DAP lauds the High Court decision yesterday that has unequivocally quashed the declaration by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein that the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) is an unlawful society.
In this landmark decision, High Court Judge Datuk Rohana Yusuf ruled that “the decision to outlaw Bersih impinges on the right guaranteed under the Federal Constitution and should not be taken in a just and lackadaisical manner.”
Further, Justice Datuk Rohana also said that Hishamuddin’s declaration on 1 July 2011 was “tainted with irrationality and it was made without taking into account the relevant facts.”
Now that the Court has ruled Hishamuddin’s actions as “tainted” and “irrational”, he should immediately apologise for unilaterally declaring Bersih illegal and allow it to be registered as a lawful society.
This decision has basically proven that Bersih is a legal movement and that the hundreds and thousands of Malaysians who participated in the Bersih 2.0 rally on 9 July 2011 and Bersih 3.0 on 28 April 2012 are actually law-abiding citizens who are not criminals. Unfortunately, because of Hishamuddin’s irrational decree, the police had treated them as if they were criminals.
In the Bersih 3.0 rally earlier this year, many protesters including media workers and reporters had been subjected to indiscriminate police action including incidents of assault and confiscation of equipment. Previously in Bersih 2.0, hundreds of people were arrested leading up to the rally, including six PSM members who were detained without trial under the now-defunct Emergency Ordinance.
Instead of wasting energy and resources on political vendettas, chasing Islamist or communist shadows where there are none, and harassing legal movements such as Bersih and innocent civilians who participated in the rallies, Hishamuddin should do the rational thing and focus on fighting real criminals.
—-Mandarin Version —-
民主行动党秘书长兼峇眼区国会议员林冠英于2012年7月25日发表声明：
既然法庭已经判决希山慕丁不合理，他应该向净选盟道歉，然后集中精力对付犯罪分子，而不是继续骚扰合法的团体。
民主行动党赞扬高庭昨天的判决，吉隆坡高庭今日驳回内政部长拿督斯里希山慕丁于的宣布，指净选盟2.0是一个非法组织。
在这项标志性的宣布方面，法官拿督罗哈娜裁决“宣布净选盟非法违背了联邦宪法所保障的权利，这个问题不应该被轻视。”
法官拿督罗哈娜也说，希山慕丁于2011年7月1日的宣布，是“迂腐及不合理的，也没有考虑相关的事实。”
现在高庭已经裁定希山慕丁的行为是“迂腐”及“不合理”的，他应该就单方面宣布净选盟非法马上道歉，并且让净选盟成为一个合法的团体。
这项决定基本上证明净选盟是一个合法运动，而在2011年7月9日及2012年4月28日参与净选盟2.0及3.0的成千上万名马来西亚人，其实都是奉公守法的市民，而不是犯罪分子。不幸的是，由于希山慕丁的不合理宣布，导致警方对待这些市民如犯人。
在今年的净选盟3.0，许多人抗议者包括媒体工作者及记者都遭受警方的粗暴对待，包括袭击行为及器具被没收。之前净选盟2.0，上百名领导大集会的遭逮捕，包括社会主义党六名党员，他们在现已废除的紧急法令下遭无审讯扣留。
与其浪费精力和资源在长期的政治仇视、追捕伊斯兰极端分子或共产党人的影子，骚扰合法运动如净选盟，参与大集会无辜的老百姓，希山慕丁应该做一些合理的事，严正打击罪案。
林冠英