National Silat Federation (Pesaka) president Mohd Ali Rustam warns that the culture of stepping on leaders’ pictures can lead to a country's downfall.

He relayed his experience on a visit to Iraq during the Saddam Hussein administration, where he saw US president George Bush's picture being stepped on at a hotel.

"In Iraq, I saw them stepping on the face of Bush Sr. I shook my head as I knew something will happen in Iraq.

"Then his son, George W Bush came to power and influenced other countries to attack Iraq, saying that it has weapons of mass destruction," he told the National Silat Merdeka Gathering at Dataran Merdeka tonight.

Ali said such actions have dire consequences.

"This is why we should not import this culture (of stepping on leaders' pictures) into Malaysia," he added.

He was referring to the viral photos of two Bersih supporters stepping on pictures of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang during the Bersih 4 rally last month.

He said that the action should not happen at all as it hurts the feelings of the Malays.

"I want to ask: Can we let our leaders be ridiculed and their pictures stepped on? It is okay if they don't like the leaders but don't step on their pictures," he said.

Pesaka was also the organiser for the ‘Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu’ rally on September 16, during which 45,000 protesters, many of them in red shirts, convened at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur, pledging their support for Najib and in defence of Malay rights.