Terengganu Amanah chairman Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah said such an accusation was nonsensical as the focus was always on the bigger picture.

He noted that Bersih 5 was stretched over seven weeks.

“Before Nov 19, we embarked on a seven-week road convoy.

“We see Bersih 5 as a long process and the awareness we generated among the people was significant,” he said, referring to the Bersih 5 nationwide convoy which commenced on Oct 1.

Raja Bahrin also pointed out that Mahathir and Muhyiddin had merely spoken for 10 minutes on the day of the rally.

Other leaders from the opposition and NGOs had way more time over the course of seven weeks.

“Other leaders spoke more than Mahathir and Muhyiddin. I myself spoke in Terengganu five times.

“In short, it would only be a hijack if they (Mahathir and Muhyiddin) had barged in and spoken.”

DAP elder statesman Lim Kit Siang also disagreed with the hijack accusation.

When asked by reporters in the Parliament lobby, he said: “Nobody hijacked the rally.”

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar expressed surprise at the accusation, labelling it as a “media spin”.

Instead, Nurul said the rally was indisputably a success as it had managed to gather tens of thousands of people despite the arrest of Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah on the eve of the rally.

She said it was an achievement for the Bersih committee to draw such a big crowd and leaders from many political parties and NGOs.

“I’m proud to see such a tremendous leap from Bersih 1 to Bersih 5.”

Nurul also congratulated those who attended Bersih 5, saying that “this is a testament to the movement and the aspirations of the people”.

“It is also testimony that we have done something right this time. So congratulations to the Bersih 5 participants, including the media.”