PAS will hold a meeting with all relevant authorities over the final location for its upcoming rally in support of amendments to syariah punishments, dubbed the Act 355 Rally.

Party deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man last night said the party is still waiting for a response from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) over its request to use Dataran Merdeka on Feb 18.

"We will meet first. We will try (to meet) in the nearest future. We are waiting for a response (from DBKL) for us to respond accordingly.

"We wish to meet with all parties including the police and DBKL, to discuss so that the rally can go on in a peaceful manner," he told reporters after a pre-rally roadshow at Desa Pandan last night.

"If possible, we want (to hold it at) Dataran (Merdeka)," he said when asked for comments on a proposal by Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor for the gathering to be held at Stadium Titiwangsa.

Tengku Adnan, who pointed out that PAS had previously held its Rohingya solidarity rally at the stadium, said the ministry and DBKL did not practice favouritism in implementing a ban on any gathering at Dataran Merdeka.

Earlier in his speech, Tuan Ibrahim stressed the rally would not cause any disturbance to the public, just like other events previously held at Dataran Merdeka.

"I want to say that during the Le Tour de Langkah, they closed the roads, but there was no disturbance.

"We hope we can get permission (for Dataran Merdeka). If it is really not possible, only then will we find another location," he said.

Prior to this, Tuan Ibrahim had announced that the gathering would be held in support of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, who tabled the motion on his Private Member's Bill to amend Act 355 to remove the final obstacle to the implementation of hudud in Kelantan.

Abdul Hadi, who is also Marang MP, had read the bill on the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Act 1965 in November, but its tabling and debate was postponed to the next session, which is expected in May.

The matter would be debated during the next Dewan Rakyat session in March.

While Hadi's bill has riled non-Muslim parties, particularly BN component parties, in a surprise twist the government announced its intention to take over the controversial bill.

Therefore, when the motion moves to the second reading stage, it would be read by Islamic Affairs Minister Jamil Khir Baharom.

During the Umno general assembly last year, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said the federal government would eventually take over the bill, but assured that non-Muslims would have nothing to fear.