Kota Kinabalu: The people in Sabah have been urged not to participate in the Bersih 4.0 rally this weekend as it is not approved by the authorities and is suspected aimed at toppling the Government.Sabah-based Pakatan NGO Pro BN Chairman Zulkarnain Mahdar said the Bersih group, which has been declared an unregistered organisation by the Home Ministry, only aimed to create chaos and cast a negative image of the country to foreign investors and tourists.He said the group was also suspected to be distributing leaflets to instigate people to go against the government.
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"We have lodged a police report against the distribution of the leaflets containing messages calling on people to join the rally and go against the government."The rally is not a 'Bersih' rally but an assembly that poses a threat to national security, public order, harmony and economic growth in the country as well as in Sabah.
"Those who have been given the leaflets should hand them over to the police or just throw them away," he said, after lodging the police report at Karamunsing police station, Wednesday.Zulkarnain said the Bersih group has no intention to conduct the rally in peace.
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He claimed that the group has also invited foreign media to cover the illegal rally as part of their move to bring down the government."It would be a waste of time and energy for the people here to join the rally when the Home Ministry has stated that it is not a registered organisation.
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"In fact, City Hall also did not approve the application of Bersih 4.0 Sabah to conduct the rally at the Likas Public Park which is a place for the public to spend time with their families and carry out healthy recreational activities," he said.Zulkarnain is optimistic that not many people in Sabah would join the rally as it is not the culture of the people here who love peace and harmony.He said the Bersih group has purposely chosen to conduct the rally this weekend which is just a few days prior to the celebration of National and Independence Day on Aug 31."If the group was sincere in their fight, they should just adhere to a location that has been provided for them to conduct the rally which is the Bukit Jalil Stadium for instance."Unfortunately, they refuse the venue due to poor response when they are contained in one proper place to voice out their protests."They are not allowed to do it in public places as it would disturb the traffic flow and affect people's business," he said.On a Tuesday statement by Sabah Bersih Chairman Jannie Lasimbang that the group will not allow the rights of Sabah to be trampled, Zulkarnain said Bersih Sabah should also consider the basic rights of public here to enjoy peace, public order and able to stroll at the park comfortably without any disturbance.
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He said the Bersih Sabah group should not be selfish and only think of their own rights.Apart from a group called "Coalition of Malay NGOs" headed by Datuk Jamal Yunos that will involve some 30,000 people wearing red shirts to march against the Bersih 4.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur, Zulkarnain said a group known as "Himpunan Solidariti UntukMu Malaysia" will also bring some 10,000 people wearing white shirts to show their protests against the Bersih rally group in Kuala Lumpur this weekend.