KUALA LUMPUR – Organisers of the anti-Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) rally are happy with crowd turnout and support they received at Padang Merbok here Saturday.
“I am very happy with the turnout. I think it was as expected,” said Bersih 2.0 chairperson, Maria Chin Abdullah.
Scores were seen at Maju Junction, one of the meeting points of the rally as early as noon.
At the Jalan Tun Perak-Jalan Raja junction, policemen were seen manning roads as green-clad protesters mingled by the side of the road waiting for others to arrive.
Police had warned the participants to stay away from Dataran Merdeka and the crowds respected the police cordon and did not breach it.
Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Zainol Samah said between 5,000 and 7,000 people participated in the rally.
“Education on the TPPA still needs to take place. The whole document is 6,000 pages long, and the Government has yet to explain it to the rakyat in a simplified form,” said Maria.
She added that there should not be a rush to sign the TPPA as it would affect all Malaysians.
Meanwhile Non-PAS members who joined the rally said they were worried about the transparency of the deal that would be tabled and debated in the Dewan Rakyat next week.
“I think we need to speak up because we are not happy with how the TPPA is being rushed through. It all stems from lack of faith in the present government. I don’t believe they are acting in our best interest,” said a 48-year-old Chinese woman, when asked about her reasons for rejecting the TPP.
Another protester, Hilary Chiew, also echoed the woman’s sentiments.
“The government hasn’t been consulting transparently and we’re not very confident with what our government has done so far,” Chiew, 48, said.
She also accused the government of not listening to TPP critics and said officials were not sincere in their public engagements.
