Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah says the August 29 and 30 rally will go ahead despite objections from City Hall and failure to obtain police permit. – The Malaysian Insider pic by srth Akmal, August 19, 2015.Police will not allow the Bersih 4 rally to proceed as the organisers have not replied with a notice to hold the gathering, The Star reported today.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Tajuddin Md Isa was quoted as saying they would call the organisers, Bersih 2.0, to the Dang Wangi police headquarters and advise the electoral reform group to cancel its mammoth gathering on August 29 and 30 in the capital city.
He said Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had already turned down Bersih's request to hold the rally, and the civil society group had also not reverted to the police with a notice of the gathering.
"Now that DBKL has not allowed them to gather at Padang Merbok or Dataran Medeka, and as no other venue has been suggested, we cannot allow the rally to go on," Tajuddin said, according to the report.
Yesterday, Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah said the rally would go ahead despite DBKL advising them to postpone the gathering for a week.
She had also said DBKL's suggestion of alternative venues – Taman Titiwangsa, Merdeka Stadium and the National Stadium – was not possible as they had already announced the date and venue.
"We will not interfere with the Merdeka preparations as (the rally) will be within the vicinity of Dataran Merdeka.
“We will not change the date and we will disperse before midnight (of August 31)," she had told reporters after a meeting with DBKL officials yesterday.
August 31 is Merdeka or independence day and a parade is expected to be held at Dataran Merdeka.
But Maria said when Bersih first informed DBKL of its rally, no Merdeka activities had been planned as of then.
"What we want to emphasise is that before we even fixed the dates on August 29 and 30, we called up City Hall and they said there was no activity (to be held in Dataran Merdeka).
"But now they have decided to have activities," Maria had said. – August 19, 2015.
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