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Malaysia poll critics call for new rally
Agence France Presse - April 4, 2012
The electoral reform pressure group Bersih 2.0, which brought tens of thousands of activists, opposition politicians and ordinary citizens into the streets of Kuala Lumpur last July, set the "peaceful sit-in" for April 28.
"Bersih 2.0 will gather for a sit-down protest," the group's co-chairman A. Samad Said told reporters.
Bersih representatives said a rally would be held at Independence Square, the historic center of Kuala Lumpur, and urged supporters around the country to hold their own protests.
The call came a day after parliament endorsed the findings of a panel set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak to explore reform options, a report that critics said fell far short of what was needed.
Last year's rally to demand clean elections – "Bersih" means clean – was met by tear gas and water cannon from police. Some 1,600 people were arrested.
The rally gave voice to widespread suspicions documented in many cases over the years that Malaysia's long-ruling coalition has routinely used fraud, vote-buying and a stranglehold on traditional media to help it stay in power.
The final report of the panel of lawmakers, filed on Tuesday in parliament, called for independence for the Election Commission, mainstream media access for the opposition, and a clean-up of an allegedly fraud-ridden voter roll.
However, reform advocates and opposition politicians dismissed the report, saying it was short on details and timeframes, and ignored some key demands by reformers.
Najib is widely expected to soon call elections that could be extremely close after the coalition suffered its worst showing ever in 2008 polls. Najib's spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment.
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