Penang PKR to send 1,000 to Bersih rally
Penang PKR Youth is planning to send 1,000 members to the July 9 Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur to hand a petition to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to intervene in instituting reforms in the electoral system.
Penang PKR Youth is planning to send 1,000 members to the July 9 Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur to hand a petition to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to intervene in instituting reforms in the electoral system.
State PKR Youth vice-chief Syed Mikael Rizal Aidid said this would be part of the 'sincere efforts' of civil society to express itself and declare its intentions in a petition to the king and to the government.
The participants would all come from Penang and will travel to venue of the rally at their own expense, Syed Mikael (
left
) said.
"We will mobilise about 100 members from each branch, and they will travel by car, bus and train. There will not be bas rombongan for security reasons... our members will meet their own expenses to truly appreciate the walk for democracy.
"We hope that the 1,000 people who will join this rally without any payment or sponsorship from any quarter will make the gathering more vibrant," he told a press conference today.
Syed Mikael said the party's Youth wing fully supported Bersih's seven-point agenda, which will be announced during the rally in Kuala Lumpur.
"We believe the police will not allow this massive rally, but we would like to remind the force to respect freedom of speech in this country," he said.
"We also urge the police to be rational in controlling the rally as it is a sincere, non-violent, weaponless gathering in a peaceful country... the participants will only come with their courage and spirit," he added.
The rally has been condemned by the BN, with the Kedah Gerakan saying today that Pakatan Rakyat's electoral successes since 2008 disproved the Bersih 2.0 movement's claim that the voting system was flawed.
Bersih leader Ambiga Sreenevasan said the rally was a " last resort " as various attempts at engaging the authorities had failed.
The movement has called for the mounting complaints on vote-buying to be addressed and has also questioned the Election Commission's refusal to accredit foreign and local election observation teams.
