IT'S STILL STADIUM MERDEKA: Umno-BN "sour grapes" slammed for trying to thwart rally

The #KL112 or Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat rally will take place at the Stadium Merdeka on Saturday as planned despite 11th-hour attempts by the police to get the organizers to to shift to another venue in Bukit Jalil.

"We will stay put in Stadium Merdeka. There is no change. The OCPD must have been unaware of the latest arrangement and neither has the stadium management cancelled our booking," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Mohmad Salleh had thrown a spanner into the works when he said last night that the rally should be shifted to the Bukit Jalil Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 100,000 compared to Stadium Merdeka's 30,000.

“In view of the organiser’s goal of gathering one million participants, it is logical to hold the rally at Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil,” Mohamad Salleh had said in his statement.

Sour grapes

Mohamad Salleh's comments riled up the rally supporters who had been looking forward to day of peaceful assembly at the historic Stadium Merdeka.

"This is pure sour grapes. We already have an agreement with the police, what we have to comply with and what the police need to carry. To shoot off a late statement like that is bad faith and typifies the Umno-BN culture of not being able to keep its word," said Tian.

"Maybe some of the Umno-BN hardcore right wing are having cold feet, but this will only reflect badly on them. Just like in Bersih 3.0, where DBKL was used to create trouble over the Dataran Merdeka venue and and in Bersih 2.0 where Prime Minister Najib Razak disgraced himself reneging on his earlier agreement to let the protesters use Stadium Merdeka."

In black and white

Tian's views were corroborated by PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, who pointed out that an agreement with the police had been reached and even inked, with both parties agreeing to the event venue and certain security conditions posed on rally organisers.

“No police order issued asking us to move. I have spoken to the Dang Wangi OCPD (officer in charge of a police district) and it was a good discussion, and everything is in order. Our assembly will be at Stadium Merdeka,” Mat Sabu was reported as saying by the Malaysian Insider.

Historic rally

Saturday's rally due to begin at 2.00pm and end at 5.00pm will see the involvement of the country's top civil society movements which have been pushing for various demands through the years. Some of the groups taking part include the anti-Lynas movement, the oil-royalty pressure groups, education and mother-tongue groups as well as free and fair polls movement BERSIH.

Rally organisers target a turnout of one million people at the rally which is expected to be coloured by the BERSIH's signature yellow, the anti-Lynas' flourescent green, the Pakatan Rakyat women's purple and so forth.

Police had on Tuesday pledged to facilitate the mammoth event, which the Pakatan Rakyat helped to organize and have in turn promised to ensure that it would be peaceful.

"Not to worry, we will stick by the rules very closely. There should not be trouble as the police have already promised to control the crowd, which is their job in the first place. So feel free to come. It will be a very historic occassion," said Tian.

Malaysia Chronicle