Umno members have decided to continue to support and promote the red shirt rally on Sept 16, hoping to attract a huge crowd.

Permatang Pauh Umno chief Zaidi Mohd Said is unfazed by the opposition from various quarters, including the party’s ally, MCA, to the proposed gathering.

“Each of us have our own responsibilities. (MCA Penang chief) Chew Mei Fun has a role to play too, to ensure that the Chinese community return their support to BN,” Zaidi told Malaysiakini.

“As an Umno leader, I have a responsibility to help BN garner Malay support,” he added.

“It is better that each of us do our own work. This is for the best,” Zaidi added.

He was referring to Chew’s statement yesterday that the MCA does not wish for such a gathering to be held, whether in Kuala Lumpur or elsewhere, on Malaysia day.

The rally is to counter an earlier mammoth gathering held by election watchdog Bersih, which went on peacefully for a full 34 hours on Aug 29 and 30.

Bersih’s event, which among others, demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to allow unhindered investigations into claims of corruption involving 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion donation in his private bank accounts.

Umno and pro-Umno NGOs felt challenged by the huge Bersih 4 rally do as it was dominated by Malaysian Chinese participants, although the Malay crowd was sizeable as well, especially on the second day of the event.

This prompted several Malay NGOs to call for the ‘Malay Dignity’ gathering, which the police have prohibited on grounds of security.

1,000 to head from Penang on motorcycles

Zaidi also thanked Chew for her statement and he went on to urge the MCA vice-president to put in more effort to get back Chinese votes in the coming national polls.

In the 2013 polls, Najib described the lack of support from the community as a “Chinese tsunami”.

Zaidi said about 1,000 Umno members will leave Penang on Sept 15, on motorcycles, and head to Bukit Bintang, where the rally is to be held.

He said the participants have been told not to break the law or cause any provocation.

“This is actually a gathering to support the government. It is not racist,” Zaidi said, urging BN component party members to attend the event in solidarity with Umno.

Asked about Chew’s statement that Umno, as the ruling party, should set an example to abide by the Peaceful Assembly Act, Zaidi said he is aware that the police have prohibited the event.

“We are still waiting for orders from the organisers,” he added.

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