PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu has called on party members to show up at the Aug 30 Janji Demokrasi rally at Dataran Merdeka.

"We encourage all PAS members to attend the celebration on the night of Aug 30 until 31 with 44 other NGOs that will gather there (Dataran Merdeka) to celebrate independence day," he told a press conference at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

He added that all members who show up for the gathering should don their yellow T-shirts, which is the trademark colour of electoral reform group Bersih.

"We encourage everyone present to wear yellow because the demands of Bersih continues," he said after chairing the party's political bureau meeting.

However, Mohamad Sabu noted that Pakatan Rakyat too will be having its own independence day celebration in Shah Alam on the same day.

The Janji Demokrasi rally is organised by a coalition of 49 NGOs dubbed ‘Gabungan Janji’, as an alternative to the government’s national day celebration that has adopted the widely criticised 'Janji Ditepati' (promises fulfilled) theme which is also BN’s campaign slogan.

The rally was previously dubbed 'Janji Bersih' and was initially supposed to remind the federal government that it had yet to fulfil promises of true electoral reform as the Bersih 2.0 movement’s eight demands had outlined.

On a separate matter, PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar said the party's Himpunan Hijau rally against the Lynas rare earth plant in Kuantan will hit East Malaysia in September.

"On Sept 1, we will have Himpunan Hijau in Sabah and it will be on Sept 2 for Sarawak. PAS’ top leadership including president Abdul Hadi Awang will be present," he said.

‘End civil service loan interest’

At the same meeting, it was raised that PAS will propose to Pakatan Rakyat the abolition of interest on housing and car loans to civil servants.

"We have agreed to propose to Pakatan Rakyat for the four percent interest imposed on by the government for housing and car loan (for civil servants) to be abolished, like we have done in Kelantan," said PAS secretary-general Mustapa Ali.

He said that the plan will be put to the opposition coalition at the latter’s upcoming meeting.

PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub when approached after the press conference said the party will advocate for this to be included into Pakatan Rakyat's manifesto.

He also reiterated that Kelantan under PAS’ 22-year rule had already waived the interest for its state civil servants.