DBKL to seek damages from Bersih 4 organiser

The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will seek damages from Bersih 4 organiser the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) next week after compiling evidence on the losses caused by the rally, Sinar Harian reported today. Mayor Datuk Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz said Bersih 2.0 had been notified of this before the weekend rally in the capital took place. He said DBKL would not bear the cost to repair any damage to public property as a result of the tens of thousands taking part in the rally nor would DBKL foot the cleaning bill. "We need to collect evidence before we seek damages from Maria Chin Abdullah (Bersih 2.0 chairperson). There were areas affected, namely in terms of garbage and landscaping plants. "We have explained this to the organiser when we met previously... that DBKL will seek damages for any losses caused to public property during the rally. "If we need to clean up because of the illegal rally, we will also make a claim to the organiser," he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian. Amin said the claim would be made because DBKL employed the services of Alam Flora to clean up the city. However, there had been reports and photos, and videos showing Bersih 4 participants cleaning up the streets of Kuala Lumpur after themselves when they woke up on Sunday morning as the rally entered its second day. The government had previously taken Bersih 2.0 to court over alleged damages caused to the city during the group’s sit-in protest on April 28, 2012, but it lost its civil suit in January this year. High Court judge Datuk John Louis O’Hara said although the Peaceful Assembly Act was constitutional, the Bersih 2.0 steering committee was not responsible for any damages caused. He dismissed the government’s claim for RM110,543.27 in property damages as the “acts and omissions of the cops invariably contributed and resulted in the damage". “It is clear to this court that the damages that occurred only happened after the first defendant had called off the rally,” he said, referring to Bersih 2.0’s former chairperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan. “Moreover, it was not shown to the satisfaction of the court that the damages that occurred were actually caused by the legitimate participants of the rally or by an independent agent,” O'Hara added. Bersih 4 was organised by electoral reform group Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0). The aim of the rally was to demand reforms in the election system, governance, freedom to protest, parliamentary democracy and the economy, as well as Najib's resignation. The rally was also held in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, although the events ended earlier during the day yesterday. It was also held in other major cities in the world, where Malaysians gathered for several hours to show their solidarity with their compatriots back home. – August 31, 2015.