GEORGE TOWN: More than 6,000 Umno and Pas members from Penang are expected to join in the rally against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) this Saturday.
About 50 buses ferrying Penang Pas members will begin their journey tomorrow, while others will do so on Saturday morning.
State Pas information chief Mohd Yusni Mat Piah said he was grateful that their target of five buses from each Pas area had been fulfilled.
“We have no funds. So, all expenses are paid for by the participants themselves, even the bus rental. All are from our members’ pockets,” he told New Straits Times today.
Yusni said Pas’ Unit Amal would help to control and monitor the situation during the rally.
“I will personally go to the ground as one of the Unit Amal members,” he added.
State Umno chairman Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir said close to 4,000 Umno members were expected to take part in the rally following the call made by party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“I am told nearly 4,000 members will be in Kuala Lumpur for the rally,” he told the NST.
“This is a peaceful rally. We are certain that nothing untoward will happen because we all love our country Malaysia.”
On Monday, the anti-ICERD rally, which is now dubbed a thanksgiving protest since the government decided not to ratify the treaty, got the go-ahead from the authorities.
The rally, which will take place around Jalan Raja, Kuala Lumpur, from 2pm to 6pm on Saturday is organised by several pro-Muslim Malay non-governmental organisations.