In our Selected Exhortations category, we republish interesting stuff such as must-read articles and essays not originally written exclusively for the blawg, and which have come to our attention. Please feel free to email [email protected] if you would like to reproduce your writing, but first follow our Writer’s Guide here.
This podcast is from Oon Yeoh’s Middle Malaysia series.
For our 12th Middle Malaysia podcast, we speak to Edmund Bon, a prominent human rights lawyer and one of the co-founders of LoyarBurok, a community blog focused on human rights issues.
In our discussion, Bon clarifies and elaborates on his sensational statement in defence of the protestors who did butt exercises in front of Bersih Chairperson S. Ambiga’s house.
He also explains why although he does believe that one should disobey bad laws, it was the right decision for Bersih to not want to breach the barricades at Dataran Merdeka.
Bon says that the government’s recent attacks against the Bar Council is just an attempt to sidetrack the issue of free and fair elections, and he maintains that the Bar Council is indeed non-partisan.
As for the government’s intention to set up an alternative body, he says the Bar Council has fought that in the past and will continue to do so.
Lastly, he talks a little bit about LoyarBurok and shares the secret to his youthful looks (no, he does not have Dr. M’s secret serum).