The Malaysian government has launched a crackdown on calls of electoral reform, outlawing a major apolitical rally to support an overhaul of the notoriously crooked Malaysian electoral system. It has also demanded that Malaysian students in Australia not engage in protest and begun rounding up not just protesters but anything associated with the reform group.

On Saturday, the government outlawed the Coalition for Clean & Fair Elections (known as Bersih 2.0) for “creating unease among the people”, ahead of a mass rally involving non-political groups and a range of political parties outside the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition next weekend. Opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat has vowed to support the rally regardless of the government’s actions.

The first Bersih rally was conducted in 2007 in the lead-up to elections that year, and attracted 50,000 supporters. Organisers are calling for 1 million supporters on Saturday. The movement is calling for authorities to overhaul the Malaysian electoral roll and postal ballot processes, use indelible ink to fight repeat voting, establish a minimum campaign period and enable candidates to have free and fair access to the media.

Malaysian sources say that, in a manner reminiscent of the paranoid claims made by besieged Middle Eastern dictatorships, the government has claimed Bersih 2.0 is a plot by a variety of fanciful malign forces — a conspiracy by Canadian Christians to install a Christian Prime Minister, a communist plot, and a terrorist plot by extremist Christians in Sarawak.

Malaysian police have been arresting Bersih 2.0 supporters for “promoting an illegal rally” by wearing the distinctive yellow Bersih 2.0 T-shirts.

Malaysian sources say police have since said they will arrest anyone displaying Bersih-related material, including T-shirts, bumper stickers, or buttons, impound vehicles that have Bersih 2.0 bumper stickers and have promised to shutdown websites promoting the rally and gaol bloggers. The Malaysian government is well-versed in suppressing dissent — during the April election in Sarawak, opposition websites came under denial-of-service attacks and mobile phone services were cut.

Malaysian students in Australia have also been warned not to participate in support rallies planned for Saturday in Australian capital cities. The Education Malaysia Australia Sydney website, run by the Malaysian consulate and with which Malaysian students are required to register, posted the following message on its website last week (the translation is from Google):

Malaysian students in Australia are advised not to be involved in organizing the rally “Net 2.0” on July 9, 2011 in any place all over Australia.

The organisation and participation of Malaysian students in any such gathering would contaminate the reputation of Malaysia in the eyes of the people of Australia. In this regard, [we have] requested the co-operation of all the chairman of MASCA (Malaysian Student Councils) and MYPSA (Malaysian Postgraduate Students associations) in each state to publicise this information to all Malaysian students across Australia.

If the availability of any such gathering was held, Education Australia Malaysia will co-operate with the Australian authorities to take appropriate action in accordance with applicable law.

So, please be advised.

The Malaysian High Commission did not respond to inquiries from Crikey before deadline.

*If you’re a Malaysian student who intends to flout the High Commission request, or even if you intend to honour it, get in touch with us at boss@crikey.com.au or anonymously here to tell us why.