Yesterday, Lee Chung Lun, BERSIH Northern Peninsular Programme Officer, was questioned by ASP Mohd Hisham at IPD Seberang Perai Tengah. He was called in over BERSIH activities which included leafleting at Sunway Carnival Mall and organising speeches at Bandar Perda. The police finished taking his statement at 2.40pm.
State assemblyman, YB Lee Khai Loon, who accompanied Chung Lun to the station was also required to give a statement to the police. Both left the station at 3.05pm.
In separate incidents around the country, BERSIH members from Johor, Perak, and Sabah have also been questioned, especially in relation to the BERSIH convoy.
BERSIH 2.0 views this as a form of harassment on our staff and participants. Once again, it is another attempt to scare us into submission and clamp down on our activities, especially the BERSIH convoy. These are also tactics used by the government to side-line the BERSIH demands, i.e., to have clean and fair elections, a clean government, strengthening parliamentary democracy, right to dissent and empowering Sabah and Sarawak.
The convoy was meant to bring our demands to beyond the urban setting and it kickstarted on 1 October 2016. It has successfully reached out to towns outside the major cities and directly involve supporters in towns all over Malaysia.
The fact that the authorities continue to harass us is evidence that our convoy programme is succeeding in spreading the BERSIH message throughout the country and not just the urban areas.
As 19 November approaches, BERSIH 2.0 would like to remind Malaysians to join us on the streets for BERSIH 5. It is a day to celebrate our successes as well as to send a message to the government that Malaysians no longer live in fear and will continue to fight for a better Malaysia.
Not protesting is not an option.
Salam BERSIH!
Signed by BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee members