PR may hold 'mammoth' street protest

PETALING JAYA: PAKATAN RAKYAT is planning a mammoth street protest next for electoral reforms, raising questions among various quarters as to whether such demonstrations would ever end.

Claiming that the people would even want to go beyond protest, Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hopes that taking to the streets once again would rejuvenate the opposition following its setback in the general election.
PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu had said about a million people were expected to join the next Bersih rally in protest if Putrajaya did not implement immediate electoral reforms.
He pledged his party's commitment to organising the next Bersih rally, saying it would be necessary if the government did not initiate proper polls reforms before the next general election.
Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI) president Datuk K.K. Eswaran said that as businessmen, the rallies had a negative effect on the community.
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"When rallies are held they make it difficult for people to go out and carry on with their daily chores," he said.
"They create congestion, traffic jams and effects restaurant and shopping mall businesses because the public are reluctant to go out."
He said that Malaysia would continue to attract foreign investors because they are drawn by a stable government under the stewardship of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
"In countries where street protests removed governments they still remain in turmoil. PR must accept the result and start serving the people who elected them."
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Eswaran said if PR was unhappy with the results their polling agents should not have signed off on the results but instead called for recounts until they were happy with it.
"You cannot have it both ways by accepting the results in Penang, Selangor and Kelantan but rejecting the results from elsewhere," he said.
"PR can always work towards the 14th general election. They must end the rallies and let people get back to their normal lives."
PKR vice-president Tian Chua claimed the people were unhappy with the results and were voicing their displeasure over the Internet.
He said PR had a duty to listen to the voice of the people as there was a strong calling for another Bersih rally.
"We are organising Bersih 4.0 to change the electoral system. The Election Commission must be more independent and accountable," he said.
"The EC must undergo a complete transformation process to ensure fair results." Tian Chua said election petitions and rallies were two different things.
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"Laws regarding the election petition are "repressive" and you have to prove that any wrongdoing has a direct effect on the results," he said.
PPP president Datuk M. Kayveas said the rallies were already having an adverse effect on the tourism industry.
He said the Hong Kong Tourist Association had recently advised its members not to organise any tours to Malaysia because of the rallies.
EC deputy president Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said the election was a series of processes and any aggrieved party had the right to appeal the results by filing an election petition.
He said the EC had no reason to meet with PR because they were going to meet them in court.
"The people have already spoken and they have picked their representatives," he said.
"We will leave it to the courts to decide when the petitions are filed. "If there are issues that need to be discussed we can always do it after the courts have decided on the election petitions."
The organisers of the "Black 505" gathering, of which Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia was one, said the rally marked "only the beginning".
"We are giving a final warning from the people that they are prepared to walk peacefully, if the EC (chiefs) are still not fired or if they do not step down"the Suara Rakyat 505 coalition said in a statement yesterday.
"The people are now prepared to take to the streets anytime starting now, for the sake of our democracy that has been blackened."