No permits to hold Bersih 3.0 rally — Deputy police chief

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See Chee How

KUCHING: It appears that the Bersih 3.0 rally to be held at Kuching Waterfront and the old Courthouse here on April 28 does not have a police permit.

Deputy Kuching police chief, Supt Pauzi Bujang, said they had not received any information in regards to the holding of Bersih 3.0 rally here from anyone.

“I did not know anything about it,” he said when asked if a permit for the gathering had been approved by the police.

Bersih 3.0 rally is said to be the continuation of Bersih 2.0 in response to only one of their (organisers) seven proposals b ei ng entertaine d by t he Parliamentary Select committee – the use of indelible ink in election process.

Other proposal not entertained are: reviewing the electoral roll; reformation of postal votes; 21-day campaigning period ; enhancing publicinsti tutions ; eradicating corruption and eradicating gutter politics.

At the national level, Bersih 3.0 rally will be held at Dataran Merdeka on April 18, which the organisers believe would be attended by about 500,000 people.

State PKR vice-chairman See Chee How yesterday insisted that the state-level Bersih 3.0 would be held on April 28, starting 2pm, at the Kuching Waterfrontand old Courthouse.

“This is a national event, to be carried out in all cities and major towns in Malaysia, calling for necessary and specifi c reforms in our electoral process to enable clean and fair election.

“There is a Sarawak Bersih steering committee, comprising representatives from NGOs, political parties and individuals, that is organising this peaceful gathering,” he said.

The Batu Lintang assemblyman said the Kuching rally would be an informative and fun gathering and that all information on the demands of Bersih would also be distributed to the people.

“The people have volunteered to provide yellow balloons and ice cream to the first 100 people to arrive in yellow. There will be special Bersih drinks, street football and photography competition among others,” See said.

When contacted, Assistant Minister of Youth Development Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, said the opposition had once again intensified their efforts to make people hate the BN government through the rally.

“Bersih rally is in fact an opposition gathering in the pretext of carrying out NGO causes.

“It is aimed at creating havoc and chaos, including traffic jams, and providing a platform for the opposition to shout anti-government slogans. All these are done to incite hatred against the BN government,” said the Asajaya assemblyman.

Karim also said the organisers had an ulterior motive in providing souvenirs, balloons and ice cream to the first 100 participants wearing yellow T-shirts at the rally on April 28.

“These are all gimmicks to attract participants as the opposition fear that the rally may fail. If the organisers are indeed sincere in helping the people, they should be giving all these gifts to welfare homes,” said Karim.

State BN secretary Datuk Dr Stephen Rundi, who is also Assistant Minister of Public Utilities, said the rally would not be a big issue if it were not a threat to public order and peace.

“As long as they do not breach any law, the rally will not be a big issue,” he said, as if to suggest that the people should now be asking if the organiser had obtained a police permit to hold the rally.