Bersih agrees to discuss Dataran Merdeka venue with DBKL

ARCHIVES 2012

By admin-s On Apr 11, 2012

Ambiga said DBKL’s approval should “automatically follow” Putrajaya’s nod for the rally to be held. — File pic

(The Malaysian Insider) -Bent on using Dataran Merdeka for its rally this April 28, Bersih 2.0 said today it will accept Putrajaya’s advice to communicate its plans to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

But the election watchdog chairman’s, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, stressed to The Malaysian Insider that the permit application should merely be a matter of formality as Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has already said yesterday the rally could proceed.

“To me, we have already gotten the permission. As far as we are concerned, we have the go-ahead from the government and DBKL’s agreement ought to be a mere formality,” she said when contacted here.

Ambiga, who last year found herself arrested over Bersih 2.0’s July 9 rally, added that once the government had granted the green light, permission from the local council should “automatically follow”.

“Nevertheless, we will proceed to communicate with DBKL as suggested,” she said.

But the former Bar Council chairman also expressed hope that the advice to seek DBKL’s nod, made by de facto law minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz yesterday, was not the government’s attempt at passing the buck to another authority to resolve the issue.

If the Najib administration is sincere and has no objection to the rally, Bersih’s third such gathering for free and fair elections, there should be no further objection from any other party, including from DBKL, she said.

“We do not wish history to repeat itself in the manner with which we were messed around in relation to Stadium Merdeka the previous time,” she said.

Ambiga added that Bersih 2.0 had checked the schedule for Dataran Merdeka and found that no conflicting event has been planned for April 28.

“Dataran Merdeka is free on that day and that time,” she said.

In separate statements to the media yesterday, Hishammuddin and Nazri had given the go-ahead to Bersih 2.0 to stage “Bersih 3.0”, provided that all matters pertaining to its chosen Dataran Merdeka venue are resolved.

Hishammuddin had urged the group to negotiate with the police on an appropriate location while Nazri had said it was okay for the event to proceed at Dataran Merdeka provided that permission is obtained from its owner.