KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 ― The Coalition of Malay NGOs that organised the #Merah169 Malay Dignity Rally will protest the March 27 gathering by Datuk Zaid Ibrahim if he does not call it off immediately, the group's leader Datuk Jamal Md Yunos has said.
Utusan Malaysia quoted Jamal as saying that the authorities should take action against the organisers of the gathering to be purportedly attended by leaders critical of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
“Therefore I am warning Pakatan and other parties to immediately stop their intention to carry out this gathering.
“I will not hesitate to hold a large protest if this gathering goes on,” he reportedly said.
Jamal's coalition of NGOs was responsible for the #Merah169 rally last year where protesters tried to breach a police barricade blocking entry into Petaling Street, in a bid to reach the area known as “Chinatown” that Jamal later claimed was Chinese dominated and prejudicial against Malays.
Zaid, a former de facto law minister, announced the March 27 event in response to Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Apandi Ali’s decision to close the cases on the movement of RM42 million from SRC International and the RM2.6 billion deposited in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s accounts in 2013.
Among those who have reportedly been invited include former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was on Friday suspended from his Umno deputy president’s post by the party supreme council.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar has cautioned Zaid against proceeding with the rally, with Zaid in turn telling the federal police chief to be professional in the execution of his duties.
Zaid also clarified later to say that the March 27 event was not a rally, but “a gathering of leaders in a closed door setting” to express their desire to see the rule of law upheld.
