Suaram: Uphold will of the people!

Suaram: Uphold will of the people

[for a better Malaysia!]

Mar 10, 08 2:44pm

As euphoric as the opposition parties must to have denied
Barisan Nasional a two-thirds majority for the first time
in 39 years, the victory must prompt its elected representatives
to work hard for a better nation.

The reminder came from human rights group Suara Rakyat
Malaysia (Suaram), which also told them "to uphold the
will of the people (which includes) rejecting racialised
politics and racism".

"Stamp out corruption and respect economic, social
and cultural rights,"said executive director Yap Swee Seng
in a statement today.

He, however, noted that the conduct of elections is still far from
being clean and fair.

"Election watchdogs have documented various (forms of)
electoral fraud and irregularities ranging from allegations of
rigged electoral rolls and 'phantom' voters to unfair media
access and outright vote buying on polling day," he said.

Suggesting that a royal commission be set up to restore
free and fair elections, he urged elected representatives
from opposition parties to work for reform of the election
system and assured them of backing from Suaram
and other civil society groups.

Suaram also listed several demands:

. Respect and protect the freedom of expression,
assembly and association
. Set up the Independent Police Complaints and
Misconduct Commission
. Uphold the independence of the judiciary
. End the New Economic Policy
. Uphold press freedom
. Ensure gender equality
. Protect the environment

The Barisan Nasional (BN) was mauled in Saturday's
elections, losing its crucial two-thirds majority in
Parliament for the first time since 1969.

Four states were lost to the resurgent opposition,
while PAS increased its grip over Kelantan which
it has ruled since 1990.

Analysts said that voters punished the BN for rising
inflation and its mishandling of race relations.
[+ ALL THE ABOVE ABUSES lah!!!]

URL: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/79550