KUALA LUMPUR: A rally to present an eight-point reform plan for the Indian community and to call for the deportation of controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik that was planned to be held at Brickfields today, has been called off by the event organiser.
Shankar Ganesh Siridharan, in a statement, said that the rally was cancelled following the intervention and assurances by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to help the Indian community.
“I am cancelling this peaceful gathering today due to two main reasons.
“I don’t want to go against law and order. Without police consent, I don’t want the public to be affected in any way. I would prefer to do it with police permission.
“Secondly, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had called me and requested I cancel the gathering. He has promised to help the Indian community. He has given us an appointment to meet him next week to discuss the issues.
“I have agreed to his request and I want to put faith in his promises,” said Shankar, who is popularly known as Funky Shankar.
Yesterday, a rally titled ‘Equal rights to Indians and other races’ took place in ‘Little India’, Brickfields without untoward incidents, although two participants were detained to give their statements.
Those detained were K. Umagandhan of the Naan Oru Tamilan education group and Chinese educationist Tan Boon Tak.
In a statement, Kuala Lumpur Police chief Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim confirmed the arrests of two people, adding that they were held for investigations under Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.
“Police took all measures in ensuring the safety of the public throughout the rally. We also arrested two men aged 34 and 67 respectively.”
Earlier, Mazlan said: “The rally was attended by members of the public and was held without permission from the Brickfields police. The notice application submitted by the organisers did not comply with Section 9 (1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.”
“Results of police surveillance also showed that participants of the rally had dispersed in a safe manner from the (Brickfields) fountain area,” added Mazlan.
Mazlan then urged the public to cooperate with police to ensure there are no untoward incidents.
