Bersih 4 promoted tourism, saved us billions, says Nazri

The wide coverage for the Bersih 4 rally by global news media is the best promotion for Malaysian tourism, says Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 20, 2015.

The recent Bersih 4 rally in Kuala Lumpur has saved the government billions in advertising dollars to promote Malaysia as a tourist destination, said Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

The tourism and culture minister said the rally in August was widely reported by the foreign media and had inadvertently promoted the country to a worldwide audience.

"So I want to thank CNN, Al Jazeera and BBC for showing every day, every hour the yellow shirts gathering which protested against the prime minister," he said referring to global news organisations and the colour worn by Bersih 4 participants.

"We got advertisement valued at billions and this also showed (that) Malaysia practises democracy and allowed a demonstration to be held against a sitting prime minister.

"So, I saved billions of money to advertise (Malaysia) through this 'healthy' demonstration," Nazri (pic, right) said in reply to a supplementary question from Liang Teck Meng (BN-Simpang Renggam) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Organised by electoral reforms coalition Bersih 2.0, the 34-hour Bersih 4 rally held from August 29 to 30 demanded institutional reforms, and called for the resignation of Datuk Seri Najib Razak over alleged financial scandals.

Najib has been under fire over the RM2.6 billion "donation" from an unknown Middle Eastern benefactor that went into his personal accounts.

At the same time, his brainchild, state-owned investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), is facing multiple probes over alleged financial irregularities.

The Bersih 4 rally was followed by the "red shirt" rally on September 16 organised by several Malay groups.

The red shirt rally, however, saw racially charged banners used against Chinese Malaysians.

- TMI