Support for Bersih 4 appears to be split along racial lines, with 70 percent of about 600 Malay respondents opposed to it according to independent pollster Merdeka Centre.

In contrast, about 81 percent of about 310 Chinese respondents, and 51 percent of about 90 Indian respondents supported the 34-hour protest, which kicks off tomorrow.

Overall, 43 percent of the 1,010 respondents were in favour of the rally, and 47 percent were not in favour for Bersih 4.

According to Merdeka Centre, among the chief concerns of those opposed to Bersih, especially the Malays, are fear of violence and chaos.

Others feel that Bersih will not achieve anything, while only a small number of Malays, about 5 percent of those surveyed, feel that it will cause Malays to be marginalised.

Meanwhile, the main driver of those in favour of Bersih is not anger towards Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak or 1MDB.

Only about 2 percent of respondents are joining Bersih because of 1MDB, while 13 percent are mainly motivated by anger towards Najib.

In comparison, 39 percent want to see institutional reforms, while 25 percent are unhappy with the government.

High level of participation

Ten percent of those favouring Bersih are angry about the goods and services tax (GST).

"The Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur is likely going to attract a high level of participation in terms of crowd size.

"(However) the survey suggests that participants will likely be drawn from urban, Internet-savvy and non-Bumiputera voters," the Merdeka Centre said.

The 34-hour Bersih rally will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu.

The rally is to demand five things: 1. Free and clean elections; 2. A transparent government; 3. The right to dissent; 4. Strengthening the parliamentary democracy system; and 5. Saving the national economy.

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