Dr Mahathir won’t be there

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is unlikely to take part in the Bersih 5 rally as he is planning to go abroad tomorrow.

Dr Mahathir’s special assistant Sufi Yusof said that the former prime minister had no plans so far to participate in the rally.

“So far, yes (he is not going),” Sufi said in an SMS message when asked to confirm that Dr Mahathir will not be at Bersih 5.

In a pre-recorded radio interview with social activist Hishamuddin Rais, Dr Mahathir said that he had made prior arrangements to travel abroad on the day that the rally is expected to take place.

The interview was aired on Radio Bangsar Utama’s website on Wednesday.

Dr Mahathir wrote on his blog that the Red Shirt’s insistence on holding the rally at the same time and place as Bersih 5 had influenced the Kuala Lumpur City Council’s decision to bar any gathering at Dataran Merdeka.