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Thursday, 7 July 2011

Police To Decide On Use Of Merdeka Stadium For July 9 Rally, Says Najib

KLANG, July 6 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Wednesday the decision to allow the July 9 rally at the Merdeka Stadium rested with the police.

"We have left it to the authorities, particularly the police, to decide in terms of security and so on," he told a news conference after launching the Malaysian Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Foundation, here.

He said any official application from the organiser to hold the rally must fulfil conditions, one of which was that the organisation must be a registered one.

The organiser should also adhere to the conditions pertaining to security imposed by the police, he added.

Replying to a question, Najib said: "Bersih is illegal. It has never been registered." Bersih 2.0 is a group asking for changes to the electoral system.

Asked when he was meeting Datuk S. Ambiga, the chairman of Bersih 2.0, the prime minister said: "I didn't say I will be meeting Ambiga. The government can mean anyone; government doesn't mean me specifically."

Asked whether he had received any request from Bersih 2.0 for a meeting with him, Najib said there was none.

In KUALA LUMPUR, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim suggested that the organiser of the July 9 rally hold the gathering in a stadium in one of the states administered by the opposition.

They could hold the gathering in Penang, Kelantan, Kedah or Selangor, he said, adding that stadiums in states administered by the Barisan Nasional (BN) should only be considered as an alternative.

Dr Rais spoke to reporters after chairing a weekly meeting of the communications brigade at his office. The communications brigade comprises agencies engaged in communications operations under the ministry.

The minister said that as Bersih 2.0 was illegal, the application for a permit to hold the rally in the Merdeka Stadium, Negara Stadium and the Bukit Jalil Stadium could not be entertained.

He said the application for the rally should be made by an individual or a legal non-governmental organisation.

Dr Rais said the opinion of the people who had made thousands of police reports against the planned rally should also be considered by the authorities.

He also said that the outcome of the audience granted to Ambiga by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin at the Istana Negara yesterday had been manipulated by way of unhealthy politics which was not good for Malaysia.

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