KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 23): Former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim who called for a March 27 gathering to remove Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said it would be a closed-door gathering as he never intended for it to be a street protest.

On his Twitter account today, Zaid said he was "not like Bersih", referring to the electoral reform group whose chairman Maria Chin Abdullah cast doubt on the proposed gathering as its agenda was unclear.

"I never said it will be a street protest; or a public rally," Zaid said.

"I see many readers still talking about a rally on the 27th March. Its (sic) a gathering of leaders in a closed-door setting."

Zaid in a blog post last week urged those who agreed with him that Najib had undermined public institutions and lived a lavish lifestyle to gather on March 27, "at a venue to be decided, so we can put our hearts and minds together and declare in unison that Najib must immediately resign, and that the inspector-general of police and the attorney-general must also resign".

He said Malaysians should declare their desire to rid the country of corrupt leaders, including civil servants who covered up misdeeds.

In his blog post Zaid, the former de facto law minister, also said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad should have a leading role in moves to oust Najib.

"Let's rally behind Dr Mahathir. For too long we have been paralyzed by the fear that Najib has imposed on the public," he said.

But Maria yesterday said Zaid's rally should be more than just a platform for Dr Mahathir's agenda against Najib.

"Malaysia has to go beyond that. We need changes to stop corruption, abuse of power by the police and the judiciary. The fundamentals need to be changed, not just the people on top," she had told The Malaysian Insider.

Zaid in another blog post yesterday said he was now supporting Dr Mahathir, because he saw "sincerity in his desire" to transform the government.

He also admitted he did not have a full plan after the March 27 gathering was held as he was only helping to organise it.

Zaid had been Kota Baru MP under Barisan Nasional and then a minister under then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, before joining opposition party PKR, which he quit in 2010.