Former Bersih leaders have hit out at PKR Youth chief Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim over his call for authorities to investigate youth-based NGO Mandiri for allegedly posing a threat to national security.
In a joint statement, former Bersih chairpersons Ambiga Sreenevasan and Maria Chin Abdullah, together with Mandeep Singh and Jay Jay Denis, urged Kamil to stop targeting civil society organisations.
They said his remarks contradicted the government’s “Madani” ideals and PKR’s reformist roots, noting that PKR itself began as an NGO known as Adil.
“Most PKR leaders who are now ministers, deputy ministers, and even former PKR Youth chiefs had once led and worked with various NGOs.
“Those who have served in such organisations understand the reality that NGOs need to rely on grants from both local and foreign sources for research and programmes, especially since most of them do not receive government funding.
“The PKR Youth chief’s call for enforcement agencies to raid NGOs receiving foreign grants follows the same ‘playbook’ once used by Umno against Bersih.
“In fact, Umno went as far as using Sosma under the pretext of protecting national security because it feared NGOs,” they said.
The criticism came after Kamil urged police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara Malaysia and other agencies to investigate allegations that foreign funds were being used to shape political narratives and destabilise the government.
Kamil said any movement found to have misused foreign funding for unlawful political purposes should face action under existing laws, including the Penal Code, AMLA and the Societies Act.
The controversy centres on Mandiri, which denied allegations that it received foreign funds to finance political operations, cyber troopers or street protests aimed at toppling Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Mandiri has also threatened legal action over the claims.
In a separate statement, Bersih’s steering committee accused the government of reviving old tactics once used against NGOs.
“The Madani government prefers to make petty accusations without a strong basis.
“Rather than legislating a political donation law to govern the funding for politicians and parties, the government prefers to silence and trample on civil society organisations and NGOs that are outspoken and critical of them,” the electoral reform group said.
Bersih also urged the government to address unresolved reform issues, including revealing findings related to former MACC chief Azam Baki’s shareholdings, forming a royal commission of inquiry into the alleged corporate mafia scandal, and reforming the appointment process for the MACC chief commissioner.
“Time is running out for the Madani government. We want to advise Kamil, as the political secretary to the prime minister and PKR Youth chief, to use the remaining time to steer the government towards executing meaningful reforms as promised in their election manifesto,” Bersih said.