Two major gatherings were held in the country over the weekend; o­ne, a peace rally to protest a possible war o­n Iraq and the other a mass prayer to seek divine help in saving the people's religious schools or Sekolah Agama Rakyat (SAR).

The first - the brainchild of Umno Youth - was held at the Bukit Jalil stadium in Kuala Lumpur yesterday with a reported attendance of some 200,000.

Also present were Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, his wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, cabinet ministers, Barisan Nasional leaders and representatives from various non-governmental organisations.

The heavy rain failed to deter the crowd who began to gather in the stadium hours before the rally began.

Two and a half million signatures collected from the Malaysians for Peace campaign were handed to the premier.

In his speech, Mahathir condemned the United States for wanting to attack Iraq.

The 76-year-old leader said such action reflected the negative attitude against Islam since similar action was not taken against other nations that possessed weapons of mass destruction.

He warned that a military aggression against Iraq would anger Muslims because it will be viewed as being anti-Muslim and not a war against terror.

Various local singers kept the crowd entertained until midnight.

Save SAR

Meanwhile, a malaysiakini source said 50,000 people performed special intercessory prayers ( sembahyang hajat ) at the Stadium Sultan Mohamed IV in Kota Bharu, Kelantan o­n Saturday.

Kelantan Menteri Besar and PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat led the event which proceeded from 8.30pm to midnight.

The opposition leader told the crowd that the government's decision to stop funding these schools would eventually lead to their closure.

This, he stressed, would affect both PAS and Umno supporters.

Nik Aziz also read out a declaration to appeal to the federal government to continue funding the schools, and to the Conference of Rulers to defend the schools.

Those present, which included SAR students and teachers, also read out an eight-point declaration, called the Kota Bharu Declaration, reaffirming their commitment to defend the SAR institution.

According to a Nanyang Siang Pau report today, Nik Aziz had invited Umno leaders to contribute in finding a solution to the problem.

The government decided to stop funding the 260 schools nationwide, which are mostly run by PAS, claiming that the students were being inculcated with anti-establishment sentiments.