PUTRAJAYA: Former Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah's decision to contest in the 14th general election (GE14) is proof that she concedes that the country's election process is just and clean.
Federal Territory Barisan Nasional Youth chief Datuk Mohd Razlan Muhammad Rafii pointed this out today, saying that Maria would not have agreed to contest if elections in the country are not clean.
It was reported that Maria had volunteered herself as an independent candidate to Pakatan Harapan, stressing that she would accept nothing less than a Parliamentary seat
"Also, Maria has proven that the NGO's struggles are founded on the politics of the opposition, and not as an NGO that wants fairness in elections," Razlan said in a statement.
He also said that Maria has kept silent over an incident in which PKR Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar had slandered political rival Datuk Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin in a press statement during the GE13 campaign, for which Nurul Izzah later apologised in order to settle Nong Chik's defamation suit against her.
Razlan said Bersih is a tool created by PKR and DAP as well as their allies to sow seeds of negativism among the people, to benefit the opposition.
He said numerous criticisms had been made and a number of rallies had been organised merely to whip up negative perceptions among the people about the government and the Election Commission (EC).
"These rallies have had an economic impact on the country, as they have put Malaysia in a bad light, depicting the country (as having) an unjust government and is not safe," he added.
Razlan said that each time such rallies were held, it forced traders and businesses to close shop and instilled fear among the public who simply want to carry out their daily activities.
These were the "sins" that the NGO had committed towards the country, he said, adding that the opposition also has a bigger agenda to promote liberalism, including to accept lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights and social freedoms that could harm Malaysians' eastern values, using external funds.
Razlan urged the government and the Attorney-General's Chambers to take action against Bersih for the sake of the rakyat and the country.