Najib continues to snipe at Bersih rally

Najib said Bersih supporters should use the ballot to express their unhappiness over the state of elections. — file pic

LONDON, July 16 — Still working to contain the fallout a week after the July 9 Bersih rally, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak again urged Malaysians to shun street demonstrations as an outlet for their grouses.

“If some quarters are still unhappy with the government, let’s square it out when the election comes and let the people decide,” said Najib yesterday, as he wrapped his four-day tour of the UK.

Bersih has said, however, that it does not foresee holding another mass rally in the near future.

The Najib administration’s suppression of the July 9 rally drew widespread condemnation from global media, with UK’s The Guardian going as far as comparing the Barisan Nasional government to ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

On Tuesday, US national daily The Wall Street Journal said the government’s response to the Bersih 2.0 rally has created an environment of fear and repression in Malaysia.

Authorities arrested nearly 200 people ahead of the rally for electoral reforms, and added almost 1,700 more to the tally on July 9 when Kuala Lumpur was put into virtual lockdown.

Despite the efforts to prevent the rally from taking place, tens of thousands converged on the capital city in a march for free and fair elections.

The protest, which the government had earlier declared illegal, turned chaotic close to midday when the police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse protestors.