Two Umno leaders have predicted that more than 100,000 Malays will turn up for the Sept 16 gathering to counter Bersih 4.

However, both Federal Territory Umno Youth chief Mohd Razlan Rafii and Sungai Besar Umno division chief Jamal Mohd Yunos were unable to provide a clear answer as to who is organising the event, dubbed as the 'red shirts' rally.

Numerous Whatsapp messages have circulated, with one claiming that the organiser is Persatuan Silat Kebangsaan (Pesaka), which is headed by former Malacca chief minister Mohd Ali Rustam.

Speaking to Malaysiakini , Jamal ( photo ) said the organiser is likely to meet the police today or tomorrow over the gathering.

"I think some 100,000 to 300,000 Malays would gather on that day.

"It would be a peaceful rally to show that Malays no matter Umno or PAS or any other Malay based organisations are united against Bersih," he said.

"It would be a symbolic display to show that the majority of the Malays do not support such (Bersih) rallies and are united in showing their disgust.

"Bersih claims they represent the people but we saw it was mainly backed by the Chinese and DAP," he added, dismissing the electoral reform group as an opposition tool.

Jamal said the organiser of the Sept 16 rally would abide by the terms and conditions set by the authorities.

"We support the organiser and we would participate," said Jamal, who is also the President of Kuala Lumpur petty traders action council.

However, this afternoon, PAS announced that it would not back the rally.

Razlan: Good turnout expected

Meanwhile, Razlan ( photo ) said Bersih does not respect democracy and the rally on Aug 29-30 where calls were made for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to step down proved this.

"I think the majority of the people mostly Malays are against it. In past Bersih rallies, we had seen police cars being overturned by the unruly behaviour of the demonstrators and this resulted in chaos and should never happened," he told Malaysiakini.

"The counter rally on Sept 16 is to show that the Malays do not agree with you (Bersih) and the democracy that we practice now with elections held every five years is the correct democracy," he emphasised.

"Posters and social media messages have been disseminated. We expect a good turnout," he said.

Yesterday, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim said the 'red shirts' protests is barred due to security reasons.

It was reported today that Penang Umno members would also support the rally where 1,000 members will head to Kuala Lumpur on Sept 15 on motorcycles.

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