Kuala Lumpur City Hall today rejected an application from anti-Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) protesters to use Dataran Merdeka as the venue for their rally this Saturday.

This was conveyed by rally director Kamaruzaman Mohamad today after meeting Dang Wangi OCPD Zainol Samad andCity Hall officers.

Kamaruzaman, however, said that the protest would nevertheless proceed at Dataran Merdeka.

He said the organisers have made an appeal to the Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

"We hope Tengku Adnan will let us know the decision on our appeal tomorrow.

“Even if the appeal is rejected, we will continue to have the rally at Dataran Merdeka," he said when met outside the Dang Wangi district police headquarters.

This was the second meeting between the organisers of the 'Kumpulan Bantah TPPA' rally with the police.

Also present was Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah and other members of Kumpulan Bantah TPPA.

Kamaruzaman also said discussions were still ongoing with the police to obtain their approval to use Dataran Merdeka for the rally.

"Because we have already announced that the venue is Dataran Merdeka, we don't want to change location because it may confuse the public," he said.

He related that their application was rejected because the area has been gazetted as off-limit to gatherings without the express permission of the mayor.

'We are still in negotiations with the police. We will ensure that the rally does not violate the Peaceful Assembly Act and the DBKL Act," he said, adding that organisers will ensure it is a legal gathering so that the rakyat will feel free and safe to attend without disturbances.

"We call upon Malaysians to join us without worry, fear or concern as we will ensure that the rally observes all legal requirements," said Kamaruzaman.

No marching allowed

Kumpulan Bantah TPPA deputy chairperson Azlan Awang said he also assured authorities that there will be no marching on the day of the rally as per the Peaceful Assembly Act.

He said rally-goers may take part after Friday prayers at the nearby Masjid India, Masjid Jamek and Masid Negara and thus will move towards Dataran Merdeka after completion.

"There will be no marching but there will be some crowd movements from the mosques. This cannot be equated with a street demonstration where they gather after zohor prayers with banners and loudspeakers in hand."

He said that orders will be issued to all participants after zohor prayers for them to move in an orderly fashion towards Dataran Merdeka and that there will be no chanting or displaying of banners.

Azlan added that Pakatan Harapan have also said that they will join the peaceful rally.

"They have announced that they will take part. I believe that this will the largest gathering (to date) as many NGOs will join us," said Azlan,

So far, opposition parties PSM, PAS and Amanah have agreed to mobilise for the rally this Saturday though DAP and PKR have not publicly said that they will turn up in numbers.