PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu has called on all those with grouses against the government to attend the Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (People’s Uprising Rally) on Jan 12.

NONE “This (protest) is organised by all NGOs and political parties that want to make a change, including DAP, PAS, PKR, Parti Sosialis Malaysia and other parties, NGOs and by people who are not part of any NGO.

“Whoever is angry with the government is invited to vent their anger in a peaceful manner that is democratic, as practised worldwide,” the Islamic party leader who is widely known as Mat Sabu told a press conference today.

The rally is to take place from 2pm to 5pm at Stadium Merdeka that day.

He added that a permit to hold the rally has already been applied, in the name of national laureate A Samad Said, who was still waiting for a response.

“If we cannot get the stadium or anywhere else, we will stage it somewhere in-between,” Mat Sabu added.

Social activist Hishamuddin Rais, who chaired the press conference, then clarified: “It means that if we can’t get the stadium, we will still be in Kuala Lumpur, one million-strong.”

Should the rally be held at the stadium and the crowd grow to become over its capacity, Hishamuddin said, the excess crowd would gather outside the stadium.

Simultaneous protests are also planned in Sabah, Sarawak, New York, London, Hong Kong, Perth and Melbourne, he added.

The protest is to urge the next government to fulfil the demands of various groups, including Bersih’s eight demands for free and fair elections, to stop damaging the environment, to release Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees, to provide free tertiary education, to save Felda and to pay oil royalty to the Kelantan government.

 

“There will be no memoranda on these issues, as they have already been sent before,” Hishamuddin added.

Mat Sabu uged those attending to wear green, yellow, orange or red on that day, as these colours have come to symbolise the Himpunan Hijau, Bersih, anti-Felda Global Ventures listing and the pro-oil royalty movements respectively.

Among those at the press conference in support of the rally were representatives from the anti ISA-movement, the anti-PPSMI (Teaching of Science and Maths in English) movement, Solidarity Mahasiswa Malaysia, Himpunan Hijau, and Gabungan Profesional Tuntut Royalti, Pendaratan Minyak dan Gas ke Negeri Kelantan (Royalti).