Mystery surrounds police permit for Bersih

(FMT NEWS ALERT) - Bersih 2.0 has claimed that a police permit has been issued for the coalition to hold its rally in Stadium Merdeka.

However, PKR Youth leader Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin tweeted that Dang Wangi district police chief Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman had denied this.

Bersih steering committee member Haris Ibrahim had earlier confirmed that a police permit was issued.

“The police permit has been issued but we need to negotiate with the stadium’s management because the place is undergoing renovation works,” he said.

A Bersih representative is on the way to the police station to collect a letter from the district police chief.

FMT however learnt that the letter from the district police is just a rejection letter although Bersih had not applied for a police permit.

In another tweet, PKR vice-president Tian Chua offered a different version, stating that the stadium had given permission to Bersih for the rally tomorrow but the police had yet to issue one.

Yesterday, Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar urged Bersih to hold its rally outside of the city while Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin condemned the coalition as being recalcitrant for insisting on Stadium Merdeka.

Yesterday, the police also obtained a court order barring 91 people, including Bersih chief S Ambiga, from entering certain parts of Kuala Lumpur.

However, Stadium Merdeka was not one of the places cited in the order.

When contacted, the Dang Wangi police chief said he would clear the confusion over the Bersih permit at his press conference later this afternoon.

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