Why label Bersih 4 rally goers ‘shallow, poor’, DAP asks Najib

It is “crazy” to insult the Bersih 4 rally organiser and accuse the 200,000 participants of being “shallow and poor” in their patriotism, DAP said today. Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the spirit of Merdeka could only live on if the people were brave enough to fight and free Malaysia from slander, corruption and poverty. He said after 58 years of independence, people were still trapped in the “divide and conquer” tactics, while the nation faced economic and political crises leading to the plunge of the ringgit. "Many families now don't have enough to spend and many are living in poverty. "Therefore, it is crazy (tidak waras) to insult the Bersih 4 organiser and the 200,000 Malaysians from all races, faiths and walks of life, who have flooded Dataran Merdeka as shallow and poor in their patriotism. "(All) just because they have the courage to object (to voice out) against the financial scandals and corruption that have caused these crises," he said in a statement today. Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made the remark about the Bersih 4 organiser, Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0), and Bersih 4 rally goers’. Lim, who is Bagan MP, said Najib was wrong and irresponsible for making the wild accusation against the people who took part in the rally, including former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who had turned up last night, as if they had no love for their country. Lim, who is also Penang chief minister, said the people had no choice but to demonstrate because the value of the ringgit had fallen to its lowest in history to 4.3 against the US dollar, and the goods and services tax had negatively affected the economy. "That is why the people had descended on Dataran Merdeka to free the country from donations, corruption and misappropriation of funds to save the economy. "The people demand stern action against the RM42 billion 1Malaysia Development Berhad debt scandal, the RM2.6 billion donation deposited into Najib's personal accounts, and the Felda Global Ventures scandal that caused its share prices to drop from RM4.55 to RM1.20 now," he said. – August 30, 2015.