Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah says the upcoming 34-hour rally is to tell those in power that the people want reform. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, August 7, 2015.
Amid mounting pressure for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to step down, Bersih 2.0 is inviting Malaysians to take part in their upcoming 34-hour rally, the longest protest organised by the group so far.
Its chairman Maria Chin Abdullah said Bersih 4, scheduled to take place on August 29, would also be the first simultaneous overnight event held, covering Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.
It is expected to start on August 29 at 2pm, and end on August 30 (Merdeka eve) at 11.59pm.
"This time, it (the message) must be heard loudly. (And) we are talking about reform, because even if Najib resigns tomorrow, and you bring in another (person), be it from the opposition or Barisan Nasional, there is no guarantee that the person will bring in reform.
"This rally is to tell those who are in power that the rakyat (people) want reform. The people want a reform that can get this nation out of the current political and economic crisis," she told The Malaysian Insider at her office in Petaling Jaya recently.
Today, expressing her disappointment with the Court of Appeal's decision to allow the Election Commission’s appeal to increase state seats for Sarawak, she urged the people to come out in huge numbers in support of the Bersih 4 rally to save the 14th general election.
She said Bersih 4 was aiming for institutional reforms to end what she described as "prime ministerial corruptions". At the same time, it would also continue to demand clean elections and the right to dissent.
Sticking with its official colour, yellow, Maria said participants were encouraged to bring their own sleeping bags and drinking water, adding that a large turnout for the rally would help the cause, especially in terms of security.
"I hope a lot of people will be able to support us, because numbers will make a big difference, particularly those who opt to stay on throughout the night till Sunday.
"Can you imagine 100,000 people at a sleep-in or sit-in... (That way) we will be more secure."
She said the rally would also feature various programmes throughout, including speeches by civil rights leaders, musicals and cultural performances as a way to convey the reform message.
"The advantage of an overnight rally is a captured audience. Most of the time, people say they don't understand our demands.
"With this, we will have programmes that actually explain to them the reforms that we should be fighting for.
"There won't be a centre stage, we will have many programmes running concurrently and people will be speaking at various locations," she said, adding that the group was still finalising the details, including the point persons in charge and the rally sites.
As for police action, Maria said she did not discount the possibility of police taking action against them days ahead of the rally, including pre-emptive arrests.
"But I feel Malaysians have come to a stage where this kind of tactic does not work. You can take the leaders away, but there will be others.
"So we are also telling the authorities, you can take as many as you can. If you want to take 250,000-over people to jail, please go ahead. Just find us enough jails to put us in," she said, adding that despite possible action, she remained hopeful of cooperating with the authorities.
Meanwhile, Maria said politicians from BN and the opposition were also invited to take part in the rally but added that they must adhere to the programmes set by the organiser.
"This time, we have programme committees who will hold on very tightly to the programme. We will ensure that all political parties understand this.
"We will invite all political parties to join but the programmes will be decided by us," she told The Malaysian Insider.
"We always invite BN but they never reply us... We hope this time for the sake of the nation, they will come and join us."
On PAS's participation, she said Bersih 2.0 had written to the Islamist party for a meeting.
At press time, PAS had yet to decide whether to take part in the rally, but its splinter group Gerakan Harapan Baru has reportedly voiced its support of the rally.
Maria added that it was not important if Najib refused to heed their demands because their main objective was to get the message of reform to the people.
"We hope after the rally, more people will talk about reform," she said, adding that groups outside of the Klang Valley had started mobilising people and about 20 countries were expected to join Bersih 4.
- TMI
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