The May Day gathering organised by a coalition comprising various non-governmental organisations, labour groups and opposition parties at the Dataran Merdeka today went without a hitch as the police did not intervene.

More than 1000 people from across the country - plantation and factory workers, farmers, urban settlers and students - turned up at the event which featured songs, speeches and a sketch.

About 100 police officers and men were present and for the first time perhaps, Dang Wangi district police chief Hadi Ho Abdullah commended the crowd for showing discipline and behaviour.

'Long live workers '

May 1 is International Labour Day. The May Day rally held every year celebrates the struggles and achievements of workers worldwide.

In the Dataran Merdeka event, the participants came in buses and started to gather at the historic Independence Square since 10 am with banners and placards.

Representatives from different organisations gave short speeches and appealed to the government to be concerned and conscientious over the issue of equitable wages for all workers as chants of "long live workers" and "we are the people" were heard in the background.

A sketch depicting the unfair treatment of workers - such as the low EPF dividend pay-out, inflation and low salaries - were also held. The 10-minute drama presented by students won loud applause from the crowd.

A declaration endorsed by 62 groups was also read out. The theme of the celebration for this year is the impact of the United States-led war against Iraq o­n workers.

The declaration said the capitalist has exploited the war, globalisation and technology to monopolise the world's wealth, resulting in much sufferings of workers.

Among the ten points in the declaration were also calls for an assurance for workers' rights, stop privatisation in the public sector, stop abuse of people's money to save cronies, rights to housing, and stop war to save life.

The crowd dispersed at about 12.30 pm.

Symbolic gathering

Orginising committee's spokeperson M Raviechandran when met by reporters expressed satisfaction at the success of this annual gathering as it was the first time that a police permit was given.

He said the committee would continue their efforts to safeguard the rights of workers and that it would organise the May Day rally every year.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia pro tem president Dr Nasir Mohd Hashim described this year's gathering as a symbolic change as after nine years, a police permit was finally granted for the Workers' Day celebration.

He said the struggle for workers' rights must continue so they would understand that the benefits they are enjoying today such as allowances and regular working hours were the results of past struggles.

DAP national publicity chief Ronnie Liu said there is "more bad news than good news" for the workers in Malaysia this year - referring to the lowest dividend in 40 years from EPF of 4.25 percent and the minimum RM350 wage for rubber plantation workers.

"Those are possible reasons why even the Kuala Lumpur police are sympathetic enough to grant us a permit to hold our May Day gathering today," Liu said.

Keadilan party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her vice-president Dr Xavier Jayakumar, Parti Rakyat Malaysia Youth chief Faizal Sanusi were also present to show their support.

Case by case

Met by reporters later, Dang Wangi district police chief Hadi Ho Abdullah praised the organisers for giving their full cooperation to the police.

He said the permit was given "due to many considerations, especially as it was held in conjunction with International Labour Day".

However, he dismissed the possibility that the police would grant permits for such gatherings in future.

"It will be treated o­n a case-by-case basis. We have to consider the traffic and security situations," he explained.

The permit was given to the organisers after a meeting called by Hadi yesterday. Several agreements to ensure that the crowd would not turn unruly was outlined during the meeting.

Last year, 20 people were arrested at the May Day rally for 'illegal assembly' when the police moved in to disperse the crowd.