Three traders and hawkers associations around the capital withdrew their suit against Maria Chin Abdullah and four others over the Bersih 5.0 and Red Shirts rallies at Dataran Merdeka last month.

The three traders are the Masjid India Modern Malay Bazaar Traders Association, Medan MARA Business Premises Tenants Association and the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Street Traders and Hawkers Association.

Lawyer Shahid Adli Kamarudin representing Maria said the court allowed the originating summons filed on Nov 16 to be withdrawn without cost.

He said this when contacted by reporters after the case management in Judge S. Nantha Balan’s chambers today. However, the reason for withdrawing the suit was not disclosed.

The three associations had originally named Maria, who is chairman of Bersih 2.0, Bersih & Adil Network Sdn Bhd, and Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) steering committee as the, second and third defendants.

They also named chairman of the Red Movement NGO Coalition Malaysia Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos and the Red Movement NGO Coalition Malaysia as the fourth and fifth defendants.

In their statement of claims, the plaintiffs claimed that the rallies would cause 1,000 traders around Jalan Masjid India, Medan Mara and Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman to incur losses as less people would visit their shops and stalls. –BERNAMA