Cutting a different path from his fellow Barisan Nasional leaders in the Federal Government, Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz expressed his gratitude to the organisers of last weekend’s #BERSIH4 mass gathering for showcasing the vibrancy of Malaysia’s democracy.
The minister said that the mass protest, which took place in KL, Kota Kinabalu, and Kuching, as well as 50 cities around the world, managed to be featured on worldwide news broadcasts and written reports, granting Malaysia with free positive publicity.
“It (the protest) showed that democracy is alive and well in this country. The whole world knows of Malaysia now … thank you, Bersih,” Nazri said today, as quoted by The Malaysian Insider.
Nazri did not, however, mention the Federal Government’s repeated attempts to derail organiser Bersih 2.0’s efforts to carry out the protests, ranging from the Royal Malaysian Police declining to give permission for the event, to KL City Hall refusing to allow #BERSIH4 to take place in Dataran Merdeka, to the Home Ministry declaring not only #BERSIH4 illegal, but also outlawing the colour yellow, yellow t-shirts, the Bersih 4 logo, and all other related publications and piecex of merchandise, just a day before the protest took place.
