Polls reform movement Bersih 2.0's fundraising dinner last night, attended by close to 1,000 supporters, raised a total of RM500,000.

Among those at the event were former Bersih 2.0 co-coordinators Ambiga Sreenevasan and A Samad Said, Islamic Renaissance Front director Ahmad Farouk Musa, parliamentarians Tian Chua and Teresa Kok and Himpunan Hijau chief Wong Tack.

Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah said the movement will focus on, among others, the redelineation of electoral boundaries as the campaign moves into its second phase.

 

It is working with other NGOs such as Bar Council, Merdeka Centre, Tindak Malaysia and Sisters in Islam to conduct a study on the issue, she added.

"As for the size of parliament and state (seats), Bersih 2.0 is of view that it should be fixed in accordance with the needs (of the constituents) and the functional impact," she said in her speech at the dinner.

According to Chin, the movement is facing three key challenges - lopsided electoral boundaries,the dysfunctional parliamentary system and increasing racial and religious extremism.

The coalition will also be reaching out to areas other than the Klang Valley, she added.

Ambiga rejects involvement in MB row

Meanwhile, former Bar Council chairperson Ambiga refused to be drawn into the Selangor menteri besar crisis.

"I don't know why (PSM secretary-general) Arul (S Arutchelvam) had to pick my name and Pak Samad’s.

"The party is the one that has to solve (the issue). And I think they are taking steps," she said after the dinner.

Ambiga was responding to Arutchelvan’s suggestion that PKR should appoint a neutral and respectable individual such as her or Samad Said to judge if MB Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is corrupt as alleged by his detractors within his party, PKR.

PKR has been seeking to remove Khalid from his MB’s post.