KUALA LUMPUR: Civil society organisations (CSOs) including Bersih 2.0 today warned a major rally would be held should two of their demands are not met following the current political uncertainties.
They demanded for all Pakatan Harapan (PH) members of parliament who won on the PH ticket, but had changed alliance, to resign immediately as they no longer had the mandate of the rakyat.
“Failing which, we call for a dissolution of Parliament and fresh elections to be held to seek a fresh mandate from the rakyat. We urge the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to give his consent for such a dissolution,” said the CSOs in a statement today.
Bersih 2.0, as the lead issuer of this statement, they said, would call for Bersih 6 if the two demands were not met.
“We call on all citizens to voice out their anger and disappointment and make the two demands together with the civil society at this betrayal and abandonment of the mandate given to the PH government.
“They could express this through social media, writing to their MPs and even organising peaceful assemblies wherever they are.
“The formation of any backdoor government must not be tolerated and cannot go down without any form of protest,” they added.
The CSOs also said they were “extremely distressed by the break-up of the elected PH coalition that was voted in on May 9, 2018 during the 14th general election (GE14) via the departure of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and the defection of 11 PKR MPs.
“We view the attempted formation of a backdoor government as undemocratic and a betrayal of voters who voted for change. The Rakyat voted for PH and its coalition parties based on their promises and policies in their respective manifesto.
“Such reconfiguration of the component parties mid-term through the shifting of alliances and defections has nullified the election manifesto of PH, the Buku Harapan.
“As voters, we are utterly disgusted by such political machinations by both the government and opposition MPs who defy democratic norms of responsible party politics,” they said.
The CSOs added political parties were to compete with each other to offer the rakyat meaningful choices, not to sabotage each other after elections and form a government that the people did not vote for at the general election.
Meanwhile, Aliran echoed similar views, saying the pack of plotters’ political manoeuvring and attempted coup over the weekend did not augur well for the country.
“This dishonours the people’s mandate that was given to PH in the 2018 general election. We, the people, have a democratic right to choose the next government if the PH government should fall as a result of these political machinations.
“Politicians do not make the choice for us. We have the legitimate right to choose a government in a parliamentary democracy.
“It is an insult to the intelligence of the rakyat when this cabal of plotters claim that what they are doing is to act as a ‘balancer for the sake of stability’, especially when many members of the group are not known for their democratic practices and reform agenda,” it said, adding it was more worrying when a few of them were heavily tainted with corruption charges and allegations.
“It would be a living nightmare for us all if such characters return with a vengeance. What would become of the promised reforms?
“Civil society has a much bigger role to play in a nation that has been undermined by corrupt and unscrupulous politicians.”