Showdown at Jalan Petaling, FRU moves in - Himpunan 16

Policemen tangling with demonstrators at Jalan Petaling, Kuala Lumpur. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, September 16, 2015..About 1,000 rally-goers are gathered at Jalan Petaling demanding that the police let them through.

The police had earlier declared that Jalan Petaling, popularly known as Chinatown, was out of bounds to the rally-goers.

The gathering turned rowdy, and the FRU had to move in. A water-cannon has been fired and police have made arrests.

Meanwhile, the majority of the rally-goers are at Padang Merbok, listening to speeches from the leaders.

“We were not a multi-cultural society then but through negotiations and give-and-take, we accepted the other races,” said Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali.

“We gave them citizenship. We gave them our nationality and thought they will be grateful.

“But I don’t blame the Chinese. The ones that are ruining our unity is DAP, the party that was born from Singapore’s PAP,” Ibrahim said to loud cheers from the crowd.

The crowd at Padang Merbok has almost filled the entire field, after marching from various meeting points around the city.

Earlier this afternoon, a crowd of "red shirt" rally-goers who gathered at the Pavilion mall in Jalan Bukit Bintang, made their way to Low Yat Plaza, despite warnings yesterday by the police that these areas were out of bounds. However, no trouble ensued as they just chanted and went along their way to Padang Merbok, via Jalan Sultan Ismail.

Low Yat Plaza was the scene of a disturbance in July after handphone traders caught a thief and handed him over to the authorities. Following that incident, a group of about 200 people, some of them said to be members of Malay rights group Pekida, staged a demonstration outside the complex during which several people were hurt.

The scene on the field at Padang Merbok, as the crowd grows ever larger as more protesters arrive to listen to speeches from organisers as well as NGO and Umno leaders, among others. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Mohd Farhan Darwis, September 16, 2015.Meanwhile, tens of thousands of protesters continue their march towards Padang Merbok, even as a heavy police presence created an air of tension in Kuala Lumpur. (see map below for rally march route)

Hundreds of police and Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) officers lined the streets of Petaling Street, Low Yat Plaza and Pudu Sentral, keeping a close watch on protesters dressed in red T-shirts and carrying banners and placards.

Protesters began arriving at different locations in KL early this morning in scores of busses, some carrying banners reading "Hidup Melayu" (Long-live Malays) and "Pertahan Kerajaan Pilihan Rakyat" (Defending the government of the people's choice).

They are heading to Padang Merbok where organisers are expected to address the crowd with speeches.

The protest is in direct opposition to last month’s Bersih 4 rally, which today's rally organisers claimed had insulted the integrity of the dominant Malay race.

This morning, Pekida president Jamaluddin Yusof described the "red shirt" rally as a "jihad" and said 10,000 members from the Malay NGO will make their presence.

Police have declared that the rally is legal, but have said three areas – Bukit Bintang, Petaling Street and the area around Low Yat Plaza – are off-limits to the protesters.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said he will not stop Umno members from participating in the rally, but stopped short of endorsing the gathering.

The rally has come under fierce criticism from opposition parties, civil society groups, Umno Supreme Council members, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, as well as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former international trade and industry minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, both of whom were top Umno leaders until a decade ago.