Palace locked down, major roads blocked

All access to the Istana Negara has been blocked by the police in anticipation of two major afternoon rallies - one for and the other against - the use of the Internal Security Act.

Checks this morning revealed that police have cordoned off Jalan Istana in the federal capital, with about a dozen riot police trucks and water cannons replacing the usual sight of weekend tourist buses in front of the palace.

The palace is the focal point for both rallies, which aims to submit memorandums to the King to intervene in their causes.

Initially, the Abolish the ISA Movement (better known by its Malay acronym GMI) had planned to rally 100,000 at 2pm before marching to the Palace to hand a memorandum, urging the King to pressure the government into abolishing the law.

The law which is now 49-years-old, was conceived to tackle the communist insurgency but critics have since bemoaned that the law was abused to jail political dissidents without trial.

GMI, which members include three main opposition parties PKR, PAS and DAP, received a shot in the arm yesterday when PAS ordered all its members to participate in the rally, against the law which has jailed many of its leaders over the years.

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, both two-time ISA detainees themselves, will lead the protest, along with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Roadblocks

A rival group led by Majlis Pemuafakatan Ummah (Pewaris) plans to hold a counter rally, unless GMI backs down. There are worried over the Pewaris' rally because it include silat practitioners as protesters.

The two groups are expected to be colour-coded - Pewaris supporters in white, while GMI supporters would be in black and red.

As of this morning, neither side appeared to be compromising and will begin their respective rallies at 2pm simultaneously in several locations across the central business district of Kuala Lumpur.

As of 9am, Pewaris officials were spotted at Central Market, which is one of their two rally points. The bulk of their supporters are expected to arrive at 1pm.

Since last night, roadblocks have been erected at major arteries into the city to prevent out-of-town protesters from entering. This morning, traffic in the city was caught in a gridlock as a result of these roadblocks.

Unlike before, there are yet to be any reports of out-of-town chartered buses being turned away for ferrying suspected protesters.

"We have learned from past experiences. Our people are not traveling with any obvious signs that they are protesters. A lot of them are traveling on private vehicles and public transport," an East-coast based Pakatan Rakyat leader told Malaysiakini.

Police warnings

Another Pakatan leader from Perak said that several buses from the state are crossing their fingers and hoping that they would not run into police check points.

"Even if our buses are stopped, we will walk," he said.

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur police chief Mohd Sabtu Osman (left) has warned of stern action against protesters should they ignore police warnings against participating in either rallies.

"We are asking them to stop the rallies as they have better channels to voice our views," he said yesterday.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has also called for the protesters to stand down and urged them to instead air their suggestions in other ways to amend the law.

There are reports that roadblocks in Selayang have caused traffic backed up all way to Rawang.

There are roadblocks along Federal Highway in Petaling Jaya, Silk Highway in Kajang, the Jalan Duta toll of the North Klang Valley Expressway, among others.

Areas around the National Museum, which is close to the palace, have been closed, while police have blocked all major roads heading into the city.

Riot police, backed up by water-cannon trucks, have stationed themselves in all major meeting points since early this morning.