KUCHING: The Bersih 5 Rally in Sarawak is locally funded mostly through donations made by the public, says its coordinator Ann Teo.
She told reporters here yesterday that the committee also received some funding from its main office in Petaling Jaya, although the electoral watchdog also held fund-raising drives to raise money for its activities.
She said those who wished to donate could do so by following steps mentioned on Bersih’s social media pages.
“We are locally-funded, by Sarawakians and Peninsular Malaysians and by whoever wishes to fund or donate towards the cause,” she told a press conference to announce the Amphitheatre at Jalan Budaya as the venue of its Nov 19 rally.
She was earlier asked about an online news report which claimed that Bersih was funded by a foreign body – Open Society Foundations – linked to US billionaire George Soros. OSF has denied the allegation.
On another matter, Teo said the statewide Bersih 5 convoy which started on Oct 1 in Miri was progressing well with good participation from the local communities. She expected there would not be any ugly scenes like the ones in the Peninsula where there had been clashes with the Red Shirts movement.
“All along the way from Miri to Bintulu, Sibu, Sri Aman and now to Balai Ringin, there have been no problems so far. Probably, the Bersih convoy in Sarawak is the smoothest in the whole country. We are thankful especially to the police,” she said.
She said the next stage of the convoy would be at Balai Ringin tomorrow (Nov 5) and from there the participants would move to Serian. The Bersih 5 convoy will arrive in Samarahan on Nov 12, before the participants make their way to Kuching on Nov 19.
More information on the convoy schedule can be found on its website, ‘Bersih 4 Sarawak’.
Source: http://miri.my/2016/11/03/bersih-5-rally-in-sarawak-locally-funded-coordinator/