KUALA LUMPUR: Electoral reform watchdog Bersih 2.0 and human rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) are joining forces to campaign for the removal of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar from the force for suppressing freedom of speech with arrests of opposition politicians and activists.

The groups said yesterday that they were working towards forcing the IGP to step down, and this could include holding peaceful protests.

For a start, a peaceful assembly would be held every Saturday outside the Sogo department store in Kuala Lumpur as an exercise of their freedom of expression in asking the IGP to resign, they announced yesterday.

“For his resignation, we would have to strategise whether it is going to be [in the form of] a petition or to ask the home minister for a meeting to present our case,” Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah said.

Bersih activist Hishamuddin Rais said the protest outside Sogo would be held every week and urged the public to join as a show of strength.

“If you are really keen on action and show of strength, [join the protest] every Saturday at Sogo at 4pm.” he said.

The joint press conference yesterday was held to condemn the police’s recent clampdown on those who expressed views critical of the government, including the Federal Court’s verdict to uphold Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy conviction.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) campaign coordinator Michelle Yesudas said those who held different views from the government were being targeted, adding that the trend was unhealthy as development could only take place when there was room for criticism. “This is not something new ... this is part of the democratic process, we need to understand and we have to accept this,” she said of criticism against the courts.

“We need to have room for criticism, then you have room for development, because this is a democracy, we need to be part of the process. So give us room, give us room to air our differences. Only then we can prove that we are a democratic nation,” she said.

Separately, LFL issued a statement earlier yesterday telling the judiciary not to fear criticism and calling for a stop to the crackdown on critics as this would only reflect badly on the courts and invite even more scrutiny.

The rights groups also criticised the new Classified Special Unit D5 in the police force to identify and handle sedition cases on social media.

Hishamuddin said it would be better if the police focused on tackling corruption within the force instead.

Police recently arrested several people for criticising the Federal Court’s verdict and over protests to free Anwar from prison. Opposition politicians arrested in the last week were Parti Keadilan Rakyat Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general S Arutchelvan. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 25, 2015.