Today's protest against the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a dud.

Just the numbers alone shows the gap between rhetoric and reality.

PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man estimates the crowd to be about 25,000 people at Padang Merbok alone. However, Malaysiakini puts the number for both Padang Merbok and Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur city centre to be at 5,000 maximum.

This despite all the noise PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, who was conspicuously absent today, kicked up about protesting the multinational free trade agreement.

While most of the protesters were PAS members, this is a far cry from the huge numbers the Islamist party was able to mobilise in the past.

Asked regarding the poor turnout, one Terengganu PAS member said it was because people do not really understand why they need to oppose the TPPA.

"People don't understand this issue. That's why the people, especially from rural areas, didn't turn up," Abdul Rahman, 55, told Malaysiakini.

PKR's Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen concurred.

"If I shared a video of a cat playing the piano, I'd get a few hundred thousand views.

"But if I post something about TPPA, I'll get just about 5,000-10,000 views," Wong told the media.

He added, people were also generally tired after being weighed down by economic troubles, such as the high cost of living and job losses.

Another reason for the poor turnout was DAP not mobilising its grassroots.

The party’s Klang MP Charles Santiago was the most prominent party member present, and he admits they could have mustered more.

"We could have done more I guess but I think the point is, we (DAP) are opposing it," Charles said.

DAP’s core Chinese support base, however, is not necessarily anti-TPPA.

Riven by rivalry

Meanwhile, today's protest also showed that unifying for a common cause isn't reason enough to set aside rivalries.

When PKR vice president Tian Chua mentioned Amanah in his speech at Padang Merbok, he was heckled by PAS supporters who shouted 'Hancur Amanah' (Death to Amanah).

The division between PAS and Amanah is so deep, it seems, that a leader from an opposition hinted that it contributed to the split at the rally, where some remained behind at Dataran Merdeka.

"We didn't want any clash to happen with the groups because it will make us look bad," the leader, who didn't want to be identified, said.

However, it did not stop some from the Unit Amal - the Islamist party’s crowd marshals - and PAS members in green, from leaving their Padang Merbuk base to check out ‘the other side’s turnout, on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

There was also anticipation earlier in the day that former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad would show up, as announced by Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali.

However, despite this, Mahathir did not turn up to speak at the rally, and neither did his supporters show up.

Today's poor turnout portends a bad omen; Putrajaya’s push for the TPPA is confronted with little opposition in the lead-up to the vote next week.

Even those who strongly oppose the BN government policies do not see their presence on the streets today as having any impact on the outcome.

They have been beaten down once too many - the National Security Council Bill being the most recent - and they foresee a rout in the august house on the US-led trade pact

And with the numbers the BN side commands in parliament, this will likely be the case.