We want no-confidence vote, says Bersih leader as thousands march in KL
(Malay Mail Online) – As more than 10,000 protesters garbed in yellow flooded the streets here today for the Bersih 4 rally, Bersih 2.0 chief Maria Chin Abdullah declared that protesters are demanding for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s resignation.
The head of the polls reform group organising the overnight rally said Malaysians want a vote of no-confidence taken against Najib in Parliament.
“Our objective is for Najib to ‘undur’,” Chin told demonstrators at the city centre here, using the Malay word for “resign”.
“We have a message to MPs and political parties and everyone in Parliament — we want a vote of no-confidence against Najib,” the activist said, as the crowd yelled “Setuju!” [Agreed].
She told protesters not to enter Dataran Merdeka, which the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has denied use for the Bersih 4 rally, but to stay outside and “fight for clean elections”.
Chin said the Bersih 4 rally was aimed at calling for political reforms and that Malaysians have long been patient with corruption.
“We must be patient but we cannot be patient anymore because today, we create history by seeking reformation,” she said.
She also said the RM2.6 billion donation to Najib showed why Malaysians wanted to fix the country’s political system.
The huge donation said to have been contributed by Arab donors for Barisan Nasional’s (BN) 2013 election campaign has sparked controversy, with the prime minister yet to reveal who exactly had given him the money or why it was deposited into his personal bank accounts.
Protesters at the Bersih 4 rally were seen carrying placards on the no-confidence vote as well as a drawing of Najib and a ringgit bill with the word “RM2.6 billion”, attached with wings.
Sepang MP Hanipa Maidin from PAS splinter group Harapan Baru said the crowd at Bersih 4 was multi-racial and that some PAS members were at the rally.
“There will be more pressure on BN. I hope they will respond by amending the laws, as well as electoral laws. We want to contest in the next election in a level playing field,” said the lawmaker.
The overnight Bersih 4 rally in the city centre here, Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Kuching in Sarawak, and other cities across the world is pushing for institutional reforms and for Najib’s resignation amid the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy.
