In the seventh ‘Middle Malaysia' podcast, media consultant Oon Yeoh speaks to Maria Chin Abdullah, one of the original founders of Bersih - she was involved in 1.0, 2.0 and, now in 3.0 - and an executive director of Empower, a women's NGO.

According to Maria, none of Bersih 2.0's demands have been met by the Election Commission. Even the inclusion of indelible ink is not satisfactory because of some of the conditions imposed, which she says are unacceptable.

She also explains why she thinks the 13th general election could very well be the dirtiest ever.

Maria maintains that getting half a million participants is realistic if you include Bersih events across the country and around the world.

She also talks about Empower, the NGO that she heads, which aims to raise women's representation in both parliament and the state assemblies, among others.

She laments the low women participation rate in this country but notes optimistically, that there is noticeable growing women's interest in politics. She believes there will be more women candidates in the upcoming general election.

Lastly, in her own unique way, Maria addresses the question of whether she will throw her hat into the political ring.

Listen to the 12-minute podcast with Maria here .

Previous podcasts

Podcast 1: Tian Chua, Batu MP

Podcast 2: S Ambiga, Bersih coordinator

Podcast 3: Kee Thuan Chye, author and playwright

Podcast 4: Teresa Kok, Selangor senior exco

Podcast 5: Wan Saiful Wan Jan, CEO of Ideas

Podcast 6: Lim Guan Eng, Penang CM