Sarawak Bersih 5 spokesperson Ann Teo said: “We have travelled through eight main stops, or 20 pit-stops at towns and bazaars, throughout the length and breadth of Sarawak. It was very challenging, but we have made attempts to spread our message to the rural areas,”
Teo said there has been good response from the villagers.
The convoy reached Kota Padawan, at the outskirts of Kuching, today. They left Miri on Oct 1. A symbolic torch was passed on to Bersih committee members here led by PKR’s Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How.
The Bersih 5 reform group, supported by a coalition of NGOs and several opposition parties, sold some 4,500 t-shirts, at RM20 each. Teo said the group had been funded by local support groups.
She expected at least 5,000 people to turn up at the Jalan Budaya Amphitheater, a public park, on Nov 19, the day a street demonstration is planned in Kuala Lumpur to call for reforms and the resignation of prime minister Najib Razak.
Teo said Bersih had not received any word from the Chief Minister’s office regarding their appeal to overturn a decision by Kuching North City Hall that blocked the group from using Padang Merdeka, and later the Amphitheater.
“We will proceed regardless. We have informed the police ahead of time. It is not legally required for us to obtain a permit,” Teo said.