Although Pakatan Rakyat and NGOs are mobilising their supporters for tomorrow's People's Uprising Rally, which could be the biggest such event in recent years, English and Malay mainstream coverage did not reflect it.

Even Sinar Harian, the Malay daily seen as relatively neutral compared with those in the Umno-linked Media Prima stable, did not give much space to the news today.

NONEThe daily dedicated its frontpage to the controversy over the use of 'Allah' word, relegating its news on the rally to page 8 with five reports.

Three reports quoted taxi drivers, university students and Umno vice-president Mohd Shafie Apdal respectively objecting to the rally, one report on police's assurance that it will be controlled peacefully, and another on tomorrow's commuter service tomorrow operating as usual.

No mention was made about the seven gathering points and rally guidelines issued by the organisers yesterday.

Yesterday Sinar Harian carried a report on its page 10 quoting PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu as saying that the organisers will guarantee a rally free of riots and chaos.

NONEThe Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia has launched an aggressive campaign against the rally, publishing at least 10 news reports and commentaries lambasting the planned event.

In its second page, the Malay daily featured a full-page of photographs highlighting the violent scenes during last April's Bersih 3.0 rally, warning readers not to join tomorrow's rally.

Berita Harian, the Malay newspaper under the Media Prima group, published two reports quoting Shafie and Kuala Lumpur police chief Mohmad Salleh.

The latter advised the organisers to shift to Bukit Jalil National Stadium as the venue can accommodate more participants than the Merdeka Stadium, the organisers' preferred venue.

New Straits Times, the English newspaper belonging to the same group, carried only one story on the issue, which contained Mohmad and Dang Wangi police chief Zainuddin Ahmad's statements on the rally.

The MCA-owned The Star also has only a single report on the event, including all the views expressed by the police, the organisers and those against it.

NONEIt quoted rally's spokesperson Hishamuddin Rais as saying that the participants would converge from different areas in the capital, and they hoped for a trouble free rally.

Complementing the report is the photograph of the mysterious anti-Jalur Gemilang banner with a caption reading "Down with the old: Banners calling for the Jalur Gemilang to be changed. They have since been taken down".

In contrast to the Malay and English newspapers, their Chinese counterparts including Sin Chew Daily, Nanyang Siang Pau, China Press and Oriental Daily News have given significant and wide coverage on the event, carrying statements from all quarters and details of the gathering points.

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