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MCMC ON BERSIH

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SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT
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MCMC ON BERSIH: Social Media Impact On Law Enforcement & Control of Online Information KHAIRUL NAIM BIN AHMAD SAUFY 2014514209
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Page 1: MCMC ON BERSIH

MCMC ON BERSIH: Social Media Impact On Law Enforcement & Control of Online Information

KHAIRUL NAIM BIN AHMAD SAUFY2014514209

Page 2: MCMC ON BERSIH

WHAT IS BERSIH?• Bersih, which means "clean" in Malay, refers to the Coalition of Free

and Fair Elections. It is a civil society movement consisting of 84 non-government organizations calling for a thorough reform of the electoral process in Malaysia.

• It is led by Maria Chin Abdullah from the Women's Development Collective (WDC). Its previous chief was former Bar Council president Datuk S. Ambiga.

• Bersih was first launched in November 2006 as a political party-driven movement with members consisting of opposition political leaders and representatives from the civil society.

•  In April 2010, the movement was re-named Bersih 2.0 as a fully non-partisan movement free from political influences.

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WHAT ARE ITS DEMANDS?• Bersih has eight demands. These include the updating of the

electoral roll to remove "phantom voters" - deceased persons, multiple persons registered under a single address or non-existent addresses, and reform of postal ballot to allow voting not only for Malaysian citizens living abroad, but also those within the country who cannot vote in their constituency on polling day.

• The group also demands the use of indelible ink to prevent voter fraud and a minimum 21 days for campaigning to allow voters more time to gather information and deliberate on their choices.

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WHAT HAPPENED IN PAST RALLIES?

Nov 10, 2007:• The first rally by Bersih at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur was

sparked by allegations of corruption and discrepancies in the Malaysian election system that favoured the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. Supporters were urged to wear yellow T-shirts as a symbol of protest. Organizers estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 people from various races and all walks of life took part in the rally.

• The protest was credited for the shift in political landscape in Malaysia's 2008 general election, when the BN failed to obtain a two-thirds majority for the first time since 1969.

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July 9, 2011:• The second rally, known as the Walk for Democracy, was organised

to protest alleged vote rigging and other electoral abuses in the Sarawak state election in April 2011. An estimated 50,000 people took part in the rally. Malaysians living in 32 cities overseas also rallied in solidarity with the Kuala Lumpur protesters.

• Police fired tear gas and used water cannons with chemical-laced water at the demonstrators to stop the march. More than 1,000 people were reportedly arrested.

April 28, 2012:• In early April 2012, the Public Select Committee released a report of

its findings on electoral reform and it was passed in the House of Representatives with no debate between the opposition and ruling parties. An opposition minority report was not included in the final report and none of Bersih's demands were met. This led to Bersih calling for a third rally on April 28 that year.

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• The protest was peaceful as the participants marched from various locations towards Dataran Merdeka. but scuffles broke out when some protesters broke through a police barricade, with police riot units responding with chemical-laced water cannons and tear gas. Hundreds of protesters were arrested.

• Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and five others were charged with participating in a street protest but a Sessions Court later ordered a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.

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WHAT IS BERSIH 4.0?• Bersih 4.0 is the fourth rally planned for three cities on Aug 29-30 to

push for Prime Minister Najib Razak's resignation as well as institutional reforms to prevent prime ministerial corruption. The rally comes amid allegations in the Wall Street Journal that US$700 million (S$981 million) in state funds was deposited into Mr Najib's personal bank accounts and alleged mismanagement of debt-ridden state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

• Bersih says recent events in Malaysia, including the removal of Abdul Gani Patail as Attorney-General and the removal of ministers who had spoken out on the 1MDB issue, have triggered the call for the rally.

• Due to the rally, MCMC warned that it would block access to websites that promoted the rally or encouraged people to join Bersih 4 although on August 25, 2015 Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak says the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as no plans to block access to any websites or social media platforms during the Bersih 4 rally.

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Role of Social Media In Bersih• Malaysia’s press freedom is currently ranked at 143 of 196 countries

surveyed, and social media has played critical role for the dissemination of information, mobilization of supporters and transmission of real-time updates from Bersih organizers, and between stakeholders, advocates, detractors, and participants of the event.

• Social media continuously played a major role in disseminating the information or sharing opinion to date. Social media played a major role in organizing rallies in Malaysia. No one could deny that the success of Bersih 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 were due to the role played by social media to publicize the events. With limited exposure on the traditional media, opposition depends on the social media to organize events, disseminate information, to gather, etc.

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• Due to intense government control of mainstream media, organizers and proponents of the rally have taken to social media in order to communicate to their stakeholders and to rally support. Why? Beyond the obvious reason that social media is far harder to police, Bersih organizers understood that the rally critically needed support from the people of Malaysia. And what better way to do that than a dialogue that is facilitated by Twitter, Facebook, and blogging?

• social media provides people a common space to identify themselves together and publicly was the drive for this social movement.

• Social media allowed people to know about current issues in addition to enabling frustrated Malaysians overseas to participate in Bersih rallies that took place in the respective countries they were in, which sparked an international Bersih movement. It also pushed fence sitters into a corner and made debates more visible and highly interactive.”

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Government Controls and Censorship

• Given the extensive government control over Malaysia’s media, the lack of improvement in overall press freedoms, and the increasing difficulty in gaining access to information, the NGO group Reporters Without Borders in its 2013 World Press Freedom Index downgraded Malaysia from an already low 122 in 2012 to 145 in 2013 out of 179 countries.

• government’s decision to refuse to issue a print publications license to the Malaysiakini news website, a decision which has been appealed to Malaysia’s supreme court.

• this decision has highlighted the government’s determination to control news and information and its fear of the independent media that are developing in Malaysia.

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Conclusion

• Social media should be considered as a double edged sword as it has its own drawbacks if it is used excessively. Social media brings some negative influences to the people when they try to replace the real world relationship with online relationship.

• Social media not only can be used to express views and disseminate information about one but it also can be used to propagate lies, and slanders to ruin other people’s personality.

• If the government continues to amend the laws then Malaysia would be moving backwards.

• Amending more laws to curtail the freedom in social media would only contradict the government’s efforts to become a transparent government.

• The government only needs to make full use of the existing laws.


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