Bersih 4 KK leader says thanks, but no thanks

0

KOTA KINABALU: The State government’s move to offer Bersih 4 Kota Kinabalu (B4KK) the Penampang Stadium to hold the rally is merely “a plot to confuse us”, said B4KK organising chairperson Jannie Lasimbang.

Jannie said they were not officially approached nor was there any formal offer to use the Penampang Stadium, as stated by the Minister of Special Tasks, Datuk Teo Chee Kang in a statement yesterday.

“The authorities are going all out to stop (the rally) and the offer is just a plot to confuse us. Hence, we are not going to consider moving the rally venue to the Penampang Stadium,

“Besides, it’s too late for a change of venue and there is no guarantee of approval, as they are asking us to write in, it’s not an offer,” she said when met at the Kota Kinabalu police headquarters in Karamunsing here yesterday.

Apart from that, she said it had been the organisers’ intention from the beginning to hold the rally in an open space within the vicinity of Kota Kinabalu, mainly due to wanting to create awareness and impact.

However, she said there had been no offer by the Kota Kinabalu City Hall for an open public space in the city.

“We chose Tanjung Lipat because it’s a public park. Padang Merdeka had proven to be problematic. It’s an open space close to the city centre, not gated and accessible.”

Jannie and the B4KK organising team yesterday met with the police to further discuss the course of the rally, which is scheduled to take place starting 2pm this Saturday to 2pm the following day, at Tanjung Lipat.

“We came up with suggestions to ensure that all goes well and we had exchange of views. Both the police and us have mutual hope that the assembly will proceed in a peaceful manner throughout.

Jannie also disclosed that they were still on with the plan to camp overnight as well as the Democracy Walk, despite the initial ban announced by Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman on Monday.

However, she said the rally would not go beyond barricades should the police set up any.

“Police said that they will react towards how we conduct ourselves. We will make sure that the Democracy Walk takes place as orderly as possible,” she said.

She also said that police should assist with maintaining the peace and order during the rally, particularly on the possible event of anti-Bersih groups or agent provocateurs.

On another note, Jannie denied the statement claiming that the rally received funding by opposition political party, Democratic Action Party (DAP).

She said that while there would be various groups joining the rally, including political parties, the assembly’s main gist would be talks about rights as Malaysians and not about politics.