Frequent spokesperson and advocate for the Malay “red shirt” movement, Jamal Md Yunos, was scheduled to present himself at the Ampang police station at 7pm today, and has stated that he will not be on the ground at the planned follow-up Red Shirt gathering in Petaling Street tomorrow.
Jamal, who is also Sungai Besar, Selangor UMNO division chief, told the media in a text message that he will not be present tomorrow at the Red Shirts’ second attempt to storm into Petaling Street, popularly known locally and to tourists from across the world as Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown.
“I will be going to the Ampang police station this evening at 7…and I am not involved in tomorrow’s rally,” he told The Malay Mail Online‘s Ida Lim today.
It was not immediately clear why Jamal was presenting himself to the police, although Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim yesterday said the PDRM would question Jamal over remarks regarding the Red Shirts’ second gathering he made on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Jamal said authorities’ failure to punish Chinese traders in Petaling Street for selling counterfeit goods would result in Red Shirt protesters to return to the area on Satruday and possibly riot.
He had earlier called for Chinatown stall operators to “share opportunities and profits” with Malay traders, or risk being seen as racists and disrespectful of the country’s Malays.
On Malaysia Day, the Red Shirts’ Gathering for Malay Dignity saw a large group of Malay protesters attempting to breach a police barricade blocking the entrance to Petaling Street. Federal Reserve Unit troops and water cannons had to be deployed to deter protesters from entering Chinatown.
Organisers of the rally, which was actually held in Padang Merbok some distance away, tried to disassociate themselves from the violence that erupted, with MARA chairman Annuar Musa, who was present at the gathering, calling on authorities to arrest Red Shirt supporters who spewed racist invective.
Photo: The Wall Street Journal
