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Dissent emerges within Bersih over Citizens' Declaration
Published:  Mar 12, 2016 2:57 PM
Updated: Mar 15, 2016 6:58 AM

The Citizens' Declaration, which brought former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his allies together with the opposition and civil society, may have been hailed as a national realignment of forces but the unprecedented move has caused divisions in some quarters.

The coming together of strange bedfellows to oust Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has not only divided views within the opposition but also sowed discord within the civil society, including its best known movement, Bersih.

In a surprise move, three Bersih endorsers in a statement yesterday lashed out at the coalition's chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, who had signed the declaration in her personal capacity.

"We cannot accept that the Bersih chairperson reconciled with an unrepentant enemy of democracy without setting out any clear condition.

"Even in wanting to save the country or to push for democracy, any cooperation requires sincerity, but we do not see real pursuit of democracy or justice in this declaration," they said in a joint statement.

The statement was signed by Mama Bersih, Johor Yellow Flame, and Sunflower Electoral Education.

The groups complained that the declaration was focussed more on ousting Najib and it provided little substance or concrete plan for political reform.

"We agree that the poorly performing and scandal-plagued Najib must step down.

"However, civil society would be degrading itself, abandoning human rights and diluting its democratic demands which it had been pushing all this while, if it works with the likes of Mahathir and other Umno leaders who come from the same corrupt institution," they said.

‘No to collective amnesia’

The groups said that NGOs must maintain their independence and painstakingly built credibility, warning that they would become a tool of the former Umno strongman if they take lightly their affiliation with him.

"We are of the opinion that until Mahathir apologises for the human rights violations he was responsible for, his leading of any reform movement would lack moral basis.

"Many people have yet to forget Mahathir's authoritarian rule and if the NGOs were to have the same agenda as him, then it would demoralise those in Bersih and civil society, and erode internal cohesion and consensus," they said.

It added that the civil society cannot forget the justice it had sought for past wrongs or engage in "collective amnesia".

When contacted, Maria said Bersih was open to dissenting views within its coalition members.

"We respect differing opinions," she stressed.

Too ‘eager’ to work with Dr M

The Citizens' Declaration has also seen division within the opposition, with PSM vehemently slamming its political allies for being too eager to join hands with Mahathir.

The Citizens' Declaration was initiated by Mahathir after his efforts to get Umno to oust Najib failed. Mahathir has since quit Umno.

The 90-year-old former strongman accused Najib of grand corruption and vowed to see him removed from office.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had investigated deposits of RM42 million from state-owned SRC international and RM2.6 billion from an offshore account into Najib's personal bank accounts.

Najib denied using public funds for personal gain and claimed the RM2.6 billion was a donation from the Middle East.

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali accepted the explanation and subsequently cleared Najib of any wrongdoing.

Apandi also claimed Najib had no knowledge about the SRC International deposits in justifying his decision not to prosecute the embattled prime minister.

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