High profile Malaysian politicians condemned Thursday this week’s racially charged pro-government “Red Shirt” rally, accusing Prime Minister Najib Razak and his ruling ethnic Malay-based party of being behind it.

Unlike that rally, which police banned, the Malay parade was allowed to go ahead by authorities, albeit with a warning that the demonstrators not carry banners or posters with racial overtones.

Mr Jamal Md Yunos, whose Coalition of Malay NGOS is behind the red shirt aspect of the rally, further claimed that participants were given strict instructions not to enter the area known as Chinatown, but were angered by the purported provocation.

In comparison, 53% said they were against it, an indication that the majority in the community do not think that their jobs, families and futures are being threatened by “other races”.

The police took action after the protesters tried to break through police barricades. Many see themselves as the rightful owners of Malaysia’s history, heritage and governmental power.

The two-day Bersih 4 rally on August29 and 30 attracted at least 100,000 people at its peak, while the rally yesterday eventually named “Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu” rally attracted about 45,000, including cabinet ministers.

Interestingly, more half the respondents (56%) who professed to be Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters said they did not support the rally.

Police closed several roads in the city to traffic, while shops in Chinese-dominated neighbourhoods were closed.Small groups of people started trickling in as early as 7am, as police officers stood guard nearby.

Veteran UMNO member Rafidah Aziz – a former minister – told Anadolu Agency that the party must stop narrow-minded race-based politics, saying it was jeopardizing the country’s progress towards becoming a developed economy.

The Prime Minister is [resently

“Now people have got what irks them out of their hair, off their chests and have been able to get rid of whatever hatred they might have”, she said. It won in 2013, but lost the popular vote for the first time to an opposition alliance.

Najib has vowed he won’t quit and said Malaysia is not a failed state. Support for Najib’s National Front has eroded in the last two general elections.