Stadium Merdeka: ‘Bersih being provocative’

Muhyiddin says there's dishonesty in Bersih's insistence to hold the rally in the historic stadium.

PUTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Bersih’s persistence to hold its rally at the historic Stadium Merdeka signalled its “dishonesty” in reaching an amicable solution and was intended to “provoke”.

He also said that Bersih had not reciprocated the government’s soft gesture by defying the Cabinet’s decision not to allow the rally to be held anywhere within the capital city.

“I see their action as somewhat provocative. They keep wanting to fight. I feel as if there is dishonesty in their action,” he told a press conference here.

Muhyiddin said the decision (not to permit the rally in the old stadium) was reached based on four reasons: the small capacity of Stadium Merdeka which can accommodate 30,000 spectators; the historic nature of the infrastructure; the ownership of the stadium; and the traffic congestion.

Bersih had stated its intention to gather as many as 300,000 participants for the rally, but Muhyiddin said the organisers knew fully well the capacity of the stadium.

“The capacity is low and they know this, so what exactly is their intention to hold the rally there?” he said, adding that the coalition of 62 NGOs probably harboured ulterior motives.

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