Stomping on Hadi-Najib photos not part of rally, says Bersih 2.0

KUALA LUMPUR — The Bersih 2.0 steering committee sought to distance the electoral reform group today from several individuals who had stepped on images of Prime Minister Najib Razak and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, said to have taken place during the recent Bersih 4 rally over the weekend.

The steering committee denied the action was part of its programme to demand institutional reforms from the government or to pressure for Najib’s resignation.

“The stepping on pictures was carried out by a small group and was not part of the official programme of the BERSIH 2.0 organising committee,” the steering committee said in a statement.

“It is regrettable that so much attention has been given to this unfortunate incident, instead of focusing on hundreds of thousands of Malaysians who conducted themselves with exemplary maturity and civility.”

PAS had condemned the matter multiple times on its Facebook page, posted by several of its prominent members, including PAS Dewan Ulama chief Dr Mahfodz Mohamed.

Criticisms have largely been aimed at a superimposed image of Najib hugging Abdul Hadi, which Dr Mahfodz stressed was not only disrespectful towards both leaders Mr Najib and Mr Abdul Hadi, but that it also showed that people are misunderstanding PAS’s stand in the current political climate.

Bersih 4 took place over the weekend as a 34-hour rally which ended on Sunday midnight, ushering in National Day 2015.

The demonstration calling for electoral and institutional reforms as well as Najib’s resignation saw protesters sleep on the streets on the fringes of Dataran Merdeka.

Attendees have been estimated to be up to 500,000 by the organisers, while the Home Ministry had refuted the figure, saying only 50,000 had showed up for the rally. MALAY MAIL ONLINE