Umno Youth's counter rally was aimed at defending the national sovereignty from those who had defied the Agong's call not to rally, said one of its senior leaders, Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim today.    

Abdul Azeez, who was among those detained with Umno Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin when their so-called ‘Patriot’ group opposed the street demonstration at Bukit Bintang yesterday, said the aim of the group was not merely to participate in the street demonstration but as a protest to any group trying to create chaos in the country.      

"Our struggle is to defend the Istana Negara and Merdeka Stadium from being tainted, and most importantly, we want to face those who are going against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and our beloved country.     

"Patriot is always firm, if there are any group wanting to challenge the national sovereignty, we will be in the front line and we will assemble hundreds of thousands of youths if necessary," said Abdul Azeez.     

Besides Abdul Azeez and Khairy, others who were detained yesterday included Umno Youth assistant secretary Megat Firdaus Megat Junid and Umno Youth Exco member Lokman Adam.     

- Bernama