No police permit has been issued for any of the three rallies the organisers plan to hold in Kuala Lumpur at the same time on July 9.

And that, according to the police, is because nobody has applied for a permit.

"We have not received any application for a permit. All these groups say they will be getting police permits and what not in the media, they're just all talk," Kuala Lumpur acting police chief Amar Singh Ishar Singh said.

However, he kept mum when asked if police permits would be issued should applications come in.

"We are looking at the circumstances of the whole scenario. We have to take into consideration what sort of action to take," he told Malaysiakini .

"You have to understand. This is difficult for us. More than 400 police reports have been lodged against the rally," he said, referring to the complaints against the impending Bersih 2.0 march.

NONE The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) first announced it was planning a massive demonstration in the nation's capital to press for electoral reforms and to hand over a petition to Istana Negara.

Later, Malay rights NGO Perkasa announced that it would hold a counter-protest to prevent the Bersih 2.0 supporters from ‘causing trouble', with its president Ibrahim Ali promising that Perkasa was ready to "fight to the end".

The most recent to join the fray was Umno Youth, which wants to hold its own rally to support the present electoral system.

Calling for all groups to stand down, Amar said any clash among them could be costly to the city of KL.

'Please, don't come out'

"People are saying that such demonstrations will affect the peace and tranquillity of KL. We are looking at the circumstances, that businesses will be affected and there will be massive traffic jams all over the city...

"It would suggest, since there are such reports of conflicting groups gathering at the same time, that the situation could lead to a breach of peace. Then (the gatherings) should not happen," he said.

Pressed further, Amar said: "When groups do this, disturbance of peace will occur. There are already reports by a lot of concerned groups. So, I urge all groups not to gather."

Asked whether police would take pre-emptive measures to ensure security and safety of the demonstrators should the rallies still take place, he said the police would ‘act accordingly', but gave no further details.

"Our priority and prime interest is preserving tranquillity. We can't afford a confrontation by the groups, or else the whole of KL will be paralysed. Appropriate measures will be taken," he added.

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