A New Year's Eve protest against toll hikes, which has been shifted from the Jalan Duta toll plaza to the one in Sungai Besi, will be an offence if the organisers do not file in the necessary paperwork.

"If they don't submit a request to hold the protest, it would be an offence.

"We have not yet received an application from them, but we did receive information (about the protest) and are monitoring the situation," Selangor police chief Abu Samah Mat told Malaysiakini .

Abu Samah said the Sungai Besi toll plaza was also not an appropriate place to hold a protest.

One of the protest leaders, Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin, said the #ShutdownSungaiBesi group has attempted to file a request to hold the rally.

"However, the officer refused to accept (the application), giving an excuse that it was sent after office hours," Shazni claimed.

The Dec 31 demonstration, scheduled to start at 9pm, is to protest potential hikes for eight tolled roads in the Klang Valley next year.

It was previously scheduled to be held at the Duta toll plaza, but the organisers changed the venue due to a stiff response from the police.

In a statement today, Shazni ( photo ) said the new location is actually better, as it is nearer to exit routes, should there be any emergency cases during the protest.

"Road users who don't want to be part of the protest are advised to stay away from the Sungai Besi toll plaza to avoid traffic congestion," he added.

On April 25 last year, the Court of Appeal in a landmark decision declared Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA) as null and void and unconstitutional.

A three-member panel led by recently retired judge Mohamad Ariff Md Yusuf had, in a unanimous decision then, struck out the charge against PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who was charged in relation to the Black 505 rally after the 2013 general election.

By declaring Section 9(5) unconstitutional, the requirement to notify the police under Section 9(1) still stands, but is rendered unenforceable because there is no penalty for its breach.

However, in an unanimous decision in October, the court said Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA), which criminalises the failure to give the notice, to be “constitutional, valid, and enforceable”.

The court also upheld the Johor Bahru Sessions Court decision to fine Johor PKR executive secretary R Yuneswaran RM6,000 for failing to give the notice to the police prior to holding the Blackout 505 rally in Johor, or three months’ imprisonment in default.