Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos has applauded the arrests of Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah and Bersih secretariat manager Mandeep Singh ahead of the Bersih 5 rally tomorrow.

However, Jamal himself, who leads the red-shirts movement and will hold a counter-rally against Bersih tomorrow, remains elusive as no one appears to know his exact location.

Police have thus far arrested one of Jamal's lieutenants, Razali Zakaria, who acted as spokesperson when the red-shirts began camping at Masjid Negara today, one of Bersih's gathering points tomorrow.

"The arrests of Maria and Mandeep by the police are justified to maintain peace in the country.

"It is obvious that Bersih has an evil agenda to incite the people to take to the streets and topple Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's government, which was democratically elected through elections," Jamal said in a statement.

He also criticised Malays who backed Bersih.

"I am puzzled by certain Malays who can be influenced by Bersih's dirty agenda.

"This is because Bersih is perpetrated by DAP, which is racist, anti-Malay, anti-Islam and intends to erode the country's unity," he said.

Jamal vowed to see the Bersih 5 rally fail.

"The red-shirts will ensure Bersih 5 fails in its demonstration, which has tainted the country's laws and constitutional monarchy.

"Let us pray that Kuala Lumpur will be peaceful tomorrow," he said.

Jamal remained elusive throughout Friday as at least 12 people were arrested before the rally.

However, Jamal was finally nabbed in the wee hours of Saturday, bringing the total arrests to 13.

End the crackdown, says Amnesty International

Meanwhile, the mass arrests have sparked a chorus of condemnation, including by Amnesty International.

"The Malaysian government must immediately end its crackdown on Bersih.

“These arrests are the latest in a series of crude and heavy-handed attempts to intimidate Malaysian civil society activists and other human rights defenders.

"They must be released immediately and unconditionally, and tomorrow’s rally must be allowed to go ahead peacefully,” said Josef Benedict, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Benedict said those arrested are considered to be "prisoners of conscience".

"They must be allowed to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association peacefully without any interference, threats or harassment from officials or non-state actors seeking to provoke unrest," he said.

Joining the chorus of condemnation was PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

"It creates the perception that if Najib's government does not understand the spirit of democracy and, for the survival of a small political group, is forced to use an iron fist to conduct the arrests," she said.

Wan Azizah said the arrests would not deter the people from participating in Bersih 5.

"It will only cause more anger among the people.

"Let us join forces with one heart. tomorrow, we will be at Bersih 5 to remind Putrajaya of the people's voice," she said.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Muhyiddin Yassin also condemned the arrests.

"This is a threat and harassment against the organisers and people who want to gather tomorrow," he said.

Muhyiddin stressed that Article 10 of the Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of peaceful assembly, without arms.

He said the police also had a responsibility to ensure safety.

"I would like to remind Najib that the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 introduced under his leadership was part of the Political Transformation Programme.

"This Act is intended to give freedom to the people to gather and voice out, in line with democratic principles.

"I urge Najib not to forget that promise," he said.

Muhyiddin added that Bersatu, along with its leadership, will support the Bersih 5 rally tomorrow.