DATARAN Merdeka will be
closed off to the public for the next 48 hours from 6am tomorrow as the
authorities move to prevent the Bersih 3.0 sit-in in the historic square this
Saturday.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall
(DBKL) issued the order after unconfirmed reports said that police have obtained a court order today
preventing the use of Dataran Merdeka for a rally.
The move against the
electoral reforms movement is seen as a sign that the hawks in Putrajaya have
won the day despite their confidence that the rally has no traction.
KL mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad
Ismail said in a statement that the restriction will be enforced based on Local
Government (Dataran Merdeka) (Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur) By-Laws 1992
and Section 65 of the Local Government Act 1976.
He said the restriction will
be lifted at 6am on Sunday morning.
DBKL has already barricaded
the historic square in the capital city but the electoral reforms group have
said it will gather there this Saturday as time was too short to consider other
venues.
Putrajaya and DBKL have
offered several stadiums, including Stadium Merdeka which was ironically
cordoned off during last July's Bersih 2.0 rally.
The police have taken a
hands-off approach towards the latest rally with DBKL taking the lead role as
it runs the square. The city authorities have just evicted a group of activists
calling themselves Occupy Dataran this week, two weeks after they set up a
daily camp there.
A similar order last July
galvanised a larger turnout in the capital city, with organisers saying nearly
50,000 gathered to walk past road blocks and policemen who shut down the city.
But police said only 6,000 took part in the rally and nearly 1,700 were
arrested.
Another such order this
weekend could push more support for Bersih, which launched the protest as some
of their demands were not met when a parliamentary select committee (PSC) made
22 recommendations to reform the electoral process.
The bipartisan panel was
formed following the July 9, 2011 rally for free and fair elections that saw
tens of thousands flood into the streets of the capital.
The Najib administration was
widely condemned for a clampdown on the demonstration in which police fired
water cannons and tear gas into crowds during chaotic scenes that resulted in
over 1,500 arrested, scores injured and the death of an ex-soldier.
Bersih’s eight demands are:
a clean electoral roll, reform to postal voting, the use of indelible ink, a
minimum campaign period of 21 days, fair access to the media, the strengthening
public institutions, a stop to corruption, and an end to dirty politics.
PR has pledged its full
support for this Saturday’s rally, promising to mobilise thousands of
supporters to attend the event.
Jika mereka berkumpul di Dataran Merdeka, tidak perlu la mereka mundar-mandir di kawasan lain.
ReplyDeleteEntah apa akan terjadi pada hari perhimpunan ini. Mungkinkah mereka akan merusuh ke Dataran Merdeka? Bukan perhimpunan aman sudah kalau macam tu nanti.
ReplyDeleteperhimpunan kali ini huru-hara. ada kereta polis diterbalikkan. ramai yang cedera. ini bukan lagi perhimpunan aman.
DeleteStadium diberi tidak mahu tapi sengaja buat rusuhan di jalanan
DeleteAwal2 lagi sudah cakap Dataran Merdeka tidak dibenarkan buat perhimpunan walau perhimpunan aman sekalipun.Patut mereka sudah cari lokasi lain awal2 lagi.
ReplyDeleteSengaja saja tu mahu cari pasal. sengaja mahu cetuskan pergaduhan/rusuhan.
DeleteDATARAN MERDEKA bukannya tempat perhimpunan haram.
ReplyDeleteyup.. Dataran Merdeka bukan dikhaskan untuk Ambiga dan pemimpin2 pembangkang melancarkan demonstrasi mereka..
Deletekerajaan berusaha menjaga keamanan negara ini, melindungi orang awam, peniaga2 dan juga pelancong asing.. pembangkang dan penganjur Bersih pula senang2 menyusahkan negara, orang awam, peniaga2 dan pelancong asing semata2 mahu melakukan rampasan kuasa..
ReplyDelete