The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) calls on the Election Commission (EC) to immediately allow eligible voters to apply as postal voters for the upcoming state elections, namely Kedah, Kelantan, Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu. The EC need not wait until all the states have dissolved their respective state
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) launches our 2022 Annual Report detailing the trials and tribulations of BERSIH’s work in an unprecedented political environment. The year 2022 was significant because some reforms agreed by government and opposition parties in the Memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability had materialised
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) applauds the statement by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that he is receptive to placing the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) under Parliament and the appointment process of its chief to be vetted by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). The Prime Minister said he ‘has no
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) welcomes the formation of the 10 Parliamentary Special Select Committees (PSSC) that were approved in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday. Each PSSC will comprise 9 Members of Parliament (MPs) including the Chairman. The 10 PSSCs are: 1) Finance and Economy2) Security3) Health4) Domestic Trade, Entrepreneurship,
The Coalition for Free and Fair Election (Bersih) is pleased to announce that Ooi Kok Hin has been appointed as our Executive Director, effective 20 March 2023. He brings a diverse experience, skills, and network of over eight years in think tanks, civil society and academia. Kok Hin was previously a research
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) published a policy brief on options that can be implemented to boost voter turnout in the upcoming state elections in Malaysia. BERSIH suggests having one common election date which should be preannounced months ahead which can help reduce cost and enable "distant advance voting"
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) reiterates that the giving of cash handouts or anything valuable during elections is bribery. To eradicate this malady requires not only the consistent enforcement of the Election Offences Act 1954 (EOA), but also the enactment of the Political Financing Act (PFA) and the setting
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) once again congratulate Malaysians for taking part in the recent 15th General Election (GE15), despite rain and floodings in some areas. This GE saw no party getting a simple majority to form the government on its own. Nevertheless, democracy was respected and a peaceful
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) welcomes the announcement by PM Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim of his Cabinet line-up last night. It is reflective of the composition of his "unity government" and yet keeping to his election promise to reduce the size of the Cabinet. However, we are dismayed that
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) congratulates Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his appointment as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia and we welcome the formation of a mixed coalition government led by Pakatan Harapan (PH) with the support of BN and the Borneo blocs. This brought to an end
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) takes exception to the call of Speaker of Dewan Rakyat Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun for party leaders to submit statutory declarations (SD) of their MPs who are willing to give support to a PM candidate to form the new government. The Speaker should
As Malaysia is expecting a hung Parliament where no single party or coalition would command a simple majority, The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) calls upon all political parties to respect the democratic procedures and exercise prudence in their post-election maneuvers to ensure that Malaysia can have a stable Federal
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) strongly condemns any violence and acts of hooliganism toward political rivals. Last night (22 October), a group of thugs disrupted a dinner event by MUDA in the Yong Sheng banquet hall (1) in Muar. A similar interruption happened in a MUDA ceramah in Muar
BERSIH calls upon the Election Commission (EC) and the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) to publish their Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on Voting amidst Floods (UndiBanjir). The EC’s special meeting tomorrow (20 October) to decide on nomination and poling days must also cover the contingency plan to prevent unintended vote suppression caused
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) expresses regret that Prime Minister has made a request for early dissolution of the 14th Parliament, which the King conventionally always grant the assent. Now, the Election Commission (EC) must call for polling to take place within 60 days. BERSIH reiterates our view that
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) is proud to release our Annual Report for the year 2021, a year our nation faced great political upheavals with the declaration of national emergency by then Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on 12 January 2021 with the suspension of Parliament and elections, contestably, to
Malaysians Deserve Better! Make Voting Easier for Out-of-Region and Overseas Voters The celebration of Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day this year is especially meaningful. As a nation, we have come of age. The weak institutions that allowed a Prime Minister to rob the nation of billions of Ringgits are being restored now
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) staunchly rejects the push by certain quarters in UMNO to have an early 15th General Election (GE15) to save kleptocrats from justice in court. BERSIH calls upon all parties to instead support a new convention of ‘fixed term parliament’ by allowing the 14th Parliament
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) applauds the Federal Court’s decision in upholding former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s convictions and sentences on all 7 counts of abuse of power and misappropriation of funds in the SRC International case, citing that the defence “was inherently inconsistent that it fails to raised
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) congratulates the Federal government and Pakatan Harapan (PH) on the passing of the long-overdue Constitutional (Amendment) (No 3) Bill 2022 (Anti-Hopping Amendments) at the Dewan Rakyat today. The passing of this Bill is a testament of the success of the Memorandum of Understanding for
The Coalition of Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) calls on Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to advance an agenda of political transformation that can ensure political stability and accountability after GE15. The guessing game of GE15 is hurting the nation with not only uncertainty that affects decisions to be made in economy
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) received the letter of rejection from the Sarawak State Secretary to our application for our Chairperson Thomas Fann to enter Sarawak as part of the Ketuanan Pengundi Roadshow team that is due to hold a townhall session in Kuching coming Saturday. BERSIH regrets the
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) reiterates that peaceful assembly is a fundamental right of all citizens guaranteed under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, along with the right to freedom of speech, expression and to form associations. Furthermore, the freedom to protest without violence is enshrined in our supreme
Press Release from BERSIH22 June 2022The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) express gratitude to the Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge YA Noorin binti Badarudin decision for granting leave to the judicial review application against the decision of the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) and the Government of Malaysia for barring
First published on BERSIH's Facebook page The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) urges the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) on Anti-Hopping Law (AHL) to maximally inform and involve the public, so that the resultant bill would meet public expectation and necessary compromises would enjoy public support. BERSIH calls upon the
This monthly brief intends to provide an update on democracy and election-related issues in selected countries and territories under a restrictive environment.
The following is the December issue of ANFREL's Monthly Brief on Countries under Restrictive Environment to provide an update on democracy and election-related issues in selected countries and territories under a restrictive environment. Download here: Monthly Brief on Countries under Restrictive Environment - Series #9: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar & Hong Kong
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is pleased to welcome the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH 2.0) from Malaysia and the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) from the Philippines as new members of the ANFREL family. The ANFREL Executive Council during a special meeting on 5 October 2021
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), the leading election monitoring group in Asia, is proud to launch its pilot media fellowship on election reporting for Southeast Asian journalists. The fellowship program seeks to equip journalists from independent news outlets and freelance journalists in empowering the electorate through crucial reporting of underrepresented
Bangkok, 10 May 2018 – The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) congratulates the people of Malaysia for actively participating in the country’s 14th general elections. It is commendable that the Malaysian people were able to overcome all obstacles that could have prevented them from exercising their democratic right to vote. Civil