A Pakatan Rakyat ceramah site in Gombak was cordoned off by the police this morning, in what appears to be a pre-emptive move against a public talk on the Bersih 2.0 rally.PKR's Batu Caves assemblyperson Amirudin Shari said officers came in two cars about 10.30am and immediately put up yellow tape around the Kampung Wira Damai village hall and the adjacent field.
"They told us we could not use the venue for the ceramah (political talk) tonight.
"We had applied for the (ceramah) permit under the name of Bersih two or three weeks ago, before the authorities decided the word 'Bersih' was not allowed," he said when contacted.
Amirudin said the police did not give a clear reason why the venue was sealed off, but believes that it has something to do with the use of the word 'Bersih'. The residents' association of the village had attempted to get a meeting with the Gombak police chief through their lawyers, Zulkarnain Lukman and Zulhazmi Shariff, to seek an explanation.
Zulkarnain said the officer had refused to meet them although they had waited for one hour, prompting them to lodge a police report against him.
Police pre-emptive measures denounced
The Selangor government has denounced the police pre-emptive measures and expressed concern that their community programmes this weekend will be disrupted.
"I will meet with the Inspector General of Police to make sure that all programmes in Selangor go on without a hitch," said Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim in a tweet today.
Contacted by Malaysiakini, exco member Elizabeth Wong said that the state has been informed by police that this is a new directive.
"We are requesting a copy of the directive so we know what we can or cannot do," she said.
At a press conference earlier, senior exco member Teresa Kok said that police told her that she cannot hold a townhall meeting scheduled for this Saturday at an open field in USJ18, and asked her to move it indoors. The meeting, which is she holds regularly at the venue to accommodate the large crowds, has now been moved to a smaller venue in USJ17.
"The Menteri Besar too has a programme this Friday in Hulu Selangor. These are normal programmes by the state but the police are assuming that they all have something to do with Bersih," Wong said.
Separately, organisers of a PAS prayer and ceramah event tonight at Stadium Melawati, Shah Alam are expecting no trouble as a police permit was issued today.
"We applied the permit three days ago and received it this afternoon," said Selangor PAS Youth information chief Ahmad Shahrum Md Daud.- Malaysiakini
Meanwhile,in Penang, there are two planned gatherings at the Tapak Pesta Sungai Nibong and Tapak Expo Seberang Jaya are set to start at 8pm tomorrow.Penang police chief Datuk Ayub Yaakob warned the public today not to attend the state Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government’s twin events on the island and in Seberang Jaya tomorrow night, saying those who did would be taking part in “illegal” rallies.
Bersih 2.0 chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan; Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng; his deputy Datuk Mansor Othman; Pantai Jerejak assemblyman Sim Tze Tsin; and federal lawmaker Nurul Izzah Anwar are among the key speakers slated to appear.
But the deputy police commissioner has linked the state functions to the July 9 Bersih march for electoral reform in Kuala Lumpur.
“We have obtained a court order from the magistrate’s court, a notice to prohibit tomorrow’s gatherings, which we have also passed on to the organisers and affixed to both locations,” Ayub was reported as saying by national news agency Bernama in a press conference here today.
He added the police would use their power in accordance with the law to stop the assembly, and reminded the public they will face police action if they choose to attend.- Malaysian Insider
Polis sita tapak ceramah BERSIH
Cubaan rampas baju BERSIH: Ceramah PAS kecoh
Bersih 2.0: Tembelang Najib Pecah
cheers.
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