Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang today offered Bersih RM20,000 for it to rent a stadium for its Nov 19 rally, in a bid to persuade the electoral watchdog to hold Bersih 5 indoors.

Tan said the youth wing had received RM17,500 in commitment from various donors, while Gerakan Youth would pay the remaining RM2,500.

He said Bersih could use the stadium for free, if it chose to do so, to prevent a repeat of the "chaos" that occurred during its previous rallies.

“After I checked with some of the donors, they told me: 'Please extend our assistance to them to get a stadium.' They can still get the stadium for free, on Nov 19, if they choose to hold it in a stadium. We will provide it FOC to them…

“Actually, the fund we obtained is still in short. But we Gerakan Youth will sponsor the balance RM2,500.

“We estimate the cost of rental to be RM20,000. We are confident that a medium-sized stadium is enough,” Tan told a press conference at the Gerakan headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

Funds for roadshow?

Asked whether Bersih could utilise RM20,000 to fund its roadshow for the rally, Tan said he needed to seek approval from the donors and the Youth executive council.

“We are open to this, but we need to get the nod from council members and donors, after which we will consider.”

Bersih announced that a national convoy will be held in six places - Kangar, Lumut, Kota Bahru, Johor Bahru, Sandakan and Miri - to boost support for the rally.

Tan had previously offered Bersih a stadium to hold the rally, but this was rejected by Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah.