KUALA LUMPUR – There is nothing wrong with Malaysian democratic movements receiving funding from abroad including the United States as long as there are no strings attached, said Sg Pelek assemblyman Ronnie Liu amid recent criticism.
“If there are no strings attached, there’s nothing wrong. Democracy is a global movement. Similarly, Malaysia sent money to China during the 2008 Sichuan quake.
“Other groups here have also sent funds to Cambodia for the Muslims there, just like we do for the Palestinians. Of course, we send these funds without condition.”
Recently, YouTuber Brian Berletic claimed that Bersih 2.0 and other civil groups have received funding from the US government.
Liu, a DAP central executive committee member who was among Bersih’s first supporters, said the allegations are untrue.
“I can swear that Bersih 1.0 was a 100% Malaysian effort, and not a single cent was taken from foreigners.
“The claim that we went to Sabah and Sarawak is also untrue, as we didn’t have the resources for it then.”
He challenged Berletic to present proof that Bersih 1.0 received funds from the US government, adding that he reserves the right as the movement’s co-founder to take legal action.
The Bersih steering committee last month issued a statement refuting Berletic’s claims, emphasising that the group is “supported by Malaysians, for Malaysians”.
“Bersih is a Malaysian people’s movement that is supported by citizens who are frustrated by decades of manipulation of electoral outcomes, corruption, bad policies, violations of human rights, and kleptocracy.
“None of the five mass protests organised by Bersih from 2007 to 2016 was sponsored by or received any money from the US, or any foreign funds, directly or indirectly.
“To cover the cost of organising and mobilising the public to support our rallies and their demands, we appealed to the Malaysian public, who consistently responded to us over and above our needs.”
The polls watchdog said its appeals for funds were public, and that it was transparent about the monies received and how the sum was spent.
It highlighted a 2012 New Straits Times article, titled “Exposed: RM20 million paid to several Malaysian organisations since 2005”, that resulted in a defamation suit.
The newspaper later issued a public apology and a declaration that the allegations were false.
Bersih also referred to a statement by former chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan in December 2016, where she disclosed that the group received US$25,000 (RM104,700) from the Open Society Institute (OSI) and US$9,690 from the National Democracy Institute (NDI) in 2011.
OSI is a grant-making network founded by billionaire George Soros with the aim of funding civil groups globally, while NDI is a US non-governmental organisation funded by the National Endowment Fund (NED) that aims to increase the effectiveness of democratic institutions in developing countries.
NED receives funding via the US legislative House and is a non-partisan organisation.
“It is a fact that most developed countries in the world, not just the US, set aside funds for the promotion of democracy, good governance and human rights, and most of these are disbursed in small grants to groups that pursue these goals,” Bersih previously said.
“The questions we need to ask are whether there are strings attached to support the sponsoring countries’ geopolitical interests, the level of transparency and accountability of both the funder and funded, and the quantum funded, whether it is sufficient to ‘overthrow’ a government that has full access to the country’s funds, and legal and enforcement apparatus.”
In Berletic’s video published on August 4, he alleged that Bersih, along with news portal Malaysiakini and Lawyers for Liberty, received funding from the US government in a bid to curb China’s expansion in the region.
He said these outfits were funded by Washington through NED. – The Vibes, September 25, 2021
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