KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 — The September 16 “red shirts” rally may not have been supported by all Malaysians but appears to be the largest Malay gathering in nearly seven decades, #Merah169 leader Datuk Jamal Md Yunos claimed.

The Sungai Besar Umno division chief told an online interview last night that the last time the Malays had held such a massive gathering was back in 1946 when the Malays rallied to protest against the British-established Malayan Union.

He said like in 1946, #Merah169 united the country’s Malays.

“I didn’t say the rally is agreed by 100 per cent of Malaysians. Of course they have different opinions but I believe the 169 rally is against Bersih. If there wasn’t Bersih on the 29th and 30th, 169 will not happen.

“Not everyone supported us but I believe a lot of Malays agreed to unite the Malays.

“This is the second time in our history that Malays gathered to show they support for the constitutional system that we have by ensuring the democratically elected government in the last elections will stay on till the next one,” he said during the live streaming of the “Grilling Jamal Yunos” special on www.pocketimes.my, a Chinese news portal.

Jamal first entered the spotlight as a spokesmen and one of the organisers of the racially-charged “red shirts” rally on September 16, which is also Malaysia Day.

The main objective of the rally was to oppose the Bersih 4 protest late last month, which called for free and fair elections, as well as for the resignation of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, among other demands.

The Umno man was arrested overnight last Friday under Section 105 of the Criminal Procedure Code after he allegedly warned of a repeat rally on the weekend that could lead to a possible riot at Petaling Street.

He made headlines again yesterday after a local daily quoted him as saying he is planning another mass rally in Kajang to protest against PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also the Kajang assemblyman over her failure in solving her constituency’s woes.

So far, Umno has yet to take any disciplinary action against him, with Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin saying the management committee will “act accordingly” if the police find any criminal element in his case.