Tension at Bersih gathering in front of Parliament
KUALA LUMPUR: Police allowed some 300 protesters to march from the National Monument to Parliament yesterday to submit a memorandum on the Election Commission's (EC) redelineation report to the Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.
However, only 10 representatives, including Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, former Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah and current acting chairman Shahrul Aman Mohd Saari, were allowed to see the speaker's private secretary Jaafar Mat Zin outside the Parliament building.
Earlier, tension brewed as participants tried to break through a police barricade in an attempt to march towards parliament.
The participants, who began gathering at Tugu Negara around 8am, wanted to submit a memorandum against the Election Commission's (EC) redelineation report to Pandikar.
Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Shaharuddin Abdullah, however, said the police would only allow 10 representatives to submit the memorandum, and that action would be taken should the 300-over crowd defy police orders.
The situation became tense when the crowd, together with Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and several opposition leaders, started marching but was stopped by some 30 police personnel, leading to a shouting match.
The crowd eventually outnumbered the police and made their way to Jalan Parlimen, before being stopped again by another police barricade comprising the Light Strike Force (LSF).
The crowd eventually gathered just outside the parliament compound as over 50 police officers guarded the gate.
Shaharuddin said the gathering was under control despite the commotion.
"We prevented any untoward incidents from happening at the Parliament building," he told reporters.
He said police have identified rally-goers who failed to comply with the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012.
Under PAA, organisers must submit a 10-day advance notice to the police prior to the planned gathering.
"We will wait for further instructions from the deputy public prosecutor for further action if additional offences were committed under the Act.
"We have identified the organisers involved and would be calling them up for statements for our investigations," he said.