Bersih 4 organiser asked to consider venue change

Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah has been urged not to 'create havoc' by insisting on having the Bersih 4 rally at Dataran Merdeka.

Social Care Foundation chairperson Robert Phang said this in his 'appeal' to Maria Chin to be 'sensible' over the matter.

"Maria Chin, please do not create anymore havoc or negative impact for Malaysia on foreigners and even our own rakyat over your insistence of having the Bersih 4 rally at Dataran Merdeka.

"After all, your main objective and mission is to ensure the voice of the rakyat is heard. Surely but truly, it would be better and well-organised if the rally can be held at Bukit Jalil," he said in a statement today.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall mayor Mohd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz yesterdayquashed Bersih's plan to hold its rally at the iconic Dataran Merdeka on Aug 29 and 30.

Amin Nordin said this was because Dataran Merdeka would be used for preparations and rehearsals ahead of the Merdeka Day parade there on Aug 31.

Maria, however, has said the Bersih 4 rally - would still be held in the vicinity of Dataran Merdeka as scheduled.

Phang (photo) also claimed that Maria was not a 'proper' spokesperson and as such she could not guarantee that the crowd on that could be controlled.

"The Kuala Lumpur mayor and the police are the people in a better position who can ensure that the rally does not turn into an ugly situation. 

'Unpleasantness' factor

"Please do not be stubborn as you need to take into consideration the livelihood of the rakyat in the business sector. If there should be any unpleasantness, these people will be greatly affected," added Phang.

Urging Maria to be sensible and to reconsider her decision, he added: "Please do reconsider to change the venue or postpone to a later date as advised by the Kuala Lumpur mayor.”

The electoral reform coalition is organsing the 34-hour mammoth rally on Aug 29 and 30 in wake of public uproar over the 1MDB scandal and RM2.6 billion political donation to in Najib's personal bank accounts.

Bersih has urged Najib to go on leave pending investigations into the alleged RM2.6 billion ‘political funding’.

The coalition gave the premier one month to respond to its demands but lamented that Najib had not only no intention to allow a probe to be carried out independently but that he even obstructed the investigations.

Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/309144