Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz has sarcastically suggested that Bersih turns its mega rally last weekend into an annual event.

"Do the same thing next year. Do it every year. Don't just do it one-off, do it again next year," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

However, Nazri asked the organisers to first seek permission from Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Home Minister.

Earlier, Nazri thanked the Bersih 4 organisers, saying that the weekend rally coluld even benefit tourism as it proved to the world that democracy was alive and well in Malaysia.

"In terms of tourism and international perception, it (the rally) was good as it showed a healthy democracy in our country.

"It even made into CNN, Al Jazeera, BBC and the whole world knew about it. So I would like to thank Bersih for advertising that Malaysia enjoys a healthy democracy," he said.

Nazri went on to say that the Bersih 4 rally even boosted domestic tourism.

"The Bersih participants, at around 80,000, but not all of them were from Kuala Lumpur.

"They were from outside and then helped boost domestic tourism. There were also those selling drinks by the roadside (who benefited).

"As long as it does not disturb public order, that's all," he said.

Bersih claimed that at the rally's peak on Saturday, some 200,000 people were present and a total of 500,000 people attended the rally throughout the 34 hours it was held.

The rally kicked off on Aug 29 and ran for 34 hours in the vicinity of Dataran Merdeka, durig which protesters demanded for reforms and also Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's resignation.

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