Dancer who dropped Bersih 4 balloons on Najib faces charges tomorrow

Bilqis Hijjas will be charged tomorrow in court after dropping Bersih 4 balloons onto an event attended by the prime minister and his wife in a mall in Kuala Lumpur last month. – Photo courtesy of Facebook, September 22, 2015.Bilqis Hijjas, who dropped Bersih 4 balloons onto an event where Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and wife were present last month, will be charged tomorrow in magistrate court for "insulting behaviour".

The dancer/performer, who is daughter of prominent architect Hijjas Kasturi, will be charged under the Minor Offences Act 1955, legal rights advocacy group Lawyers for Liberty said in a statement today.

Bilqis, 35, will be represented by lawyer Michelle Yesudas.

Electoral reform group Bersih 2.0 in a separate statement condemned the decision to prosecute Bilqis, and described it as a punishment.

“Bersih 2.0 condemns the prosecution of Bilqis as punishment of a young woman for a ridiculous offence, while the real culprits who steal the country’s wealth are let free without any risk of legal action,” Bersih 2.0, which organised the Bersih 4 rally in Kuala Lumpur on August 29 and 30, said.

On August 31, Bilqis released yellow balloons with the words “democracy”, “free media” and “justice” printed on them from level 5 of the Pavillion KL mall in Kuala Lumpur onto an event attended by Najib and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, on the ground floor of the shopping centre.

The balloons floated down behind the big screen television set at the event.

After the incident, Bilqis was nabbed by the mall’s auxiliary police and was later handed over to the Dang Wangi police for further action.

Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah is expected to be in court tomorrow when Bilqis is charged as a show of solidarity.

- TMI