Tens of thousands paint the city yellow

KUALA LUMPUR: The Bersih 4.0 rally which saw tens of thousands of people from all walks of live converge in the heart of the capital over the weekend went on without any major hitches, with both participants and police demonstrated a high level of cooperation.
The only minor incidents recorded were an explosion caused by homemade explosive made from firecrackers which blew up at the Federal House near Dataran Merdeka on Saturday, causing minor damage to a canvas tent, and a food poisoning incident which forced six participants to seek treatment at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
KL police chief Commissioner Datuk Tajuddin Md Isa said the Bersih 4 rally had been under control throughout.
The highlight of the rally on the first day was when former prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah turned up at Dataran Merdeka about 7.20pm.
Though Mahathir did not say much except “I just came here to see”, Siti Hasmah described the rally as a display of “people’s power”. The couples’ presence was met with loud cheers from the crowd, while many said it was a real boost to their morale.
Meanwhile, in Jerantut, Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak described the organisers and participants of the Bersih 4.0 rally as “shallow and poor” in their patriotism.
The prime minister said, despite having different political ideologies, they should mark the National Day by flying the Jalur Gemilang as an appreciation of the country’s freedom fighters, who freed the motherland from the clutches of colonialism.
Former Bersih 2.0 chairman Datuk S. Ambiga said the huge crowd that turned up for the rally was the largest gathering in Malaysia.
She said the rallies that were being held in 75 cities in 22 countries simultaneously across the world was a proud achievement for them.
Ambiga added that the huge gatherings will send a strong message to the government, and will in turn force them to listen to the voices of the rakyat.
Clearly absent from the weekend rally were PAS members who had earlier said they would not be attending as they needed to focus on several party events.
The party said In a statement that they also felt that the chosen date of the rally, which is just a day before the national Merdeka Day celebrations, was not suitable.
PAS said it would only send representatives to the rally as it supported Bersih’s call for clean and fair elections.