PARLIAMENT National Silat Federation (Pesaka) risks being deregistered and the person in charge can be jailed up to six months if they are found to have violated the Sports Development Act 1997 for organising a politically-motivated rally.

Without naming the red shirt rally which was held on Sept 16, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said organisation of politically-motivated rallies is not allowed under the Act.

Sports bodies are only allowed to organise competitions, seminars, clinics, courses for the purpose of sending participants to competitions or events, as well as any sports-related activity, Khairy said in a parliamentary written reply yesterday.

The Sports Commission, which supervises the governance of Pesaka as a sports body, can cancel or suspend its registration through the power stipulated under Section 20 of the Act, Khairy added.

"On top of that, action can be taken against Pesaka under Section 39 for general offences; a maximum fine of RM5,000 or six months' jail sentence, or both, can be imposed by the Sports Commission if it is found to have violated any provision of the Act," he said.

Khairy was responding to Er Teck Hwa (DAP-Bakri) who asked about Pesaka being allowed to organise a politically-motivated rally.

On Sept 16, some 30,000 people hit the streets as a counter to the Bersih 4 protest on Aug 29-30, which called for scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to resign.

The counter-rally was organised by Umno figures but the party itself sought to distance itself, with Pesaka stepping in to act as the "official" organiser.

The rally was marred by violence as protesters tried to break into Petaling Street, forcing police to disperse the crowd with water cannons.

Several incidents of hate speech were also recorded during the protest, which have since gone viral on the Internet.