Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah has admitted that she is concerned for her safety after receiving an alleged death threat.
On Wednesday, army veteran Mohd Ali Baharom, better known as Ali Tinju, was reported as warning Maria that she 'tidak akan berjalan di atas bumi' (will no longer walk on this earth).
"I am concerned about my personal security, but also that of my family, my steering committee members, because we are part of Bersih. We cannot stop them, but the police have not taken any action.
"If they (police) can ask (DAP lawmaker) Jeff Ooi to surrender then why not Ali Tinju, (who issued) almost a death threat against me?" she told Malaysiakini.
Yesterday, inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed that police are investigating Mohd Ali under Section 506 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation.
Meanwhile, Maria was also asked on the various reports lodged against her and Bersih.
"What Bersih is fighting for is not undermining the nation," she replied.
On the possibility of the Bersih 5 rally slated for Nov 19 backfiring and boosting support for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, Maria said it was a risk that had to be taken.
"Whether we succeed or not, we should still try. But that should not negate the success of Bersih 4 nor the achievement of even Bersih 5 as this is the first time ever we will actually go out to people that we don't know and have not talked to, and try to convince them.
"As to whether we will increase the popularity of Najib, seriously, at the end of the day, Malaysians themselves will have to decide who they want as the government, so they have to vote in the election," she added.
As to the issue of a particular race being the majority in terms of participation during the previous rally, Maria did not consider this as a problem.
"You have more of a particular race turning up, but for me, so what? Because what the people are doing is that we are making a protest," she said.
Merdeka Centre’s Ibrahim Suffian had warned that a repeat of last year’s protest with regard to the low numbers of Malays and rural folk could damage Bersih and parties associated with it.
He said such a turnout could be counterproductive to the rally's message and feed into the racial divide narrative.
Bersih is slated to embark on a nationwide convoy starting Oct 1 to drum up support in rural areas. - Mkini
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