The Bersih 2.0 tweet with the photo of Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah (right) receiving the RM65,000 clean-up bill at the Bersih office today. – Twitter pic courtesy of Bersih 2.0, September 7, 2015.Bersih 2.0 was given a bill for RM64,955 as clean-up costs for the Bersih 4 rally today, as Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan (pic, below) threatened to dump rubbish outside the electoral reform group's office after the next Bersih protest.
Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah received the bill today from the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) for the 34-hour rally on August 29 and 30.
Bersih 2.0 on its Twitter account said that it "finally received the bill even though it had helped to clean up" roads in Kuala Lumpur where the rally was held.
It also posted a photo of Maria receiving the bill from an officer.
Bersih 2.0 later emailed a copy of the invoice and a letter from SWCorp to the media.
Meanwhile, Rahman also issued a statement, telling the group to pay up more so because it had collected RM2.4 million in public donations for the rally.
"I am very sure the RM65,000 bill won't cause a dent to Bersih's massive and millions of funding and their continued refusal to pay only shows they have taken the donors for a ride.
"If Bersih refuses to pay, next time Bersih holds another illegal demonstration in Kuala Lumpur, perhaps I should dump the rubbish in front of their office," the minister said in a statement.
Maria and Rahman had earlier been at odds over paying for the clean up costs, with Maria saying Bersih 2.0 would challenge any clean up order in court.
The civil society group had organised its own volunteers to collect rubbish during the 34-hour rally.
Bersih 2.0 secretariat member Mandeep Singh, as well as other social media users, had earlier poked fun at Rahman after he tweeted that the bill had been sent to the Bersih office when it had actually been sent to the wrong address.
Rahman today called Bersih 2.0 "childish and imbecilic" for making fun of the mistake, which he said was made because of the lack of clear signage outside the house where the group's office was based. – September 7, 2015.
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