A NGO championing for the future of the bumiputera has expressed gratitude to former Bersih chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan.

Chairperson Zulkarnain Mahdar said this is because Ambiga made the NGO realise about the importance of rising up to make demands.

“We are grateful to Ambiga because her demands made us realise it is time for the bumiputera to make demands to the government,” he told reporters.

Zulkarnain ( photo ) was speaking at the launch of the NGO’s upcoming ‘Himpunan Suara Bumiputera’ in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

The rally was supposed to be held over the weekend at PWTC, but the organiser feared that since it clashed with Bersih 4, it could lead to untoward incidents.

Following this, the NGO, which aims to submit 50 demands concerning issues such as education and religion, decided to defer its gathering.

Zulkarnain said the NGO would submit its demands to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, cabinet ministers, menteris besar and chief ministers on Sept 16 in conjunction with Hari Malaysia.

The ‘Himpunan Suara Bumiputera’ gathering would take place on Dec 29 and 30, but the NGO has yet to decide on the location.

Zulkarnain said the NGO would hold the gathering at Stadium Bukit Jalil if it is unable to get permission from the authorities to hold it elsewhere.

He said the NGO is expecting a turnout of 500,000.

“Apart from this, we will also collect signatures from the grassroots as a sign of support,” he added.

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