Government's Bersih 3.0 bill in doubt, says Wan Azizah

PKR has today expressed doubt over the hefty repair bill which the government said was caused by the Bersih 3.0 rally.

In a press release today, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said that the RM122,000 claim for 15 damaged police vehicles was not done in a transparent manner.

She said the government failed to explain how the damages were assessed and whether there were witnesses to prove that Bersih supporters caused the damage.

“Could it be possible that some damages were further done to the vehicles in order to create a bigger loss (for the government)?” she asked.

Yesterday, the government served a notice of demand for the sum to 10 individuals who were purportedly in charge of the rally on April 28.

They are seeking compensation for the cost needed to repair 15 police vehicles - including two heavily-armoured water cannon trucks.

The repair bill was formulated based on quotes by the Public Works Department (JKR).

‘Focus on Bersih’s demands’

Meanwhile, Wan Azizah said that instead of pursuing a civil suit against Bersih leaders, the government should rightfully focus on the movement’s demand for free and fair elections.

“Keadilan calls on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to focus on the eight demands by Bersih’s steering committee, and ensure that all resources are focused on cleaning up the electoral roll and to make the electoral roll foolproof against any forms of cheating.

“After all, these people are doing a national service without being asked to be put on the already bloated government’s payroll,” she said.

She said Najib must commit to ensuring the integrity of the electoral roll before the next general election and deal with other issues such as gerrymandering.

“Both the chairperson and deputy chairperson of the Election Commission should be asked to resign to pave the way for a new team who can work closely with civil society to ensure the electoral process is foolproof,” she said.