Press Statement, 12 November 2013
BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee Elections
We are pleased to announce that the election for five national-level BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee members will take place on 30 November 2013 in the Petaling Jaya Community Library. Representatives from BERSIH 2.0’s endorsing organisations are electing five individuals as office bearers. Regional elections for six regional representatives on the Steering Committee will take place parallel to or after the national-level election.
Three distinguished individuals sit on the Election Committee for the national-level BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee election. They are:
- Mr. Muhammad Sha’ani b. Abdullah, former member of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia
- Mr. Roger Chan, senior human rights lawyer
- Mr. Stanley Yong, present Secretary-General of the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, and committee member of the Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia – a coalition of 25 NGO bodies
Members of the Election Committee act as individuals, not as representatives of their respective affiliated organisations. They are collectively tasked as an independent, non-partisan body to oversee the running of the national-level BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee election.
Nomination forms for the five office bearers were sent out on 23 October 2013 and the period of nomination closed on 8 November 2013. Sixteen organisations sent in nominations. One nomination form had to be rejected as it did not meet regulations.
The nominees are:
| Position | Nominee | Nominating Organisation(s) |
| Chair | Maria Chin Abdullah | AWL, CIJ, CRC – KLSCAH, Dapur Jalanan, ENGAGE, HAKAM, IKRAM, IRF, Kelab Bangsar, LLG, SUARAM, WAMI, WAO |
| Vice Chair | Dr. Ahmad Farouk Musa | AWL, CRC – KLSCAH, EMPOWER, ENGAGE, Kelab Bangsar, LLG, WAMI, WAO |
| Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh | SUARAM | |
| Treasurer | Masjaliza Hamzah | CIJ |
| Nahar Md Nor | IKRAM | |
| Steering Committee Members with Portfolio (two to be elected) | K. Arumugam | SUARAM |
| Ng Chak Ngoon | Tindak Malaysia | |
| Farhana Bte Halim | AWL, EMPOWER, IRF, Kelab Bangsar | |
| Hishamuddin Rais | Dapur Jalanan, Kelab Bangsar | |
| New Sin Yew | AWL, EMPOWER, SUARAM |
With this, the Election Committee declares the campaign period for the national-level BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee election to be open. Campaigning must end at midnight, 29 November 2013.
The Polling Process
Each endorsing organisation is eligible as one voter. Each endorsing organisation is required to name one voting representative who will cast the ballots on its behalf on 30 November 2013. In addition, each organisation may send up to two observer delegates to accompany the voter. The BERSIH 2.0 Secretariat will soon contact endorsing organisations for names of their representatives.
Postal voting is available for endorsing organisations in Sabah and Sarawak whose voting representatives cannot be physically present at the polling centre on 30 November due to financial constraints. Postal ballots will be mailed out on 12 November 2013. Returned ballots must reach the Secretariat before 30 November 2013.
Short biographies of the nominees and a list of endorsing organisations are available at the BERSIH 2.0 website.
Thank you.
Election Committee for the BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee Election (National-Level)