Police say no to Save Malaysia Assembly

KUALA LUMPUR - Police reject the application notice for the organisation of the Save Malaysia Assembly following iinsufficient information.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the organisers did not meet the requirements of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

“They did not state the important details such as the organiser’s name as well as the location of the assembly.

“How can such an important matter like this not be taken into account by organisers who are made up of individuals with experience in holding demonstrations,” he said at a press conference at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters (IPD) here on Thursday.

When asked on the counter-assembly group known as the Red Shirts, Shuhaily said that all parties who wanted to assemble must know that they must submit a notification to the police five days prior to the assembly.

“They must state the location that the assembly would be held, as well as the name of the organiser, for now no notice has been received and intelligence has found that their gathering location changes periodically.

“The latest intelligence found it would be held at a mosque in Kampung Baru here,” he said.

Shuhaily said the lack of clear verification from organisers could lead to issues including complications for road users and the public.

“We hope the organisers would be more responsible in this issue and the police are not yet at the level of issuing court orders to stop certain parties from being present at certain locations.

“We don’t want to take exaggerated actions, we will prepare personnel to ensure public safety and peace ,” he said.

He said the organisers knew of the legal implications as this was was not a first for them in organising rallies and assemblies.