| KUALA LUMPUR / Malaysian Digest / News / April 25, 2012 |
Anne Ooi, better known as ‘Auntie Bersih', has called on senior citizens to come out in force this Saturday to support Bersih's push for clean and fair elections, Malaysiakini reported.
In a video clip posted on Facebook last Sunday, Ooi, 66, calls on elderly Malaysians who are like her to rise to the occasion, saying she hopes to see more senior citizens take a stand on pressing issue.
"I am asking the senior citizens, today, please rise! Don't leave the younger people to it. The police will always go after them," she quips. Despite getting into the campaign for electoral reform at her age, Ooi is firm in expressing her commitment to the movement. "I'm all in. I have gone straight in and won't stop. It is like I am impatient. We have to know thoroughly what is happening and react quickly, because there is no time," she says in Bahasa Malaysia in the video interview. National laureate A Samad Said, 77, is also featured in the clip and he says that the experiences of age can be used wisely as well. "Although our age is advanced, with wisdom we can help as well," Samad says. Asked if she was "obsessed", Ooi brushes off the notion and stresses that the need for electoral reform could not be ignored. "Once you know, you cannot just sit quietly anymore," she exclaims. "Mana ada masa lagi bagi kita? Mana ada masa lagi?" (Where is there any time left for us? Where is there more time?) she asks. According to the posting, the video was recorded when Ooi spoke at a Bersih forum in Kuala Terengganu on Jan 20 before the Bersih 3.0 rally was formally announced. Meanwhile, DAP has called on its members and supporters to gather at Jalan Sultan at noon on Saturday, before proceeding to Dataran Merdeka for the Bersih rally which is slated to begin at 2pm. In a Facebook posting, DAP calls on its "yellow soldiers" to gather at the designated area before marching together to the iconic public square in the city centre. "Let us open a new chapter to illuminate our dreams," it says. Last Friday, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) rejected Bersih's application to hold the ‘Duduk Bantah' (sit-in) protest at Dataran Merdeka on the grounds that the square can only be used for "national events". The police have also stated that they will not allow the rally, citing "safety reasons" for their decision. The government, which has said that the protest is not considered a security threat, has offered four other locations - all of which are sport stadiums outside the city centre - for the rally. However, Bersih remains adamant about holding the sit-in for clean and fair elections at Dataran Merdeka, declaring it a people's constitutional right to gather at a place which belongs to all Malaysians.
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