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Twitter abuzz with Dr Mahathir’s surprise visit at Bersih 4

KUALA LUMPUR — The surprise appearance of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali at the Bersih 4 rally in Kuala Lumpur this evening (Aug 29) not only caused a stir on the ground.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad attends a rally organised by pro-democracy group "Bersih" (Clean) in Malaysia's capital city of Kuala Lumpur on August 29, 2015. Photo: Reuters

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad attends a rally organised by pro-democracy group "Bersih" (Clean) in Malaysia's capital city of Kuala Lumpur on August 29, 2015. Photo: Reuters

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KUALA LUMPUR — The surprise appearance of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali at the Bersih 4 rally in Kuala Lumpur this evening (Aug 29) not only caused a stir on the ground.

It has also caused a stir on Twitter as social media users posted all sorts of reaction on the high-profile visit. Well-known Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin posted via his Twitter handle @drmazacom that he would have liked to be there when Dr Mahathir dropped by.

“Saya tidak tahu Tun M hadir, jika tidak sudah pasti saya ingin menemani Tun M. Beliau negarawan!!!” (I didn’t know Tun Mahathir would attend, otherwise I would have surely accompanied him. He’s is a statesman!!!)

Batu lawmaker Chua Tian Chang, who is better known as Tian Chua, said Dr Mahathir was at Bersih 4 because of the power of the people. “Becuz (because) of kuasa rakyat (people’s power), Mahathir walked among the people. If not, he would still be the PM coming with police escorts,” the PKR lawmaker wrote.

Lawyer Latheefa Koya tweeted: “just because ppl (people) got excited seeing mahathir at bersih does not make them fools lah.. its (it is) amusing no?”

Her earlier tweet which read: “for those of you screaming their heads off reminding us how evil Tun M was – calm down lah – his appearance only goes to show the wide impact.”

When former Malaysian Indian Congress president S Samy Vellu posted: “This is how Mahathir stayed as PM for 22 years. He has always been a genius at public relations. #Bersih4 @LatheefaKoya” she replied “dato seri u r correct correct correct!”

Dr Mahathir and Dr Siti Hasmah arrived at Dataran Merdeka at about 7.30pm and were greeted by hundreds of yellow-shirt protestors at the rally. He reportedly told the crowd that he just wanted to see. His presence created a frenzy as many wanted to take pictures with him and shake his hand. The couple only stayed for about five minutes before leaving in a police car. Their eldest daughter Marina Mahathir is reportedly attending the Bersih 4 rally in London. Dr Mahathir has been Mr Najib’s biggest critic in the past months over the controversies surrounding the latter’s administration. He had told Mr Najib to resign months ago, a demand that Bersih 4 is also making, apart from its demands for reforms in the election system, governance, the economy, parliamentary democracy and the freedom to protest. THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER

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