Pakatan rejects Merdeka Stadium offer

Pakatan Rakyat rejects DBKL's offer to conduct Black 505 rally in Stadium Merdeka.

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Rakyat has rejected Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) offer to conduct Saturday’ Black 505 rally at Stadium Merdeka.

PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli was today responding to KL Mayor Ahmad Phesal Talib statement on Wednesday that DBKL was still awaiting Pakatan’s reply to their alternative venues suggestion – including Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Titiwangsa.

“Unless the leadership decides that I can no longer represent Pakatan,there is no change in the venue. It will be Padang Merbok,” Rafizi told FMT.

When contacted, DBKL media relations officer Hassan Abu Bakar said his department would leave Pakatan’s defiance up to the police.

“We have told them (Pakatan) that they cannot use the venue because other people are using it. So if they proceed with the rally, it would be illegal under the law,” he told FMT.

“If they proceed with the rally and break the law, it will no longer be under our jurisdiction, but under enforcement agencies. We will leave it to the police.”

It was reported that DBKL had already rejected PKR’s application to use the venue last week. They said the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) would be using Padang Merbok to prepare for a charity run on Sunday.

However, Rafizi claimed it was clear OCM were being pressured by someone “higher up” to put a stop to the rally.

“It’s bad enough that (prime minister) Najib (Tun Razak) cannot accept the fact that we are entitled to gather and use Padang Merbok for our rally. But it is not fair for Najib and Zahid to use OCM (to stop us),” the Pandan MP was quoted as saying.

DBKL was also said to be concerned about the landscape surrounding Padang Merbok and wants to avoid traffic congestion.

Both Pakatan leaders and DBKL met last Friday but failed to come to an agreement.