Anis Syafiqah Md Yusof, spokesperson for the TangkapMO1 (the ‘Apprehend Malaysian Official No.1’) rally has confirmed that the rally will go ahead as planned tomorrow, 27th August, at Dataran Merdeka despite DBKL rejecting their application for a permit. The Inspector General of Police has also urged the organisers to not to go ahead or risk being arrested for illegal assembly.

The rally will take place on Saturday, 27th August, at 2pm with participants marching from Sogo and Masjid Negara towards Dataran Merdeka. Organisers are expecting 5,000 people to take part in the rally.

The rally follows the US Department of Justice Lawsuit on the misappropriation of 1MDB funds that allegedly ended up in the personal account of a ‘Malaysian Official No.1’.  Anis, who is a student at University of Malaya, was quoted by Malaysiakini stating that it is shameful Malaysians are keeping quite “while being robbed”, referring to the misappropriation of 1MDB funds.

The rally has received support from various NGOs and civil societies including Pakatan Harapan’s Youth Wing, Lawyers for Liberty, Persatuan Hak Asasi Manusia Kebangsaan (HAKAM), Sisters in Islam, and electoral watchdogs Bersih 2.0, who are among those pressing the authorities to re-open investigations into the 1MDB scandal, and identify and arrest Malaysian Official No.1, ‘whoever it may be’.

In response to the Tangkap MO1 rally, president of Gerakan Merah, Mohd Ali Bharom, has indicated that the group will be holding a counter-rally against Tangkap MO1 on the same date and location. Gerakan Merah are are the same people behind the counter-rallies against Bersih 2.0 rally last year.

On the same day as the rally, dress rehearsals for the National Day parade and celebrations will take place at Dataran Merdeka and surrounding streets, from 6am and 1pm. So the city centre will be very busy indeed, so it would be best to avoid the area this weekend (perhaps unless you’re planning on attending the rally, that is).