Bersih 4 nothing to do with race, says MCA
MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai today slammed those who were trying to slap a racial label on the recently-concluded Bersih 4 rally over the weekend. Liow, who heads the Barisan Nasional's Chinese enthnic party, said it was "not nice" to claim that the overnight rally held near Dataran Merdeka on August 29 and 30, was dominated by the Chinese community. "I would like to point out, (it) has nothing to do with race. "I do not want some people to label it as a racially-link rally, this is not good for our country," said the transport minister after flagging off the Konvoi Kembara Kasih in Putrajaya today. Liow said he respected people who wanted to express their views but adding that it must be done within the legal framework and in accordance with the law of the country. "We have people of various races, everyone is entitled to express their opinions and actions, but all should be done based on the law." The Bersih 4 rally ended last night as hundreds of thousands of people thronged Kuala Lumpur to demand for institutional reform and clean and fair elections. Talks were rife over the lack of support from the Malays, leading many, including pro-government groups to claim that the rally was dominated by the Chinese. The allegation, however, was denied by PAS's splinter movement, Gerakan Harapan Baru (GHB), saying that the numbers grew on the second day of the rally. The lack of numbers was mainly attributed to PAS which did not mobilise its members to join the rally like the previous ones. GHB vice-chairman Salahudin Ayub said: "It is true that on the first day, some 80% to 90% of the participants were Chinese. But on the second day yesterday, the Malays made up 40% of the crowd." – August 31, 2015.
