If the prime minister does not guarantee free and fair elections, the opposition leader says Pakatan Rakyat will not hesitate to hold more street rallies.
Speaking at the Agricultural expo site here last night, the PKR supremo, who sported a neck brace, stressed that Barisan Nasional’s days in power were numbered.
“The Bersih rally is just the start for an imminent greater change,” he said, drawing a thunderous roar from the 10,000-strong crowd.
Anwar cautioned Najib that Pakatan Rakyat would back Bersih 2.0 if it wanted to hold another rally to push for electoral reforms.
“Unless Najib can guarantee us clean, free and fair elections, we will not hesitate to demonstrate on the streets again,” he said.
Referring to the police’s actions against those who attended the Bersih 2.0 rally last Saturday, he said Najib could “beat, shoot and torture but never win over the people’s hearts.”
“The whole world knows now that Bersih is the start. We have to ensure the change takes place,” added the opposition leader, who was also injured during the protest.
Anwar also condemned the police’s treatment of the protesters, including PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, as shameful.
“Hadi is a leader, who is over 60, but he was dragged away,” he said.
Others who spoke at the event were Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman and Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy.
‘Police must stop serving Umno’
Mat Sabu, who came in a wheel-chair after suffering a torn ligament when he was allegedly knocked down by a police vehicle during the protest, stole the limelight with his usual humourous jibes and hard-hitting remarks against Umno and BN.
He called on the police to stop serving Umno’s interest and start working for the people instead.
He said the police’s failure to arrest DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang was proof of this. “This is the level of racism Umno wants to play,” he added.
In his speech, Guan Eng slammed the police for allegedly firing tear gas into a hospital to disperse the Bersih crowd. The police had denied this.
The chief minister also rebuked Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai’s claim that the wind had blown the gas into the hospital.
“We have video evidence to show that the police deliberately fired tear gas into the hospital. Who is he trying to bluff?” he asked.
A minute of silence was also observed for Baharuddin Ahmad, 59, the husband of PKR’s Setiawangsa division chief Rosni Malan, who died due to heart problems during the Bersih rally.
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