RAIN cut short a Kuala Lumpur rally to defend Malay rights and the monarchy, sending protesters scurrying for cover just 2½ hours after the event began.

The speakers’ line-up for the Gerakan Pembela Ummah gathering was altered as the sky turned dark, and the stage outside the Sogo shopping centre was quickly given to the last two on the list: Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki and PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

Asyraf said the rally was held because DAP had played the race card, with Indian ministers from the party stoking racial sentiments over the Seafield temple violence and subsequent death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim last year.

“(P.) Waytha Moorthy and (M.) Kula Segaran must be arrested,” he said, referring to the minister in charge of national unity and human resources minister, respectively, whose remarks on police’s failure to control the riots at the house of worship and a group of Malay intruders at the temple had drawn criticism from Muslim groups.

Asyraf said Tommy Thomas should be removed as attorney-general for insulting Malays and the royalty, referring to a forum at Universiti Malaya last weekend, where the latter made comments critical of the monarchy in relation to Putrajaya’s move to withdraw from the Rome Statute.

“This rally is a stepping stone for us to have bigger ones to defend Islam, the constitution and the special privileges of Malays.”

Tuan Ibrahim told rally-goers that today’s gathering is a “warning and reminder” that Muslims will not stay silent when Islam is insulted.

“Stop the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) agenda. Stop the liberal movement that is making it seem as if religion is a personal matter and not an agenda for the country. Islam is the religion of the federation and must be respected.

“Our protest does not end here. A memorandum will be submitted to the authorities, and we will bring to Parliament the need to protect Malay rulers and Islam.”

Former Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka director-general Professor Dr Awang Sapian, who also addressed the crowd, said the Malay language has lost its stature.

He pointed to the government’s moves to pursue the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English and recognise the Chinese secondary school qualification Unified Examination Certificate.

The rally officially came to a close with a prayer at 3.20pm as the downpour worsened.

Among the protesters was Zafri Rosli, from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, who said 80 other fellow students attended the rally.

He said their presence is to remind Putrajaya to be cautious when handling issues involving Islam.

“This can be taken as an early warning to the government to be careful when it comes to matters relating to Islam. They’ve been negligent in handling such issues.

“We feel that they have let us down. So, this rally is to remind them about our rights.” – May 4, 2019.