KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 13: DAP has taken MCA leaders to task for saying the massive Bersih rally in the capital last weekend caused businesses to lose.
DAP's Petaling Jaya Utara member of parliament Tony Pua said it was instead the police's 'unneccesarily violent' tactics against peaceful demonstrators which would have caused any loss of revenue on July 9.
WHAT LOSSES? ... Businesses which remained open during the peak of the rally, such as this one near Jalan Petaling, reported brisk sales from protesters seeking refreshments [Pic courtesy of adisafri.wordpress.com]
“Had the police force cooperated with Bersih to work out a route for a peaceful march, none of the above 'chaos' would have even occurred. In fact, had such cooperation taken place, the businesses would have thrived in the city centre, promoting domestic tourism,” said Pua.
He was responding to statements by MCA president Chua Soi Lek and Tourism minister Ng Yen Yen who claimed that the rally had adversely affected investor confidence and the tourism industry with some RM100 million in losses, a figure which Pua said was "plucked from air".
"It was the BN administration which decided to 'lock-down' the city causing the alleged losses, if it is even anywhere near a plucked from the air figure like RM100 million," he added.
Pua blasted Chua for speaking the "language of authoritarian governments" in defending Barisan Nasional.
Citing the performance of the Bursa Malaysia Composite Index to back his argument, Pua (right) said it negated the argument that the peaceful rally had adverse effects on the economy.
“In fact, in the week leading up to the Bersih rally, the Bursa Malaysia Composite Index completely brushed off the economic impact of the rally despite the relentless threats made and doomsday scenario painted by the Government. The Index had in fact increased from 1582.35 on Monday, 4th July to 1594.74 on Friday, 8th July,” he pointed out."
Pua also pointed out frequent rallies in other developing and developed countries around Asia such South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, saying they had not dented economic performance.
“Chua Soi Lek should stop trying to mislead the rakyat with tired tales and threats. He should instead embrace democratic principles and speak up for the man-on-the-street, instead of talking down to them, or he should be prepared to go down in history as the worst performing MCA president ever come the next general elections,” stressed Pua.
http://en.harakah.net.my/index.php/berita-utama/3132-dap-bn-not-bersih-caused-losses-if-any.html
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