Al Jazeera 101 East Forum (Ori 1) Bersih Rally -10 Nov 07

ORIGINAL - No Overlay Clip; More details at:
http://powerpresent.blogspot.com/2007/11/al-jazeera-bersih-rally-forum-videos...
This week on 101 East; Malaysia has just seen its biggest protest for almost a decade, with tens of thousands marching to demand electoral reform. Their call was met with tear-gas and water cannon. So is there a need for fundamental change in the south-east Asian country or did the demonstrators get what they deserve?
We talk to leading government figures Minister Dato' Seri Nazri Abd Aziz ,Khairy Jamaluddin (PM S I L) and one of the nation's top human rights activists Malik Imtiaz Sarwar.
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UPDATE: Bernama summary of the Forum
November 16, 2007 00:42 AM




No Need For Institutional Reform To Election System - Nazri

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- There is no need for institutional reform to the Malaysian election system as it has worked well for the country in the last 50 years, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said. He, however, admitted that there was still room for improvement, but to say that the system was unfair was not a correct description.
Mohamed Nazri was replying to a question posed by Al Jazeera's anchor Teymoor Nabili of the satellite channel's 101 East Programme in which he was one of three panellists invited to discuss last Saturday's illegal assembly in the city. The other panellists were Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Human Rights lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar.
The 30-minute programme touched widely on the issue, including the media's way of handling it. Agreeing to the minister's reply, Khairy said the system just needed some processes to be strengthened. "There is nothing wrong with the system, but some processes need to be strenghtened... but the institution is fine, the system works," he said, pointing out that the Barisan National (BN) had lost Kelantan in the elections.
To Al Jazeera's contention that police had used force to disperse the gathering, Nazri said they did not use excessive force for obvious reasons, especially since they (police) were aware that they were under close scrutiny not only by Malaysians but the whole world. On crowd and traffic control during the gathering, Khairy said the police handled it well. To Imtiaz's allegation that the traffic jams that resulted were caused by police road blocks, Khairy said they were put up because of the demonstration.
He said a similar rally in Terengganu in September had descended into a violent incident. "So, you cannot blame the police for thinking that this (Saturday's gathering) was going to end up the same way," he added. To Nabili's question on the local media's minimum coverage on the gathering, Nazri said he did not think the local media were siding with the government. "The media are free to report anything. In fact, I got all my information (on the gathering) from the (news) papers," he added. Meanwhile, Nazri said changes made by the Election Commission had shown that the government had not turned a deaf ear on issues brought forward by the people. However, he said, not every issue or grouse voiced (by the people) was necessarily right. "We have a system here... if you have any grouse, channel it to the ballot box. We have an election every five years or less... at the end of the day, we will decide and you must never underestimate the will of the people," added Nazri. Khairy also said that the gathering could not be used as a barometer of the general sentiments of the public.

Category:

News & Politics

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• Malaysia
• Bersih
• Forum
• Al
• Jazeera
• Rally
• 10
• Nov
• 07

[sunan894]

..salute to u malik..good xplntn..the ball rebound back to the these 2 monkeys..

[zzzxtreme]

i'll give u rating of 1 star because u didn't censor khairy. cause khairy is OBSCENE !!

[YesMrRight]

If there is any racial riot, Chinese & Indians suffer, MALAYS suffer too.

Majority Malays need to work, need to live, need to move around freely. Do you think they want to see racial riots in Malaysia?

Majority of Malays are Good-hearted, peaceful people. They don't want to see races fighting too.

BUT, politicians like Hishammuddin, Khairi etc.. will be spared from problem.

Why? Because they have money and they can hid somewhere.

Malays must be smart, don't listen to these racists.

[YesMrRight]

Whoever rules Malaysia, please be fair to all races. Chinese, Indians, Malays, & others, they are all MALAYSIANS.

[Gene527]

it is no doubt that the local media are being controlled by the rulling party.

if they dont stand in the line with the government they are likely to get their permit application rejected the next coming year.

[YesMrRight]

Barisan Nasional (headed by UMNO & MCA etc.) can become opposition parties very soon.

(1st, Anwar will get his daughter or wife or others to resign as MP, and he will go for re-election. He will win as a MP.)

then, Anwar can convince Sabah and Sarawak to come out from BN and join the new opposition front.

Then Anwar will be the Prime Minister, and he can appoint 5-deputy prime ministers from major parties. In this case, the NEW Barisan Front will rule Malaysia with dignity.

[mclenptp]

These 2 despicable men,Khairy and Nazri,are among the most corrupt,arrogant politicians in UMNO.They are 2 main causes for BN and UMNO poor showing in 08 General Election.

[marecza]

8 march 2008 stated that these two morons are lying.

[lovemalaysia1]

Mr.Malik Imtiaz Sarwar speaks shape and much better then my MP's.

thank you malik. tho they lock your voice, we proud of you. we want people like you for human right commision.

[fernandis86]

Oh God! These people are really crazy. How can they say it was Democracy? That is such a joke honestly. Yup, we permit it. By spraying chemical water on people and tear gas. You're telling the whole world everything is right as rain. Hpmh! Such arrogance. Next shut up if you're not going to be honest. The world doesn't need more wretched soul like you guys! I pity the people so much. My prayers go with them! =(