KUALA LUMPUR: The Red Shirts group has warned Bersih that they mean business and are not just issuing empty threats, a week before the Bersih 5 rally is scheduled to take place.
The group, along with several martial arts groups, gathered outside Dataran Maybank in Bangsar around 2.30pm on Saturday to pledge their allegiance to the Red Shirts movement.
The group's leader Datuk Seri Jamal Yunus said that it was time to show Bersih that they meant business.
"We are here to prove that we are not just issuing empty threats.
"Come Nov 19, we will be wherever the yellow shirts are. We won't let them threaten our religion and democracy," he said.
The martial arts groups put on a few performances before handing Jamal a flag as a sign of their support.
The group had earlier allegedly harassed and blocked a Bersih convoy at Pekan Lama Bangi, Selangor.
The group, led by Jamal, surrounded the convoy and refused to let them progress, and tore Bersih flags and banners.
However, police stepped in and after a brief standoff, the Red Shirts relented and allowed the Bersih convoy to pass.
Their behaviour was condemned by the Bersih 2.0 Steering Committee, which labelled the red shirts as "gangsters".
"The Red Shirts have again used criminal intimidation to stop and frustrate the Bersih 5 convoy. They tore Bersih materials, tried to damage car windows, and Jamal himself was filmed verbally abusing a Bersih supporter," said the committee in the statement.
They also claimed that another group wearing black shirts disrupted another Bersih convoy in Tanjung Malim.
"The reactions from the Red Shirts reflect complete ignorance and disrespect for diversity in opinions.
"Due to their lack of understanding, they are the very antigens of freedom of speech and assembly," said the committee, adding that the group would carry on plans to hold the peaceful rally on Nov 19.
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