Selangor deputy PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin said that Barisan Nasional’s (BN) claims that Bersih would disrupt business was hypocritical as the ruling coalition’s own actions was affecting economy in and around Kuala Lumpur.
“The government is willing to lose money, even to the point of disrupting the LRT service,” she said, referring to speculation that the rail system would be skipping several stations in the city centre this weekend.
The Ampang MP added that “the government is choking the income of local traders. Check all the hotels, they are fully booked because of Bersih and businesses are happy that 300,000 people are coming.”
The Land Public Transport Commission confirmed earlier today that temporary permits for buses have been frozen for the entire weekend, making it illegal for them to ferry in Bersih supporters into the Klang Valley.
The government’s latest action comes as the mercury had risen over a planned Bersih street rally after Umno Youth and Perkasa pledged to hold counter-rallies.
A government clampdown over the past week that led to the arrest of hundreds of Bersih supporters has only resulted in defiance from the electoral reform movement and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders, who have strongly backed the march as it seeks to build momentum ahead of a general election expected within the year.
The opposition coalition continues to insist that up to 300,000 will attend the rally, after Bersih accepted a government offer to move the July 9 street march to a stadium.
The offer from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Monday came after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, stepped in to defuse tension on Sunday by asking the government and Bersih to come to the negotiation table.
Despite Bersih’s acceptance of Najib’s offer, authorities are still insisting that the coalition of 62 NGOs apply for a police permit to hold its event.
However, Information Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim announced last night that the government would not accept any application to hold the Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur as it was an outlawed organisation.
Bersih has vowed to carry on, and has told its supporters to gather in the historic Stadium Merdeka this Saturday.
This is the second such rally organised by Bersih. Fifty thousand people took to the streets in 2007 in Kuala Lumpur before they were dispersed by riot police using water cannons and tear gas.
The event has been partly credited for PR’s record gains in Election 2008, when the opposition coalition was swept to power in five states, and won 82 federal parliamentary seats.
