KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 ― Bersih 2.0 today rejected any association with Anonymous Malaysia that is threatening “warfare” against Putrajaya to coincide with the electoral watchdog’s rally this month, and urged police to investigate the hacker group’s warning.

Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah condemned the hacker group and insisted that was not affiliated with Bersih despite tagging its own planned attack along with the upcoming rally on August 29.

“Bersih 2.0 does not agree nor tolerate with vicious attacks, either physical or virtual, towards a democratically-elected government, however flawed the electoral system might have been.

“We therefore urge the police, to take immediate action, in order to stop this act of terror from taking place and jeopardizing the constitutionally entrenched right of the people to assemble and express whatever displeasure they might have for the sake of a better parliamentary democracy in our beloved nation.” she said in a statement today.

Maria also urged “Anonymous Malaysia” to stop misusing the Bersih 4 campaign, adding that their threats would only jeopardise the rally.

She suggested, however, that the threat of an “all-out internet warfare” from the hacker group could have come from parties who may be on the losing end should Bersih 4 be a success.

The Star Online reported on August 4 that “Anonymous Malaysia” posted an eight-minute long video on its Facebook page, demanding Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak resign over issues plaguing his administration with a deadline set for August 29 to coincide with the start of the Bersih 4 rally.

The group threatened “all-out internet warfare” should Najib remain in power, targeting the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission as well as 150 other websites that would be “strategically selected.”

Last Wednesday, Bersih 2.0 vowed to hold a fourth rally across three states from August 29 to 30 to demand free elections and protest Putrajaya’s handling of 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

The group announced yesterday that the participants will gather at Brickfields, Pasar Seni, Sogo, Masjid Negara and Dataran Maybank before marching towards historic Dataran Merdeka.

The electoral watchdog is also holding simultaneous rallies in Kuching, Sarawak, and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The last Bersih rally three years ago ahead of the 13th general election was estimated by its organisers to have drawn some 50,000 participants in the national capital although government estimates placed the figure far lower.