By Tashny Sukumaran, FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: The Bersih 2.0 rally may have made up Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s mind on when to call for an election. The election may be called later than sooner because Najib hopes that by then people may have “forgotten this ugly” incident.

An article from the UK based The Economist weekly said the “heavy-handed” police tactics used to control the Bersih 2.0 march for clean and fair elections last Saturday showed a lot of nervousness on the government’s part on how much opposition it can tolerate.

The article states that the long- term effects were harder to change, and that the rally just may help unite the opposition against the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional.

The article says the lifespan of Bersih 2.0 was fraught with setback after setback, as it was declared illegal with crackdowns made on those wearing or carrying Bersih-related items such t-shirts or pamphlets.

The government went as far as to arrest six Parti Sosialis Malaysia members under the Emergency Ordinance.

They also arrested 24 Bersih 2.0 supporters under Section 122 of the Penal Code, the charge of waging war against the King – a move that The Economist called “particularly desperate, reminiscent of the abuse of the monarchy’s position in neighbouring Thailand.”

However after the Agong stepped in, the authorities offered Bersih 2.0 a stadium – and later seemingly withdrew the offer by way of not granting them a permit.

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