A copy of the booklet defending the red shirt rally last September distributed to Umno delegates today. – The Malaysian Insider pic, December 10, 2015.Thousands of booklets on the "red shirt" rally held last September, where racial slurs were hurled, were distributed to Umno delegates at the party's general assembly this morning.
Titled "Kebangkitan Baju Merah" (The Rise of Red Shirts), the 104-page book was heavy on photographs and is produced by Putrajaya's propaganda unit, the Special Affairs Department (Jasa).
Copies were given out at the entrance of the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur where the assembly is being held.
The book opens with photographs of a Bersih rally and participants, and the remaining pages were of the red shirt rally that was held on September 16, purportedly to counter the Bersih 4 gathering in late August that was said to have insulted Malay dignity.
A passage in the booklet said it was produced to show "the highest gratitude" to fighters who had defended the Federal Constitution and who had protected peace and harmony.
In the introduction, it explained that the red shirt rally was a reaction to the actions of certain quarters who tried to create chaos and provocation through street rallies.
The red shirt rally, it said, was initiated by patriotic Malaysians.
It also listed nine criteria that defined the red shirt rally, including unity, loyalty, bravery, determination and peace.
The rally, which organisers also called "Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu", was staged by a coalition of Malay non-governmental organisations at Padang Merbok in the capital on Malaysia Day.
It was held to oppose the Bersih 4 rally that called for democratic reforms and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's resignation, with organisers saying Malays had been insulted after a few Bersih protestors were photographed stomping on the pictures of Najib and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.
Najib had said that Umno was not behind the rally, although those who took a leading role in organising it included party members.
The prime minister had also said the red shirt rally was neither seditious nor racist, and defended it as a "manifestation" of Malay pride. – December 10, 2015.
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