Bersih: The Civic Political Movement of Malaysia

Abstract

The Bersih movement is an effort of Malaysian citizens who have widespread sense of responsibility toward their civic society as participants to communicate with their soft authoritarian government. Malaysia citizens crucial needs for the reformation of the election system and the corruption free government gave a birth to the Bersih movement. The Bersih movement delivered the voice of civic society of Malaysia to their soft authoritarian government with its slowly increased number of demands as years passed by. In ten years, the number of Bersih demands was increased from 4 to 11. With the analysis by items of Bersih demands according to its content, the Bersih demands were increased from two (Fair Election and Corruption Free Government) to seven (Fair Election, Corruption Free Government, Right to dissent, Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy, Saving Economy, Resignation of Prime Minister, Empowering Sabah and Sarawak). The increase of the Bersih demands was due to the soft authoritarian government regime and the rigid parliament. Government and parliament did not communicate well with the civic society of Malaysia. The empowered Bersih steering committee due to supportive mass media, religion groups, interest groups, NGOs and its belonged oppositional political parties was able to raise its voice confidently against its soft authoritarian government. The extension of Bersih demands satisfied the need of the Bersih participants and the Bersih supporters in the civic society. The Bersih was born by the needs of citizens, developed by the triggering factors (opposition political parties, mass media, religion groups, interest groups and NGOs) of Malaysia society, transformed by itself (from the Bersih to the Bersih 2.0), by technically (with its improved management on Bersih rallies) and by circumstantially (with influence of Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir Mohamad). Even though the Bersih 2.0, the new version of the Bersih since 2011, proclaimed not to be under its belonged political parties influence, the Bersih 2.0 has not been totally free from its belonged political parties influence. Another Bersih rallies will be held before the 14th General Election on 24 August, 2018 to influence the result of the 14thGeneral Election. 5 times Bersih rallies have influenced the results of two times General Elections (the 12th in 2008 and the 13th in 2013) and even changed Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to Prime Minister Najib Rajak. The Bersih civic political movement is expected to survive its soft authoritarian regime and continue to help its belonged oppositional political parties for the reformation of the unfair election system and for achieving the majority of parliament.