'Butt exercises' stop Bersih 4.0, claim veterans

The group of army veterans who shot to infamy after conducting 'butt exercises' for Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan reckons Malaysians must now thank them instead of villifying them.

According to Malaysian Armed Forces Veterans Association (PVTM) president Ali Baharom (right), by wriggling their buttocks in front Ambiga's home, PVTM has managed to stop Bersih fromholding another rally.

"Ambiga said there will be no Bersih 4.0. So people should be thankful to us as we had good intentions for the rakyat.

"Thank you Ambiga for listening to the voices of army veterans," he said when contacted yesterday.

Responding to the backlash, Ali said the calisthenics performed at Bukit Damansara on Tuesday is no different to other exercises.

"Every type of physical exercise will involve bending over. We did it the right way. We came peacefully... this is an exercise to take care of our bums," he said.

He added that if Ambiga was dissatisfied then she should take the matter to court, denying also that he had "sexually harassed" the former Bar Council president.

'Why open the gates if...?'
"We were expressing how we felt... If she really didn't want us to do it in front of her house, why did she open the gates and serve us 100 Plus? She shouldn't have opened the gate.

"Actually this exercise is symbolic...Siapa makan cili, dia terasa pedasnya," he said, citing a Malay proverb which said only guilty people will feel slighted.

In an interview withMalaysiakini, Ambiga said that she had served the isotonic drinks because it is Gandhian to react with kindness.

The veterans, however, declined the drinks claiming that as Malay Muslims, they only drink lukewarm water.