Dataran sealed again due to 'renovation work'

As the Himpunan Hijau marchers head towards Dataran Merdeka today, DBKL has once again sealed the iconic square, saying that this is because of on-going renovations and upgrading works. 

At the same time, about 100 police personnel and 30 Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) enforcement officers showed up this early morning. 

City Hall have set up roadblocks at both ends of Dataran Merdeka, which connect to Jalan Tun Perak and Lebuh Pasar Besar respectively, similar to what it had done during the Bersih 3.0 rally on April 28 this year.

A notice, issued by the Kuala City mayor Ahmad Phesal Talib himself, has been placed in the middle of the roadblock, stated that “this place is closed for any activities”.

According to DBKL, the closure is due to renovation and upgrading works at Dataran Merdeka. A banner hung at the square provides the information that the work started from Sept 13 this year and will be on-going until Feb 11 next year. 

Although the works only involve the green field and fountain next to it, DBKL has sealed the whole road which passes alongside the square. 

However, the authorities are not stopping tourists from visiting and snapping pictures at Dataran Merdeka. 

When approached, a DBKL enforcement officer said that DBKL had sealed the road since 7pm yesterday, and claimed that the road is sealed regularly during weekends. 

A police officer claimed that the authorities had decided to seal the road because of worries that as the renovation works are on-going, many nails and hard objects would drop on the road and hence puncture the tyres of vehicles passing through. 

However, when asked whether the blockade has anything to do with the green marchers, he didn’t respond directly, saying that he was only following orders.

According to a report in Sin Chew Dailytoday, DBKL had issued a statement disallowing the green marchers from setting up camp at the Dataran, given that such activities do not fulfill the requirements by City Hall. 

The statement noted that the renovation work had started since October this year and will only be completed around December next year, and seven other applications to hold event at Dataran Merdeka had been rejected as well. 

The green marcher have resumed their journey from PAS’ former headquarters at Gombak, and are scheduled to reach Dataran Merdeka at 4pm. In between, they will have a short break at Kapung Railway, Sentul at 2pm.

The green marchers are planning to set up camp at Dataran Merdeka tonight and wait for the MPs to meet them the next morning. 

DBKL had done similar actions during the Bersih 3.0 rally this year, as it barricaded the entire square and set up roadblocks to prevent the protesters from holding the planned sit-in.