Rallies don’t destroy the economy, Bersih tells Rahman Dahlan

Umno minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan should travel to Western countries to see for himself that street rallies do not bring down the economy, a Bersih 2.0 official said today. Dr Wong Chin Huat, who is Bersih 2.0's resource person, said that if that were the case, the West would have been bankrupt by now. "He should keep up with the times, this is the 21st century and rallies are part of the political process. "If he is saying investors won't come because of Bersih 4, the West would have been bankrupt by now because every week they have protests, big and small. "So he should visit these countries," Wong, who is a political scientist, said at a press conference today. Rahman, who is urban wellbeing, housing and local government minister, had hit out at Bersih 2.0 over its decision to hold a mass protest this weekend amid anxiety over the economy, and warned that the rally could cause the value of the ringgit to further deteriorate. "I urge #Bersih4 to postpone its demo. It will bring more harm to us than benefit, especially to the economy that Bersih wants to protect," Rahman, who is also Barisan Nasional's strategic communications director, had said in a recent tweet. The Bersih 4 rally will begin at 2pm this Saturday and last for 34 hours. Apart from Kuala Lumpur, rallies will also be held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and Kuching, Sarawak as well as major cities worldwide. Its demands this time are for clean elections, corrupt-free government, the right to protest, strengthening parliamentary democracy and saving the economy. Bersih 2.0, the organiser, has also described the gathering as a public vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is under pressure for alleged financial scandals amid economic woes caused by the drop in commodity prices and the ringgit's free fall. This year's Bersih rally is the first to take place in three years, with the last one held in April 2012 in a call for electoral reforms prior to the general election which was eventually held in May 2013. Previous rallies in 2007, 2011 and 2012 drew tens of thousands of Malaysians to the streets. The 2012 rally ended in scenes of violence as police and protesters clashed, and also saw journalists being roughed up by the police. – August 27, 2015.