KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 ― Another event like the #Merah169 rally here could take place in Penang if the DAP continues to provoke the Malays, Utusan Malaysia’s editors warned today.

Writing under their shared Awang Selamat pseudonym, the editors said continued insults against Islam and the Malays would spark more rallies such as the “Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu” that turned briefly chaotic on September 16.

“Even more than that, a signal has been sent that the same gathering can be held in Penang which is controlled by the DAP if the provocation game continues.

“But whether this is the kind of politics we want, ask yourself that question,” they wrote in the weekend Mingguan Malaysia edition.

“The gathering has dispelled the psychological framework that Malays are a patient and tolerant lot, and that they are now ready to enter a more vigorous and riskier political phase,” they added.

The editorial did not specify, however, instances of the alleged insults.

 #Merah169 leader and Umno Sungai Besar division chief Datuk Jamal Md Yunos recently suggested that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng may eventually contribute RM30 million to avoid the so-called “Red Shirt” rally from converging on his state.

It was unclear what the Umno leader intended with the remark.

Thousands of red shirted people were bussed into the federal capital on Wednesday that caused concern among traders in the city centre and ethnic Chinese business leaders.

Federal Reserve Unit officers used water cannons on protesters trying to force their way past a security cordon at Petaling Street while the rally was also marred by sporadic outbreaks of racism, with one attendee recorded calling a reporter “Crazy Chinese pig”, among other insults.

The rally, said to be in support of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s leadership, was to counter last month’s mammoth two-day Bersih 4 gathering calling for the prime minister’s resignation.

The ruling Malay party has insisted that it does not endorse the event, which has also been alternately called “Himpunan Maruah Melayu”, but did not prohibit its members from participating in the demonstration organised by martial arts group Pesaka.

PM Najib has since justified the authorities’ nod for Wednesday’s “red shirts” rally when they had declared Bersih 4 illegal, saying one of the reasons was because the former event had not been aimed at taking down the government.