Malaysians Say Najib Is "In Denial" After He Made A Comment About Bersih 5
"Fed up."
By Tang Ruxyn — 21 Nov 2016, 12:36 PM
Malaysians have become fed up with Bersih, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said
Following the Bersih 5 rally on 19 November, Najib said that the rakyat has become sick of the electoral reform group or feel that its rallies do not bring any benefit to the country.
According to media reports, Najib said this when he was asked to comment on the rally. The premier added that it was constitutionally and legally wrong to attempt to topple the government through rallies.
"We Malaysians must uphold the principle of the rule of law, otherwise there will be chaos in the country and the people will suffer," Najib, who is away in Lima, Peru for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders' Meeting 2016 was quoted as saying.
The fifth instalment of the Bersih 5 rally was organised as a response to the scandals related to 1MDB, a fund that Najib set up in 2009. However, the rally saw a lower turnout compared to the previous year.
The turnout for Bersih 5 was between 15,000 and 40,000 according to estimates by the police and news portal Malaysiakini respectively.
This has fallen short of the organisers' reputation and expectation to mobilise a large crowd between 200,000 and 300,000 people to attend the rally.
Several Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians have come up with their own conclusions following the poorer turnout during the Bersih 5 rally
According to Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak, the lukewarm response from Malaysians was because voters are more interested to see plans and policies and how their future can be guaranteed and improved rather than participate in rallies.
It was also reported that Salleh had attributed the reduced turnout as a sign that Malaysians have rejected Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM).
PPBM chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and party advisor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad both attended the Bersih 5 rally on Saturday and took turns to address the crowd.
On the other hand, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed echoed Salleh, saying that "people nowadays do not want to listen to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's call".
Meanwhile, State Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBC) chairman Abdullah Saidol has claimed that people are losing trust in the objective of the rally.
"Initially, many believe the Bersih movement was impartial or politically non-partisan – genuinely fighting for social justice and equitability. However, the presence of prominent opposition leaders in the rally indicates undisputable evidence that this rally is politically motivated," he was quoted as saying by Borneo Post.