Sreenevasan
SIHRG is delighted to announce that Ambiga Sreenevasan former President of the Malaysian Bar
Council and current President of the Coalition for Clean & Fair Elections (BERSIH 2.0) will be giving a
first hand account of the BERSIH rally held on 9 July 2011 in Malaysia amidst significant opposition
from the Malaysian Government, threats and intimidation of rally organisers and participants. Ambiga
herself was one of many leading individuals who appeared on the list of individuals banned from entering
certain parts of the Kuala Lumpur city centre. She, and more than 1,600 other protestors were arrested
during the rally by police who also used heavy handed tactics to quell rally participants, including use of
tear gas and water cannons.
Ambiga was the President of the Malaysian Bar Council from 2007 to 2009 and in 2009 was the first
Malaysian to receive the U.S. Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award for
championing human rights, the status of women and religious tolerance in Malaysia