Bersih, a toothless tiger?

COMMENT | Nowadays, Bersih is often accused by many as being a toothless tiger. 

It is important I explain that Bersih is an NGO with no power conferred by the government or Parliament. We are indeed quite 'toothless'. 

I would say, we are more a barking (watch)dog. Like a faithful guard dog on a leash (the law), we can only bark to alert our master, the rakyat. 

Apart from monitoring elections, we also advocate electoral reform and recommend good practices for our democratic institutions. 

We do this on our own volition on behalf of the public, with public support and a steering committee who are all volunteers, including myself. We report to no one other than you, the rakyat.

When it comes to elections, we monitor the conduct of elections and call out offences as listed in the Election Offences Act 1954. This also includes offences not listed, but are considered breaches of ethical conduct for elections. 

We do this because we believe elections must be free, clean and fair, so voters can make informed choices without any pressure, and to ensure there is a level playing field for all contestants.

Calling out offences

When an election offence is committed, we call it out and urge the firsthand witness of the offence to make a police report. Why do we say firsthand witness and not Bersih? 

The reason is, when the matter is brought to court, it must withstand the counter-arguments of the defence lawyers and the judge. 

For example, the questions that are likely to be asked are: Did you witness the offence yourself? Did you take the photos or video of the incident? Were you present when the offence was committed? If not, how can you be certain? 

If Bersih were to make police reports on every offence we read in the media, it would be quite useless as we are not eyewitnesses. This would result in us discrediting ourselves, and it would be a waste of the court's time and taxpayers' money.

Now, if you ask, what is the purpose of monitoring and calling out offences if we are indeed so 'toothless'? The answer is public education. 

We hope our statements and reports would lead to public action, either through their voting choice or police reports if they are firsthand witnesses. 

How do you think the public, including many of those who hurl accusations at us, know about election offences and other electoral misconduct like a dirty electoral roll, phantom voters, malapportionment and gerrymandering, if not for the 'barking' of this toothless tiger or dog on a leash? 

I am sure you would agree that our constant 'barking' over the past 12 years hasn't been a futile exercise. In fact, I myself was awakened by this 'barking' many years ago and decided to take action against those 'thieves' who tried to steal our elections.

'Why no rally?'

Then there are trolls who ask: Why no Bersih 6 rally when we see offences committed at the by-elections? 

Are you serious? What kind of an organisation would Bersih be if we call for a protest every time we see someone commit an election offence? 

Having organised five mega rallies, I can tell you that when it comes to deciding to call for one, it is not something we take lightly. The responsibility of ensuring the safety of participants, the gravity of the triggering issue, the correctness of our message and the clarity of our purpose or demands, must all be weighed carefully. 

We are never reckless or hasty when it comes to organising big rallies. Having said that, holding peaceful rallies are never, and can never be off the table, even in Malaysia Baru.

Many who witness the offences, instead of doing the needful by reporting it to the authorities, be it the Election Commission, police or MACC, prefer to post on social media to garner views, score points against their political opponents, or to troll or let others troll Bersih and the EC for not doing anything. 

Apart from making it to the news for a few days, what does that achieve other than discrediting the sincere efforts of organisations like Bersih? 

Just close shop?

Would it be better Bersih 'closes shop' – as many have suggested – and this barking dog retire? Can you trust the politicians to self-regulate and look after the best interests of the rakyat? 

Has the new EC under Azhar Azizan Harun rendered Bersih obsolete? Are we sure that EC will remain forever neutral and independent and that Art will live forever?

So, on behalf of all other election observer groups and Bersih, I ask the public to understand the important role we play as the voice of the rakyat when we expose electoral wrongdoings. 

Please understand that we are not empowered by law to take action against offenders – and should never be! – and even when we make police reports, we ourselves must be reliable witnesses and be able to stand the scrutiny of the court. 

Again I say, we do not answer to anyone, be it the government of the day or the opposition. 

We have been accused of being partisan to Pakatan Harapan, both when they were in the opposition and now when they are in government. But one just needs to scrutinise our public statements since May 9 last year to see that 90 percent of them are critical of Harapan. 

If we are partisan, then yes, we are always more pro-opposition and smaller parties as the underdogs, and definitely pro-rakyat, but we always try to be principled in our positions.

Bersih and the many volunteers, who took up this task of monitoring elections and constantly pushing for reforms, didn't do it for any other reason than because it is necessary. 

We love this country and we believe that free, clean and fair elections is still the best way to elect leaders in a democracy.

THOMAS FANN is a private citizen who happens to be the current chairperson of Bersih.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.