In the rally for which organisers seek to mobilise hundreds of thousands of supporters of free and fair elections, Selangor PAS' said its members will make up half of the total 100,000 PAS turnout promised by the party bigwigs.
"We have about 72,000 members in the whole of Selangor. And we will be giving out a circular to all of them, expecting 50,000 of them to turn up and to go down to the field.
“The state commissioner (Abd Rani Osman) has instructed me to call all Selangor members to participate in the rally. So we want to tell the whole country, that Selangor will send at least 50,000 people,” announced state liaison committee secretary Mohd Khairuddin Othman (right).The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) plan to hand over a petition on electoral reforms to the Istana Negara after the march.
However, clashes may be on the horizons that day as two other groups will also be gathering to oppose Bersih.
Umno Youth has announced that they will rally to support the current electoral system, while Malay rights NGO Perkasa said that they are gathering to 'defend the peace' and to stop Bersih 2.0 at all cost.
Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali on Sunday also raised the threat of racial riots if Bersih proceeds with its rally.
Never a PAS strategy
Meanwhile, Mohd Khairuddin joked that it was never a PAS 'strategy' to hire buses to ferry members to rallies."If we're stopped at a roadblock, semua habis kena tahan (everyone will be stopped). Then we won't even be able to make it to the demonstration," he said, adding that the party had their own way of mobilising supporters.
Speaking at a press conference at the PAS Selangor headquarters in Shah Alam this morning, he also said that PAS has always had their own special way when it came to participating in demonstrations.
But unfazed by a potential clash or skirmish especially with Perkasa on July 9, he said that he reckoned not many of the Perkasa members will make it to the demonstration in the first place.
He also stressed on PAS' track record of discipline when it came to participating in demonstrations.
"In the last Bersih rally in 2007 which saw thousands of our members participating, there was not one flower pot broken by us. We have never destroyed anything.
"So I am warning Perkasa, don't try to provoke us or to show that we are uncivilised," said Mohd Khairuddin.
He also said that the movement will be lodging police reports all over the state against Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali's recent statements which he said was "provocative" and "racist".
"It was very irresponsible of him to imply that a racial riot will happen. I urge Perkasa to discipline their own member," said Mohd Kharuddin.
Ibrahim (photo, far right) had previously warned of the 'consequences' should the rally continue."Imagine, ladies and gentlemen, if the Bersih rally is not called off and they go ahead with it - if they don't cancel it on July 8 or 9 - I believe the Chinese community, many of them, will have to stock up on food at home.
"Anything can happen on that day," he was reported to have said to much criticism and brickbats from politicians in both BN and Pakatan Rakyat.
The PAS man also insisted that the gathering was well within the confines of the law.
"If the Home Ministry is telling us to abide by the law, then we truly are following our constitutional right to assemble. If (Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein) thinks this is going to be unlawful, then he should attempt to strike it off from the federal constitution," he said.
Reiterating that PAS lawyers will be on hand to provide legal assistance all the way pro bono (for public good, and usually free of cost), he urged all party members not to be scared.
"Our march is constitutional," he said.
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