MCA secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan has called for Himpunan Merah rally organiser Jamal Mohd Yunus to do something positive for the country, saying that holding rallies won't help the country in any way.

"To me, what Malaysia needs is peace and stability. I don't know what his intention is for this rally (Himpunan Merah 2.0). I am not aware of it, but please do something positive for the country, more so as we are facing challenging times.

"I don't see any significance of this sort of rally. It doesn't help the prosperity or stability of the country in any way, so why do it?" Ong said to reporters after attending the opening ceremony of a seminar titled 'Embracing China: How to export effectively to China' in Kuala Lumpur today.

He was responding to a question asked by a reporter on Jamal's pledge to have 40 percent Chinese Malaysian participation in the upcoming Himpunan Merah rally.

Ong, who is also the International Trade and Industry Minister II, added that the country should adopt an agenda to create something to unite the people to work towards the prosperity of the country.

"Please don't do anything otherwise. Don't create fear, especially in the month of celebrating Merdeka," he said.

Citing last night's mixed doubles badminton final at the Rio Olympics, where Malaysia played against Indonesia, Ong said that was the kind of spirit that should be instilled in Malaysians.

"All Malaysians were united (during the match). Even the Chinese, when our players faced China's players, never supported China's players. They supported the Malaysian players.

"So this is the spirit. Don't create other issues to jeopardise our unity," he said.

'Let rule of law prevail'

MCA religious harmony bureau chairperson Ti Lian Ker had also said on Monday that MCA believed in peaceful and harmonious engagement towards resolving issues and allowing the rule of law to prevail.

"We believe in, and respect the parliamentary system and the electoral process.

"There is no necessity to mobilise mass demonstrations or a show of strength in a brutish or jungle-like manner. Any attempt to disrupt public peace and harmony is strictly a no-no," he said.

The country's democratic system is intact, he said, pointing to changes in leadership and state governments via elections as proof.

As such, he said, there is no need to create a "ruckus or public chaos".

Instead, the country should be focusing on overcoming the global economic slowdown, he said.

"A show of force or a public mass confrontation at this juncture will not augur well for the nation.

"Problems or issues will not be resolved by mass demonstrations and may even be aggravated.

"Instead of resolving problems, mass confrontations will lead to social, economic or political unrest and ultimately anarchy, if we lose control of the situation," he said.

On Sunday, Jamal had said that the second Himpunan Merah will feature 40 percent Chinese Malaysian participation.

He also conceded that the group's first rally had attracted a Malay-only crowd, but said this issue has been addressed.

MCA was vocally against the first Himpunan Merah rally, held on Malaysia Day on Sept 16 last year, as the rally had heavy racial overtones.

The upcoming Himpunan Merah rally is meant as a counter-demonstration to the Bersih 5 rally.

The Bersih 5 rally is to pressure the government to act on the 1MDB scandal, in light of the allegations made in the US Department of Justice’s court filings last month. The date and venue of the rally have yet to be decided.