LOYALTY to the Malay rulers is a strong theme in a rally planned by a coalition of Muslim groups that has kicked off in the capital this afternoon.

Organised by pro-Islam umbrella coalition, Gerakan Pembela Ummah (Ummah), the rally is being held to protest the Rome Statute and other current issues that Muslim civil society groups claim to have threatened Islam and the royalty.

By 2.15pm, a large crowd had gathered outside the Sogo shopping complex to sing Negaraku.

A policeman on duty told The Malaysian Insight that there were an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 protesters on the street, aside from the usual crowd of shoppers on weekends.

An hour before the march from Masjid Jamek to the Sogo shopping complex was due to begin, protesters had already gathered at Sogo itself, along with vendors selling drinks and rally t-shirts.

The rally’s “uniform” is a white t-shirt depicting the country’s nine Malay rulers and the words “Daulat Tuanku”, which sells for RM15 each.

Protesters also carried banners that read “Hormati Institusi Raja Raja” (“respect the institution of the monarchy”).

Also seen were posters that said “Suara TMJ Suara Rakyat”, in reference to Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who is hailed by pro-royalty Malay groups for being vocal in opposing Putrajaya over the signing of international treaties.

The rally is being held despite Putrajaya’s withdrawal of its accession to the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court, and after its earlier backtrack on plans to ratify the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

The pro-royalty Muslim groups said that despite this, there are other issues that show Putrajaya’s alleged oppression of Muslim rights.

These include the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim and the government’s recognition of the Chinese secondary school qualification, the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).

Harun Yusof from Terengganu said there are “so many issues against the royalty” now and “the government isn’t doing anything to protect the rulers”.

“This rally is good to unite Malays and uphold Islam. The royalty are being insulted and so is the institution of Islam.

“We come to protest at our own expense. We hired buses ourselves with our own money. The organisers didn’t give us anything to come here,” the 42-year-old said, adding that people in each district in the PAS-led state had prepared two buses to ferry themselves here.

Ummah deputy chairman Kamaruzaman Mohamad told the crowd outside Masjid Jamek today that they are to perform their prayers first before marching to Sogo.

Today’s rally has the support of opposition parties Umno and PAS, which have been strengthening their political cooperation since losing the 14th general election a year ago.

PAS has lent its volunteer corp, Jabatan Amal, to conduct crowd control at today’s rally.

About 100 supporters from Umno and PAS wearing their party colours were also present outside Masjid Jamek, following Umno’s Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan in preparing to march to Sogo.

Outside Sogo, Umno Supreme council member Lokman Noor Adam was also seen rallying the crowd. – May 4, 2019.