For Parti Amanah Negara pro-tem chairperson Mohamad Sabu, tomorrow's planned red shirt rally is nothing more than just to ‘bodek’ (please) government leaders, and is not a true affirmation of one's Islamic faith.

Mohamad, who is better known as Mat Sabu, said tomorrow's gathering is, to him, not a gathering of the brave.

“The event tomorrow is to support a leader. A brave gathering is one that goes against a cruel ruler,” Mat Sabu told Malaysiakini in an interview today.

Looking at Islamic history, Mat Sabu, said Prophet Muhammad had propogated against cruel leaders of Mecca.

Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) appeared before the ruler of Iraq and Palestine, and Prophet Musa (Moses), appeared before the Pharoah of Egypt, to tell the truth in front of a cruel leader, Mat Sabu said.

“The prophets were not propagating to support a just ruler but to point out a ruler who is cruel,” he said.

For this, Mat Sabu described the Bersih rally as one of the gatherings of the brave.

The red shirt rally, dubbed as Perhimpunan Rakyat Bersatu, is to voice support for the country's leaders, especially for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

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The former PAS deputy president said even former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was willing to go to the ground for Bersih 4, as he too agreed that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should step dpwn.

“This is why Mahathir is willing to go down. In Islam, an affirmation of one's faith is measured when you tell the truth to a cruel leader, as what was done in the Bersih rally,” he said.

“For me, despite Mahathir's faults in the past, we cannot judge himas he had not been charged and he is no longer the country's leader. Now, we want to fight Najib and his administration.

“For me, if you have a gathering where the people have crooked moustaches or silat teachers or exponents, if you support the government then you are not gentlemanly. This is not what the hadith (sayings of the prophet) say,” he emphasised.

Mat Sabu said going against a cruel government, upon which the power is centered, is a brave act.

It is clear, he said, that the red shirt rally is to ‘bodek’ as the deputy prime minister, who is also the home minister (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) has also voiced his support for the red shirt rally.

“What sort of gathering will we have tomorrow? It will be a gathering to please the leaders only,” said the Amanah chairperson.

Mahathir was at the Bersih rally twice, once on Saturday, Aug 29, upon his return from Pasir Gudang, and again on the next day.