To counter the "racist" gathering of the Malay Action Front (MAF) in Kuala Lumpur last Sunday, reformasi groups will hold a second "Black 14" gathering this year, said an opposition leader.

Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua told malaysiakini that Black 14 will highlight the need for a united nation and reform instead of any racist assembly, which had been trumpeted by Umno supporters.

The newly formed MAF had organised "Malays will not perish from this earth" gathering yesterday at Putra World Trade Centre, which has widely criticised by the opposition as "racist".

"'Black 14' is to prove that the reform movement is backed by people of various races," said Chua, adding that there will also be a series of activities that portray the importance of unity of all races throughout the year.

The "Black 14" last year organised by Keadilan to commemorate the first anniversary of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's guilty verdict on corruption charges saw several thousands of people gathering on the streets near the Kuala Lumpur court complex.

Liability to Umno

Chua said that the assembly is also meant to break through the political framework set up by some Umno leaders.

"In order to save Umno, some of the party leaders have been asking the young people to join Umno, so that they can work together to throw out prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"But Malays are no longer interested to rejoin Umno as they cannot accept a corrupt Umno at all," he said.

He added that although the people are not sure whether the MAF-organised gathering is a sandiwara , it still showed that some party leaders saw Mahathir as a liability to Umno.

At the assembly yesterday, Mazlan Harun, a former Umno Youth leader, warned Mahathir and other leaders to listen more to the grassroots as the leadership is now in danger of falling apart ([#1] Mahathir must listen more to grassroots: MAF leader [/#], Feb 4).

Chua also said that Keadilan will lodge a police report on Feb 17 against Mohtar Abdullah's recent appointment as a Federal Court judge. The party will ask the police to investigate Mohtar's alleged misconduct during his previous tenure as the Attorney-General.

"Mohtar's conduct has not been seen to be in accordance with his professional code, especially with his links to lawyer VK Lingam and his handling of the Anwar case, he should not have been appointed a Federal Court judge," said Chua.