BERSIH CAN RAISE RM1MIL JUST SELLING T-SHIRTS, YET GERAKAN OFFERS RM20K ‘REWARD’ TO HOLD RALLY IN STADIUM

To persuade Bersih 5 rally to be held in a stadium, Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang today offered RM20,000 for Bersih 5 to pay for the stadium rental.

Tan said the youth wing has received RM17,500 in commitments from various donors, while the remaining RM2,500 would be topped up by Gerakan Youth.

He said Bersih could use the stadium for free, should the rally organisers have this intention.

“After I checked with some of the donors, they told me: ‘Please extend our assistance to them to get a stadium.’ They can still get the stadium for free, on Nov 19, if they choose to hold it in a stadium. We will provide it FOC to them…

“Actually, the fund we obtained is still in short, lah. But we Gerakan Youth will sponsor the balance RM2,500.

“We estimate the cost of rental to be RM20,000. We are confidence that a medium-sized stadium is enough, lah,” Tan told a press conference at the Gerakan headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

‘It’ll prevent a chaos, like in Bersih 3.0’

He reiterated that Bersih should hold the rally in a stadium to prevent any chaos happening, as what the Bersih 3.0 rally had shown.
Asked whether Bersih could utilise RM20,000 to fund its roadshow for the rally, Tan said he needed to seek approval from the donors and the Youth executive council.

However, he is open to the suggestion.

“We are open to this, but we need to get the nod from council members and donors, after which we will consider.”

Bersih announced that the fifth instalment of the rally will be on Nov 19. A national convoy will be held in six places – Kangar, Lumut, Kota Bahru, Johor Bahru, Sandakan and Miri – to boost support for the rally.

The move is seen to penetrate the semi-urban and rural areas.

Tan had previously offered Bersih a stadium to hold rally, but this was rejected by Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah. – M’kini