Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin has rubbished the Kita Lawan movement, as nothing compared to the 1998 Reformasi movement.

“The Kita Lawan (rally) in front of Sogo, I think there's not more than 2,000 of them. Back during Reformasi, tens of thousands thronged to Dataran Merdeka.

“Kita Lawan is nothing compared to them,” he said during a lecture at the Multimedia University in Cyberjaya.

Just as Reformasi failed to erode support for then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, so too will Kita Lawan fail in turning the people against premier Najib Abdul Razak, Khairy ( left ) added.

Kita Lawan's first big demonstration on March 7 managed to attract 10,000 protesters, who wanted Najib to quit and for jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to be freed.

Support for the movement however dwindled dramatically for the next protest on March 28, with only 500 people marching towards KLCC to “celebrate' the wedding of Najib's daughter.

Kita Lawan is currently on a nationwide demonstration tour to whip up support for its next major rally on May 1, which will focus on the goods and services tax (GST).

Pooh-poohed the movement

Khairy pooh-poohed the movement when asked by a student whether he supported Mahathir, or Najib.

“I became politically mature in 1998, when (Anwar) was sacked […] Everyone had to make a choice […] either you supported Mahathir or Anwar.

“In 1998 I chose Mahathir, [...] every week tens of thousands flooded the streets of Kuala Lumpur asking Mahathir to step down […] but we still supported the prime minister then.

“Is the situation the same today? Yes, there are street demonstrations, but nothing compared to Reformasi [...] so surely we should give the same support to the prime minister today?” he said.

“I am with prime minister Najib,” Khairy added, wrapping up his long-winded answer.