doing what they supposedly do best – deliberate on the law, interpret it
well and ensure that it promotes the most equitable and just solution in
the local context.^28
The role of the king
The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, also called Bersih 2. 0 , held a public rally
on 9 July 2011 to demand electoral reforms. On 2 July 2011 , the home minister,
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, issued an order to outlaw Bersih 2. 0.
29
To defuse heightened tension, King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, on 3 July
2011 , issued a public statement advising both the Najib administration and
Bersih 2. 0 ‘to hold consultations over the issue of free and fair elections’.
30
The
intervention by the king placed Bersih 2. 0 and its supporters from the PR in a
dilemma because, if they held the rally, the government-controlled media could
have portrayed it as ‘a direct affront to the palace’.
The police responded to the rally held on 9 July by using tear gas and water
cannon in attempts to disperse the participants. Nearly 1 , 700 participants were
arrested. In July 2012 , High Court judge Rohana Yusuf quashed the declaration by
the home minister that Bersih 2. 0 was an unlawful association.^31
v. the protection of human rights
Emergencies, preventive detention and sedition
In the arsenal of legal weapons to protect national security and preserve national
harmony, the power to detain a person without trial under the Internal Security Act
1960 (generally referred to by its dreaded acronym, ISA) and the power to prosecute
a person for the criminal offence of sedition play a prominent role in Malaysia.
These legal weapons carried over from British colonial rule were initially rational-
ised on the basis that they were needed to counter the communist insurgency
which had arisen before independence and finally ended in 1960. The justification
for retaining such weapons becomes less convincing over the course of time. Given
that the communist insurgency had ended and that there is hardly any sign of
(^28) See Kevin Tan, ‘The final chapter’, in Audrey Quay (ed.),Perak: A State in Crisis(Petaling
Jaya: LoyarBurok Publications, 2010 ), p. 143 ,http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/
2011 / 9 / 28 /nation/ 20110928094406 &sec=nation.
(^29) Clara Chooi, ‘Pakatan Condemns Bersih 2. 0 ban’, The Malaysian Insider website, 2 July
2011 ,www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pakatan-condemns-bersih- 2. 0 -ban.
(^30) Clara Chooi, ‘King Intervenes, Tells Putrajaya, Bersih 2. 0 to Hold Talks’, The Malaysian
Insider, 3 July 2011 ,www.themalaysianinsider.com/print/malaysia/king-intervenes-tells-
putrajaya-bersih- 2. 0 -to-hold-talks.
(^31) See ‘High Court: Bersih 2. 0 Is Not Unlawful Society’:http://thestar.com.my/news/story.
asp?file=/ 2012 / 7 / 24 /nation/ 20120724104741 &sec=nation.