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 decision of the Sarawak state government. Fann was on Sarawak’s “no entry list” since 2016. While the Immigration Act grants Sarawak and Sabah the right to deny entry to any non-residents of the East Malaysian states, it was never intended to restrict legitimate political activities under Section 67 of the Act.
BERSIH is on a nationwide Ketuanan Pengundi Roadshow to bring awareness to the Malaysian public of the urgent electoral and political reforms needed to strengthen our parliamentary democracy before GE15. Fann, as the Chair of our organization, is key in spearheading this important campaign and was expected to address this Saturday’s townhall in-person.
Nonetheless, the message of restoring voters’ supremacy after the Rakyat’s mandate had been pushed aside during the Sheraton Move, plunging our country into two and a half years of political uncertainty, cannot be stopped and will continue in Kuching this Saturday and the rest of the country thereafter. Fann will deliver his address virtually though he would have very much loved to meet with friends and supporters in-person and enjoy their warm hospitality.
To support our Ketuanan Pengundi nationwide roadshow, you could help cover the total expenses of RM50,000 by donating to :
Name: Bersih & Adil Network Sdn Bhd
Bank: Maybank (PJ Old Town)
Number: 512295102931
Reference: KP Roadshow
BERSIH calls on the Sarawak state government to lift the ban on Fann, politicians, lawyers, academics and other political activists on their “no-entry list” with immediate effect. A clean, stable and confident government who has nothing to hide needs not fear advocates of institutional reform or any dissenting voices, when it is supposedly pushing for a more open and decentralised Malaysia.
Statement issued by:
The Steering Committee of BERSIH
NOTE: We made a decision to drop the 2.0 from the name of our organization on 23 November 2021, and shall henceforth be known only as BERSIH.