At first civil society groups met with a sluggish response from the public. So the activists decided to roll up their sleeves and tackle the issue of reform on their own. A team called the Malaysian Electoral Roll Analysis Project (MERAP) trawled through the roll, identifying various kinds of problematic voter registrations. The Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham), a band of retired national human rights commissioners, campaigned for revision of the clause in the election law that limits the ability of the courts to review inconsistencies in voter rolls. A grassroots outfit called Tindak ("Action") Malaysia began voter education courses and trained thousands of volunteers to monitor the balloting process and counting of votes.
The Election Commission was forced to respond. In 2010, it met with delegates from the Bersih movement who presented it with memoranda on electoral reform. In 2012, commission members met with representatives of MERAP to discuss alleged discrepancies; the commission subsequently removed some dubious voters from the rolls. To its credit, commission representatives have also willingly faced public ire at town hall-style meetings.
For this election, the authorities have introduced several measures, some of which remain controversial. One example is indelible ink, which is to be used for the first time. Instead of following the international best practice of marking voters with ink after casting their ballots, however, the Election Commission has opted to mark voters before they go into the polling booths. Bersih cried foul, noting that this could lead to the accidental staining of ballot papers, which might delay the voting process or spoil cast votes.
The run-up to this election has witnessed a level of grassroots mobilization never seen before in any Malaysian election. Using the Internet, citizens abroad have organized themselves to lobby for the right to be postal voters, which until this election had been denied to Malaysians overseas other than students or those serving in the diplomatic corps or military. Various social media campaigns and local movements have started in foreign cities where Malaysians reside (from London to Shanghai), asking them to fly home to vote if they have the means. Funds were raised to help with the cost of travel for those who couldn't afford it.
Since the last election five years ago, many Malaysians have been finding their voices and gaining the courage to push for election reforms through facts, research, training, and public awareness. This has been the best way to rebut BN propaganda that has tried to equate the Bersih street protests with the chaos and bloodshed of the Arab Spring: Malaysia's peaceful reformers have shown that change can be carried out calmly and rationally. Yet a host of other issues -- the economy, the cost of living, and race politics -- are also set to play a big role in this election. Whatever the outcome of the vote, there's little doubt that Malaysians will continue to demand that their government put a priority on electoral reform.
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