roll, based on the same name but with different MyKad numbers.EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Yusof had explained that the issue of double identity was due to human error when the MyKad number was keyed into the system.

British lawyer deported over Hindraf lawsuit

The Immigration Department has deported British lawyer Imran Khan, who arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport yesterday for a fact-finding mission on the marginalisation of Indian Malaysians. This is the second time a foreign lawyer has been booted out of the country this year - last month, French lawyer William Bourdon, who was representing human rights group Suaram in a lawsuit over the Scorpene submarine scandal, was deported after he landed in KLIA. Imran (left), a lawyer well-known for cases involving racism, was sent a plane back to London at 2am today after being detained by Immigration for more than 12 hours.

"Imran arrived at the KLIA airport at 1.50pm yesterday and upon presenting himself at the immigration counter, he informed the officer that he was in Malaysia to meet his clients who wish to engage him on a class-action suit against the UK government," said Hindraf leader P Waythamoorthy in a press statement.

Hindraf lawsuit to correct historical wrongs

A UK-based solicitor and lawyer - appointed by Hindraf Makkal Sakthi - is scheduled to meet with members of the Malaysian public this Sunday.His fact-finding mission is to help him better understand the situation on the ground and interview those participating in the Hindraf class action suit. This lawsuit against the British government seeks to correct historical injustices inflicted on Indians who were brought to the peninsula by the white colonialists.

The Hindraf move is almost certain to court a fresh storm of controversy and criticism from Umno, the party that will be most embarrassed when full details of the Indian marginalisation emerge. The extent to which the local Indian community, particularly Hindus of Tamil stock, is excluded from the nation's progress and well-being can only reflect badly on the Malaysian government.

Bersih: NRD's Mismah-gate clarification unacceptable

The National Registration Department (NRD)'s explanation of the 'Mismah-gate' is unacceptable as it fails to address the public's concern, said Bersih 2.0 chief Ambiga Sreenevasan.Therefore, she supported Pakatan Rakyat MPs' call for an emergency parliamentary sitting this month in order to seek answers for the many questions the scandal's raised."We haven't actually have had any meaningful answer... there has to be accountability on this issue," Ambiga (left) told Malaysiakini during an interview yesterday."The answer that they have given us so far is really quite unacceptable."

In a statement on Wednesday, NRD director-general Jariah Mohd Said explained that Mismah, a name found in the latest supplementary electoral roll draft, was granted permanent residency on July 17, 1982, and later citizenship on Jan 31, 2011.However, the statement failed to shed light on the question of how the NRD online verification system could have categorised Mismah as a permanent resident on Tuesday morning but 'upgraded' her to citizen four hours after a Malaysiakini report.

Ambiga grills Wan Ahmad in Round 2

Election Commission (EC) deputy chairperson Wan Ahmad Wan Omar reiterated that the EC is just a "management body" under the law to manage elections, rather than an enforcement agency."We are guided by the Attorney-General's Office. The laws given to us are management laws," he said.He was speaking today at a forum 'The Election Laws, Election Commission and Electoral Reform' organised by the Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham).

Delivering the opening address at the forum, Wan Ahmad said that issues relating to money politics, vote-buying and dirty politics are under the purview of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

"The EC can be called as a respondent or witness in court, but never in the history of the country has the EC taken a person to court over corruption," he said. His remark appeared to be a blow to many of those who attended the forum, including one lady who ridiculed the EC as an “event management company” for which its client is the government.