The police will be held responsible if clashes take place between Bersih 5 rally participants and the red-shirts, DAP's former senator S Ramakrishnan and former Teluk Intan MP M Manogaran warn.

This is because police have the power under the Peaceful Assembly Act to order the red-shirts counter-rally to be held at another time or place but have refused to do so, Ramakrishnan and Manogaran said.

They said this after lodging a police report at the Sea Park police station in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

"To allow the red-shirts to counter-assemble is against the law in view of Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

"Section 18 requires the officer-in-charge of a police district to prevent a counter-assembly if it is evident that the organising of the counter-assembly will cause conflict between the participants of the assemblies," they said in their police report.

Ramakrishnan and Manogaran called on the police to carry out their statutory duty to safeguard public order.

Manogaran, a lawyer, said the red-shirts have become brazen due to police inaction against them.

"The police have abdicated their statutory duty," he told Malaysiakini last night.

In the police report, Ramakrishnan and Manogaran also urged authorities to take action against Jamal under the Penal Code for the various threats of violence he has made.