Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has praised the organisers of yesterday's anti-apostasy Himpun rally for its orderly conduct.

najib at police function 231011 najib abdul razak He said it was in stark comparison to the protests that occurred on July 9 by the Bersih 2.0 coalition for clean and fair elections that saw more than 1,600 arrested and a slew of prosecution charges.

"That is what I meant when I offered a stadium to Bersih 2.0 to have their gathering," he told a press conference after attending a police veterans' appreciation ceremony in Kuala Lumpur this evening.

"Compared to the chaos that happened when Bersih 2.0 was held and yesterday's gathering, there was a great difference. No one was disturbed, pressed or felt unsafe as a result of the rally."

Najib added that the rally was a reflection of his reform efforts to amend section 27 of the Police Act to allow more space for peaceful demonstrations.

The Himpun rally yesterday drew some 5,000 people at the Shah Alam Stadium in a move to "unite Muslims and defend their faith".

'Up to states for anti-apostasy law'

The gathering concluded with a 10-point declaration, including calling for new laws to curb proselytising by non-Muslims to Muslims.

himpun rally crowd 1 Asked to comment on that demand, Najib said such laws fell under state jurisdiction and it was up to state governments to draft them.

"The states have absolute power on this, so what action will follow depends on the state. I am sure the state authorities will give attention to this."

The rally follows the Selangor Islamic Religious Department's raid on a dinner function at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church in which it was claimed Muslims were bring proselytised to.

Following an investigation, Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah declared that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the 12 Muslims who had attended the function but there were indications that proselytisation had taken place.