KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — DAP politician Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud today challenged the organisers behind the anti-Bersih September 16 rally to unmask themselves so as to be publicly accountable for their actions.
She pointed out that in their promotional posters that have been circulating on social media, the organisers of the street assembly that has been dubbed the “red shirt” rally have been flashing the race card to gather support.
“We need the organiser, if they’re very brave like their posters and the design of their T-shirt, if they’re so brave to say they want to uphold the dignity of Malays, come out as the organisers so that we can all ask them, ‘why are you doing this?’ and give space for all Malaysians to condemn this rally that is racially provocative,” she told a press conference at the DAP headquarters here.
She was referring to a poster depicting a man slashing a Bersih supporter, captioned with “Cina turun Bersih, sedialah bermandi darah” which translates to “Chinese who attended Bersih, be ready to be bathed in blood.”
Dyana Sofya told the “red shirt” organisers to follow in the footsteps of electoral reform group Bersih 2.0, which had organised the mammoth August 29 and 30 street rally.
“They should have the same ethics as the organisers of Bersih who came out and said their objective of their rally and what is it they wanted to achieve.
“But right now, they’re doing all this, pretending to be very brave, but they’re not even brave enough to show their face that they are the organisers,” said the political secretary to DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang.
Lim, who was also at the same news conference, asked that the September 16 “red shirt” rally not to be compared to Bersih 4.
He pointed out that while Bersih 4 was open to all demographic groups, the “red shirt” rally organisers were being racially exclusive, calling on Malays only to attend their cause.
“The September 16 and October 10 rallies were conceived as Malay counter to the purported Chinese Bersih 4 rally of August 29 and 30, alleging that Bersih 4 was a Chinese show of force against Malay political power – which is a most irresponsible allegation totally without basis, as there was not a tinge of racialism at all in the Bersih 4 rally where Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, sex, gender or even politics converged in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu for a common cause,” he said.
Lim conceded there were fewer Malays than Chinese on the first day of Bersih 4, but claimed Malay participation shot up by about 40 per cent the second day, adding that those who attended did so not to push a race-specific agenda, but rather for overall democracy.
Polls watchdog Bersih 2.0 organised the overnight street rally on August 29 and 30 to demand for electoral reforms as well as the resignation of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as prime minister owing to a controversy surrounding his receipt of a RM2.6 billion donation from the Middle East.
September 16 is Malaysia Day and a national holiday.
The “red shirt” rally is being organised by an unnamed group via social media, ostensibly in reaction to the Bersih 4 overnight protest, and its organisers are claiming that as many as 300,000 will attend.
Also called “Himpunan Maruah Melayu”, the purported rally has received unofficial support from some Umno leaders, including Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
But not all in Umno support the “red shirts”. Among those critical is former Umno Wanita chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, who dubbed it an instigation to racialisation with its call for Malays, especially those from the country’s ruling party, to unite against the DAP and organisers of Bersih 4.
Lim also called on Putrajaya to act against the protestors as the group was merely be inciting racial hatred, which could create conflict.
“It is in fact the basic duty and responsibility of any government to ensure that those who want to provoke or incite racial or religious hatred to create conflict, disharmony and chaos in plural Malaysia must be stopped in their tracks,” he added.
State news agency Bernama reported the Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim as saying today that the so-called “Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu” will not be permitted to proceed due to “security implications”.
Umno-owned broadsheet Utusan Malaysia in its weekend edition yesterday, however, pressed authorities to allow the rally to take place, saying it was necessary to counter what it dubbed as the Chinese-dominated Bersih 4 rally.
