COMMENT Frankly, when I heard PKR deputy president Azmin Ali had announced that on Jan 9, Pakatan Rakyat would rally 100,000 people to show support for Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim at the verdict of his Sodomy II trial, I cringed. Not out of disgust, but out of apprehension.

To me, this kind of declaration of numbers is not necessary. In fact, it's foolhardy. It can backfire on the organisers. How would it look on them if the turnout did not meet the projected figure? Worse, what if the turnout was pathetically low? Even 10,000 would be considered a letdown - and getting 10,000 to show up is already a tall order...