Date: 9 March 2018

Time:  Film Screening (13:30-14:30) Forum (14:30-15:45)

Venue: ISS (Aula B), Kortenaerkade 12, 2518 AX The Hague

The forum will discuss sensitive and pressing issues, for example how 90% of the Malaysian rainforests have been replaced by hydrodams and palm plantations to benefit a small group of elite politicians, the draconian measures introduced in the Security Offences Act 2012 (SOSMA) whereby detainees under the Act may be locked up for an unlimited period of time without trial and how $651 million ended up in the private account of the Malaysian Prime Minister just before the 2013 General Election

FORUM PANELISTS

Clare Rewcastle Brown (will be there in person) is a British investigative journalist. Born in the former British Crown Colony of Sarawak (currently part of Malaysia), she is the founder of Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak which are openly critical of the Barisan Nasional-led state government of Sarawak. Following a series of exposés by Sarawak Report regarding the 1MDB scandal, an arrest warrant was issued by a Malaysian court in August 2015 for Rewcastle Brown. Interpol clarified that they had rejected the “Red Notice” application from Malaysia.

Maria Chin Abdullah (via Skype) is the Chairperson of the Malaysian anti-corruption movement Bersih, a coalition of NGOs advocating for reforms of the electoral system in Malaysia in order to ensure free and fair elections. Founded in 2006, the coalition has organised three rallies calling for a transparent electoral process and raising awareness of what they claim are flaws of the electoral system. Maria was detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) on the eve of the Bersih 5.0 rally. More than 15,000 protested on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

The Borneo Case:

Documentary filmmakers Erik Pauser and Dylan Williams spent five years intimately following the trail of an unlikely group of activists whose aim is to investigate how profits from the illegal logging that has annihilated more than 90% of the Malaysian Borneo Rainforest have been money laundered into property portfolios all around the world.

A review in Sydsvenskan, one of Sweden s biggest newspapers said: The Borneo Case is a hair-raising thriller that brings to light crimes of an enormous scale and moral decadence, told through personal stories of friendship, love, revolution and engagement. Its main characters couldn´t have been better written in a fiction film.

Website: http://theborneocase.com/

Free Entrance! Seats are limited!

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/film-screening-and-live-forum-tickets-42613948467

Email us for more details: [email protected]

We also welcome donations:

Bersih Network Netherlands
IBAN: NL 53 SNSB 0928 3119 02

Instructions to get to the ISS can be found here.
The maps used in these instructions can also be downloaded in higher quality:

• Map to get to the ISS
• Map to get to Sayang Restaurant from ISS

23 JANUARY 2018

BERSIH NETHERLANDS URGES ELECTION COMMISSION (EC) NOT TO INTRODUCE POSTAL VOTING

In response to the announcement by Election Commission (EC) chief Mohd Hashim Abdullah about postal voting for Malaysians currently residing abroad, we urge the EC not to implement this postal voting facility. The EC chief stated that registered overseas Malaysians can now cast their vote in the GE14 via postal ballot papers which will be mailed to their overseas address. Pos Malaysia Berhad will fully manage the sending of the postal ballot papers, not the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra).

This is a change in the previous arrangement for the 2013 General Elections: that Malaysians residing outside Malaysia register themselves as absent voters, collect their ballot papers, cast their vote and drop them off at their respective foreign commission offices. In the past, many have experienced unfortunate incidents: postal ballot papers either being misplaced or reaching their overseas address too late so that there was insufficient time to send them back to Malaysia. The instruction from the EC’s announcement is also vague because there is no mention of where postal voters should send their votes: to their respective constituencies in Malaysia or to the Wisma Putra? That the ballot papers will be managed by Pos Malaysia Berhad is regrettable because this increases the likelihood of fraud and other mishaps. Besides Wisma Putra is not taking the responsibility to ensure that there is no tampering of ballot papers sent through the mail.

Bersih Netherlands also supports an earlier press statement by Bersih Shanghai urging the Malaysian government to announce the general election date at least two months in advance, so that Malaysians residing overseas can make arrangements to fly back to Malaysia and perform their duty as a voter and loyal citizen. There are other countries that issue early notice, for instance the UK government announces the election date 8 weeks in advance.

The coming general election is widely speculated to be held in late March or early April.

Because many overseas Malaysians are employed fulltime or they are studying, they require sufficient notice to reschedule their commitments overseas, and book their flight in advance.

There are currently more than 70,000 Malaysians residing in Europe, with more than 63,000 of them are living in the UK. Malaysia is one of the leading countries with a high percentage of citizens living abroad, and the number is estimated to be in excess of one million.