In the absence of PAS's volunteer corps Unit Amal, Bersih said it has recruited 2,000 people to maintain crowd security for the Bersih 4 rally, slated for Aug 29 and Aug 30.

Apart from this, RM120,000 has also been raised for the electoral watchdog since the fundraising campaign was launched last week.

"We have 2,000 people. We have been recruiting; definitely, various political parties have helped us in recruiting.

"Only Bersih alone, we are aiming for 500 people. Hopefully, by next week, we will start the training," Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah revealed this to Malaysiakini when contacted.

Previous Bersih rallies have been heavily dependent on PAS' volunteer security brigade ( photo ) for crowd control.

PAS not mobilising members

Unlike previous rallies, PAS would not participate directly this time around.

Its president Abdul Hadi Awang confirmed this today, saying the party will send two representatives .

However, he said the party would also neither prevent nor encourage its members from participating because it is not involved in organising the Bersih 4 rally.

The protest, which is expected to attract a mammoth crowd, has five demands : for free and fair elections; a clean government; the right to protest; the strengthening of parliamentary democracy; and to save the Malaysian economy.

Apart from Kuala Lumpur, simultaneous rallies will be held in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching to push for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's resignation, as well as call for institutional reforms to prevent abuse of power by the executive.    

Security is police’s responsibility  

 

The police force has been criticised by Suhakam, in its inquiry report, for acting in " bad faith " during the Bersih 3 rally on Apr 28, 2012 ( photo ).

Police have warned that they will take action if the Bersih 4 rally attempts to topple the government through illegal means.

However, Maria pointed out that instead of committing to maintaining peace and order during the rally, the cops have, in turn, asked Bersih as the organiser to be fully responsible for the event.

"For us, we are civilians, so it's mainly to do crowd control, help with the traffic, and then a bit of making sure things are in order. These are very simple security (concerns which Bersih volunteers can do).

"If you are talking about (serious) trouble and all that, then it's the responsibility of the police.

"The problem now is that the police think that we are the organisers, (therefore) we should be fully responsible for it. It's the wrong perception," she said.

RM120K raised in one week

Inspired by the Ice Bucket challenge, Bersih also launched the ‘Bersih4 Challenge’, in a bid to boost publicity and raise funds.

Up to today, Bersih has raised RM120,000 through its 'Bersih4 Challenge' and T-shirt sales, Maria revealed.

"We started (fundraising) from last week. The response has been very good," she said.

Non-governmental organisations and political parties have weighed in to promote the rally, she said, by going for national roadshows.

Despite not getting much coverage from mainstream media, Maria pointed out that the rally has been able to get a good response in Sabah and Sarawak.