Students backing the 'TangkapMO1' rally said the 'red shirt' group planning a counter-rally should be blamed for any disruption to public order on Aug 27.

“If there is anything that happens on that day, Ali Tinju is responsible.

"Please do not come after us. Go after him because he is already starting to provoke us,” said Asheeq Ali, president of Student Unity Front, a student group from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

Activist Mohd Ali Baharom or Ali Tinju yesterday also launched T-shirts which read 'Aku Melayu' to be worn by participants of a counter-rally he plans to hold.

Ten student groups yesterday lodged police reports against the 'TangkapMO1' rally, which they said will lead to "public disorder".

Sharan Raj, a representative of PSM Youth wing, denied that the students' rally would lead to “public disorder”.

“We will follow the law.

“We will not go against the rules and there will be no such thing as public disorder,” he said.

The Student Unity Front and three other youth groups, including PSM Youth, declared their support for the 'TangkapMO1' rally at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

The groups, however, said they respected Ali Tinju’s right to assemble while #TangkapMalaysianOfficial1' rally spokesperson, Anis Syafiqah, urged Ali Tinju to join their rally instead.

“We urge his group to join us to catch M01 and we plead to them not to disrupt the peaceful assembly that will be held,” she said.

Anis also said that they were expecting about 5,000 participants on Aug 27.

On crowd control, she said that a security team would be present.

“We also need help from the police.

“Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar, please cooperate with us. We will make sure that things go smoothly,” Anis added.

The group also issued an ultimatum to the police.

“If you don’t catch MO1 by 12pm on Saturday (Aug 27), the rally will go on,” said Raj.

Meanwhile, all three student activists from the ' 'TangkapMO1' coalition who were arrested outside Universiti Institut Teknologi Mara Seri Iskandar campus in Ipoh on Saturday have been released.

Anis said the trio were released from Perak Tengah police headquarters at 2pm, one day before expiration of their three-day remand order.

They were arrested on Saturday for trying to force their way into the campus to promote the 'TangkapMO1' rally on Aug 27.

Muhammad Luqman Nul Hakim Zul Razali, Luqman Hakim and Ashraff Nazrin were being investigated under Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 for holding an assembly without prior notice, and Section 447 of the Penal Code for criminal trespassing.

Sharan also urged Higher Education Minister Idris Jusoh to retract his statement asking the students to learn first and protest later.

“Why must we be the leaders of tomorrow when we can be today?” he said.

Anis also pointed out that the rally was an independent effort and all parties involved would not be allowed to bring along their party flags.

“Bring your Malaysian flags instead,” she said.