Bersih rally organisers to be slapped with clean-up bill of almost $22,000

Tens of thousands of Malaysian protesters turning up for the Bersih rally at the areas surrounding Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 29, 2015. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

SERDANG (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Organisers of last weekend's Bersih 4 rally can expect to be slapped with a RM65,000 (S$21,830) clean-up bill this week, said Malaysia's Minister of Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government.

"I urged Maria Chin (Abdullah) not to spend all the RM1.5 million they collected for the rally yet," Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said at the launch of the mandatory solid waste separation programme at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park on Tuesday.

He said the bill would, however, not include a claim for damage to property under the care of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL)

"We will leave it to DBKL to send their bill to Bersih," he said.

The minister added that he was thankful no violence had occurred during the 34-hour rally.

"I take my hat off to the police and the Deputy Prime Minister for the way they handled the rally," he said.

The organisers of the rally, electoral reforms group Bersih, claimed the event attracted half a million people, a figure rubbished by government officials.

The rally, among other things, demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak. The leader is facing intense pressure to step down over his handling of debt-laden state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad and over allegations that US$700 million (S$988 million) in state funds had found its way into his personal bank accounts.

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