Bersih 2.0 dan Suaram menggesa kerajaan untuk segera menggugurkan siasatan dan pertuduhan bermotifkan politik terhadap aktivis masyarakat dan juga ahli-ahli politik pembangkang, sebagai bukti bahawa negara benar-benar mengamalkan demokrasi yang sebenar.
Human Rights Watch dalam laporan khasnya berkenaan penafian hak asasi di Malaysia telah menggariskan siri pendakwaan dan siasatan terhadap kumpulan pengkritik kerajaan, termasuk dari kalangan masyarakat sivil dan parti politik.
Ini disifatkan HRW sebagai siri tindakan balas dendam oleh sebuah pentadbiran yang rapuh, dalam rangka untuk cuba membungkam bantahan dan kritikan yang disuarakan ramai pihak.
Selain siri siasatan dan pendakwaan terpilih yang semakin rancak dilakukan pihak berkuasa akhir-akhir ini, Suaram bersama-sama Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih 2.0) melihat satu trend tindakan mensasarkan pemimpin-pemimpin politik tertentu terus dijalankan.
Tindakan sedemikian secara efektif bertujuan membunuh lawan-lawan politik dan juga bakal-bakal calon pilihanraya akan datang, selain merupakan sebuah upaya penindasan politik bagi menafikan hak membantah sepertimana yang dituntut dalam perhimpunan Bersih 4.
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Senarai panjang Ahli Parlimen dan Adun yang telah disiasat malah ada yang telah didakwa di bawah pelbagai akta termasuklah Dr Ko Chung Sen (Kampar), Nga Kor Ming (Taiping), Rafizi Ramli (Pandan), Dr Afif Bahardin (Adun Sebarang Jaya), Ng Wei Aik (Tanjung), Nurul Izzah (Lembah Pantai), Tony Pua (PJ Utara), Lim Kit Siang (Gelang Patah), R Sivarasa (Subang), Teresa Kok (Seputeh), N Surendran (Padang Serai), Khalid Samad (Shah Alam), RSN Rayer (Adun Seri Delima), Dr P Ramasamy (Timbalan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang), Phee Boon Poh (Adun Sungai Puyu), Tian Chua (Batu), Azmin Ali (Gombak), Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Adun Seri Setia) dan juga mendiang Karpal Singh.
Kesemua mereka ini telah sama ada disiasat atau telah didakwa di bawah Akta Hasutan atau Akta Perhimpunan Aman, dan sekiranya didapati bersalah akan menyebabkan mereka hilang kelayakan bertanding dalam pilihanraya akan datang serta menafikan hak para pengundi untuk memilih wakil rakyat yang mereka suka.
Ironinya, Perdana Menteri Najib Razak telah berkali-kali berjanji untuk memansuhkan Akta Hasutan 1948, namun ia terus digunakan terhadap lawan-lawan politiknya.
Bersih 2.0 dan Suaram melihat ini sebagai satu taktik keji untuk mencantas lawan-lawan politik parti pemerintah, sekaligus membelakangkan proses demokrasi yang telah melantik mereka sebagai wakil rakyat di dewan legislatif masing-masing.
Daripada menewaskan mereka di lapangan pilihanraya, proses undang-undang nampaknya disalahgunakan bagi memastikan mereka tewas sebelum sempat bertanding dalam pilihanraya.
Bersih 2.0 dan Suaram justeru menyatakan kebimbangan bahawa langkah-langkah licik yang diambil pihak kerajaan akan mengakibatkan negara mempunyai barisan pembangkang yang lemah, setelah tokoh-tokoh utama disumbat ke penjara atau hilang kelayakan bertanding.
Menjelang sidang-sidang kemuncak rantau Asean dan kunjungan Presiden Amerika Syarikat Barack Obama di tanah air, kami menggesa kerajaan untuk segera menggugurkan siasatan dan pertuduhan bermotifkan politik terhadap aktivis masyarakat dan juga ahli-ahli politik pembangkang, sebagai bukti bahawa negara benar-benar mengamalkan demokrasi yang sebenar.
Kerajaan tidak wajar berlakon seolah-olah negara mengamalkan demokrasi di hadapan para tetamu antarabangsa, namun sebaliknya dalam diam menanam ranjau dalam amalan demokrasi sihat di tanah air. Kerajaan justeru didesak supaya menghentikan langkah menindas menggunakan undang-undang ini, dan menumpukan secara ikhlas kepada penambahbaikan institusi demi kebaikan rakyat terbanyak.
End the drama, stop all political persecution
Bersih 2.0 and Suaram urge the government to drop all politically motivated investigations and prosecution against activists and members of the opposition as a solid gesture to demonstrate that the country truly practises real democracy.
Human Rights Watch, in its special report on fundamental right in Malaysia, has outlined a series of persecutions aimed at a specific group of government critics, including those from civil society organisations and political parties.
HRW sees it as a vindictive act by a brittle administration, in hopes of silencing dissent and criticism voiced out by many.
Aside from the escalated series of selective investigations and prosecution by the authorities, the Coalition of Free and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) together with Suaram, sees a trend of targeting and persecuting specific political leaders being carried out.
Such acts are effectively aimed at killing off political opponents and potential candidates in the upcoming general elections, aside from being an effort of political persecution to deny the right to dissent as demanded in the recent Bersih 4 peaceful assembly.
A long list of members of parliament and state assembly members have been investigated and prosecuted under various Acts include Dr Ko Chung Sen (Kampar), Nga Kor Ming (Taiping), Rafizi Ramli (Pandan), Dr Afif Bahardin (Sebarang Jaya Adun), Ng Wei Aik (Tanjung), Nurul Izzah (Lembah Pantai), Tony Pua (PJ Utara), Lim Kit Siang (Gelang Patah), R Sivarasa (Subang), Teresa Kok (Seputeh), N Surendran (Padang Serai), Khalid Samad (Shah Alam), RSN Rayer (Adun Seri Delima), Dr P Ramasamy (Deputy Chief Minister of Penang), Phee Boon Poh (Sungai Puyu Adun), Tian Chua (Batu), Azmin Ali (Gombak), Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Seri Setia Adun) and also not forgetting the late Karpal Singh.
All of them have either been investigated or prosecuted under the Sedition Act 1948 or the Peaceful Assembly Act 2011, and if found guilty, they may be disqualified from contesting in the next general election, thus denying the right of the voters to elect a representative of their choice.
Ironically, Prime Minister Najib Razak himself has repeatedly promised to abolish the Sedition Act, while it is still being used against his political enemies.
Bersih 2.0 and Suaram see this as a despicable tactic to kill off the opponents of the ruling party and undermine the democratic process that elected them as representatives of the people in their respective legislative institutions. Instead of defeating them during the elections, legal means are presumably being abused to ensure that they lose even before standing in elections.
Bersih 2.0 and Suaram thus express our greatest worry, that these sly tactics taken by the government would result in the nation having a weakened opposition, as a result of its main leaders being put in jail or being disqualified from standing in the elections.
In the light of the Asean summit and the scheduled visit by United States President Barack Obama, we urge the government to drop all politically motivated investigations and prosecutions against activists and members of the opposition as a solid gesture to demonstrate that the country truly practises real democracy.
The government should stop acting as though the country practises democracy when facing the international community while they are quietly sowing the seeds of tyranny in lieu of healthy democratic practices in the country. The government is therefore strongly urged to stop all acts of persecution by misusing laws; it should instead concentrate on institutional reforms for the sake of the people.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme