Noon deadline for Jan 12 rally venue decision

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu has given until noon tomorrow for Stadium Merdeka officials to decide whether Pakatan leaders may use the venue for Saturday's Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (People’s Uprising Rally).

He said that following yesterday's development, stadium officials did not say yes or no to the opposition coalition’s application.

“However, we will await until tomorrow noon as the deadline. If there is no development, we will make an announcement at 4pm tomorrow on where the gathering will be held,” he said.

Pakatan had submitted its application last month but there had been no word on the status of the application.

Yesterday, it was reported that the stadium's official had refused to meet Pakatan Rakyat to secure the use of the historic and iconic stadium.

The delegation, led by PAS Youth secretary Khairul Faizi Ahmad Kamil (below, centre in photo), said Pakatan has been trying to secure the use of the venue for the past two weeks, but to no avail.

“We had submitted a letter to the Merdeka Heritage Trust on Dec 26 last year, requesting the use of the stadium. This was in addition to phone calls to the office, " he said.

As there was no response, the Pakatan delegation turned up yesterday afternoon but the security personnel barred the representatives from meeting with the management.

Mohamad, more popularly known as Mat Sabu, is presently leading a delegation of Pakatan leaders to call on the inspector-general of police to ensure the smooth running of the gathering.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said they will ensure the gathering is a peaceful one and will seek police cooperation in the matter.

He said the gathering will be held between 2pm to 5pm on Saturday.