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