COMMENT | Bersih not an NGO drunk on heroism

COMMENT | It is with mixed emotions of bewilderment, amusement and sadness that I read the statement issued by Suaram's adviser, Kua Kia Soong where he made many spurious and misleading allegations against Bersih 2.0. He accuses Bersih of hypocrisy, inconsistency and inaction when it comes to Pakatan Harapan. Such serious allegations by a veteran social activist and educator such as Kua requires a factual and robust response from me as the current chairperson of Bersih 2.0's Steering Committee. I would not even venture to speculate on his motivations in launching such an attack on a fellow civil society partner.

Bersih 2.0 is totally a civil society-led organisation since 2010 and our position has always been non-partisan when it comes to political parties. The scope of our focus as an organisation is the strengthening of democracy with an emphasis on electoral reform. We fight for procedural democracy without any illusion that there is a set of ideals that would fit or unite all Malaysians. We do not take positions on economic, environmental, education or ethnic policies but we endeavour to ensure that there is a level playing field for political parties competing on these matters and the institutions are effective checks and balances to the government of the day.

Some of the questions Kua raised included ...