Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah announced that the fifth installment of the electoral reform coalition's rally will once again be held at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.

This is amid warnings from the red-shirts and Penang Umno Youth not to hold the Bersih 5 rally.

“The location will be at Dataran Merdeka,” Maria confirmed when queried on the gathering point of the Nov 19 rally.

However, she declined to reveal more details, asking reporters to wait for the official announcement next week.

Meanwhile, Bersih deputy chairperson Shahrul Aman Mohd Saari appealed to the public to donate to their cause.

The electoral watchdog group, he said, is aiming to raise RM500,000 to fund Bersih 5, its convoy, the redelineation project, planned legals cost for its suit against the Election Commission, and for Bersih's general operations.

It will also be used to fund key programmes in the run-up to the 14th general election (GE14), such as voters education workshop, he said.

Their total costs for these expenses, he said, is estimated to be RM1,500,000, but their current balance stands at RM1,198,839.

“In order not to eat into the budgeted programme which runs up to the GE14, we need to raise RM500,000 again.

“Otherwise we are not able to run all these programmes leading up to GE14,” said Bersih treasurer Thomas Fann.

He added that apart from seeking donations, Bersih is also selling their usual merchandise such as their T-shirts as part of their ongoing fundraising programme.

“Our main focus is the convoy and the Nov 19 rally,” he said.

The Bersih convoy, which was launched on Oct 1, aims to raise awareness about their Bersih 5 rally on Nov 19.

The rally seeks five demands: clean elections, clean government, strengthening of the parliamentary democracy, right to dissent and empowerment of Sabah and Sarawak.

The red-shirts, which have been hounding Bersih almost every step of their convoy, has also vowed to hold their own counter-rally on the same day as the Bersih 5 rally.