Police are not rolling out roadblocks around Kuala Lumpur where the "Save Malaysia Peaceful Gathering" protest rally will be held tomorrow afternoon.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Allaudeen Abdul Majid said they have made the necessary preparations to ensure peace and security during the rally at Kampung Baru.
These include deploying officers to monitor the rally and be on standby to prevent any untoward incident.
"We have already made all the necessary preparations. So far, we cannot estimate how many would participate in the rally.
"Traffic flow will be as usual," he said briefly in a text message.
Allaudeen (above) was responding to Malaysiakini's request for his comments on police preparations, including whether they plan to erect roadblocks around the city centre to deter protesters.
Normal deployment
The law enforcement agency had employed such tactics to prevent rallies in the past, including last year's #TangkapAzamBaki protest where police closed six main roads and selected stations across all rail lines heading towards the Kuala Lumpur city centre.
When asked if police would deploy the anti-riot Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) as a standby measure, Allaudeen replied in the negative.
"(Only) normal deployment of officers from the traffic division and police stations," he said.
Last night, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain reportedly said that several organisers had notified the police of their planned gathering, but none of the notices complied with requirements under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.
Tomorrow's rally was initiated by Perikatan Nasional Youth to protest the Attorney-General's Chambers’ decision to withdraw its case against Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi when a prima facie case was already established by the court.
Its main goal will be to call for Zahid to be charged in court again.
Initially, the organisers said the gathering would take place outside the Sogo shopping mall but later changed course, saying that they were open to moving the rally to the street in front of Yayasan Selangor in Bukit Bintang if the original venue in front of Sogo is not suitable.
Yesterday, Gerakan Selamatkan Malaysia secretariat said the venue for their gathering would be in the Malay enclave of Kampung Baru, which had been one of the main stages for the reformasi protest more than two decades ago. - Mkini
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