KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 — The reduced turnout at the Bersih 5 rally today compared to last year’s protest shows Malaysians’ rejection of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), a minister said today.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak pointed out that polls reform group Bersih 2.0 had claimed a turnout of half a million people at its Bersih 4 demonstration last year, while turnout for the Bersih 5 protest ranged from police estimates of about 15,000 to 40,000 by news portal Malaysiakini.
“So the vast majority of Malaysians have rejected the hypocrisy of Bersih, and rejected Pribumi. They can see it is a party of has-beens and failures, created only out of Mahathir’s desperation for his son to become prime minister after Umno rejected him,” Salleh said, referring to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who spoke at the Bersih 5 rally.
“The result of Mahathir and his cronies joining Bersih has seen the turnout drop by nearly 97 per cent. Malays see through his selfish agenda and refused to attend.
“And the thousands of Chinese Malaysians who attended Bersih last year are so disgusted that Mahathir is involved they stayed at home,” the Umno leader added.
More than 10,000 people turned the streets of the capital city into a sea of yellow as they demonstrated against corruption.
The mass protest ended peacefully despite a counter rally by the Red Shirts movement, whose followers were prevented by the police from clashing with Bersih supporters.
The fifth edition of Bersih 2.0’s street protests saw a markedly bigger Malay presence compared to the Bersih 4 rally.
