Police won’t insist on media tags at rally

Bukit Aman assures journalists they will be safe from official harassment.

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have promised not to harass journalists covering this Saturday’s Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat rally even if they don’t have the media tags that Bukit Aman is issuing for the occasion.

The purpose of the special tags are to help police identify journalists so that they can provide them assistance, according to Bukit Aman Public relations chief Ramli Mohd Yoosuf.

Ramli told a press briefing today that the issuing of the tags was part of an overall plan to ensure the safety of everyone involved in the rally.

“All of us had bitter experiences in the Bersih 3.0 rally,” he said. “Our aim is to have zero casualty.”

Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) commander Abdul Hamid Mohd Ali, who also addressed today’s briefing, gave his assurance that police would not interfere with the media’s work.

“We won’t control or dictate anything to the media,” he said. “Your presence is allowed by the law and we will recognise other media tags.”

Saturday’s rally, which be held at Stadium Merdeka, is organised by Pakatan Rakyat. It is expected to attract thousands of participants.

Hamid said police would assign 50 marshals exclusively to assist journalists.

“If things turn bad, obviously you want to be at the best place possible to get some (photo and video) shots, but sometimes you may get stuck in the cross fire,” he said.

“The marshals will ensure your safety and at the same time allow the police to carry out their work. “So if you need to go somewhere at a particular time, inform the marshall on the field.”

Hamid assured the media that the police had no hidden agenda in deploying the marshals. “I hope the new arrangement does not create confusion,” he said. “It’s for the best of all parties.”

He also said the Tun HS Lee police station would be turned into a field media centre on Saturday to allow the press to get information on security arrangements.

“If this system works, we may consider using this method as our standard operation procedure, not only for public assemblies but maybe also during natural disasters,” he said.