Jamal Md Yunos, the spokesperson for the 'red shirt' rally against Bersih, now says that the group will follow the lead of National Silat Federation (Pesaka) on Sept 16.

This comes after Pesaka President Mohd Ali Rustam said the silat group's rally 'Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu' had nothing to do with 'Himpunan Maruah Melayu', popularly known as the 'red shirt rally'.

Jamal also insists that his group Gabungan NGO-NGO Melayu was never the organiser for any rally, but were only following Pesaka’s lead.

"We are not the organisers; we are only strong supporters of Pesaka's rally [...] we were invited to join," Jamal said when contacted.

Jamal earlier said the rally will be at Bukit Bintang and Petaling Street, where most traders are from the ethnic Chinese community.

He said it was in retaliation to the Bersih 4 rally, which was held in the Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman area where most traders are Malay.

However, he told Malaysiakini today that the Sept 16 rally will take place only at Padang Merbok as announced by Pesaka.

When asked if his group will march from Bukit Bintang or Petaling Street, the Sungai Besar Umno chief replied: "People will be coming from various areas."

"We don't know where they will come from; they might come from Kampung Baru and so on," he added.

He also said he did not know yet where his group will be gathering.

When asked on Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor's order to Kuala Lumpur City Hall not to issue a permit for the rally unless it was held in a confined space, Jamal irately said: "I don't want to comment on that."

"The rally on Sept 16 will go on, there is no stopping it," he said.

Jamal earlier claimed that the Himpunan Maruah Melayu was organised by Pesaka, but Ali ( photo ) said Pesaka’s protest is called ‘Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu’ and is open to all Malaysians.

Even so, Pesaka's Ali said the Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu was to counter the actions of Bersih 4 protesters who insulted the Malay community.

Ali is former Malacca chief minister while Tengku Adnan is Umno secretary-general.

Umno today confirmed it issued letters to its state secretariats to prepare to join 'Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu', if invited.

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