Two KL locations to be designated for peaceful assemblies

UPDATED | PARLIAMENT | Padang Merbok and Jalan Raja in Kuala Lumpur will be gazetted as designated assembly places, announced Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Following this, Muhyiddin said, organisers who wish to hold assemblies at these places would no longer need to notify the police.

“But, they have to get the approval from the premises’ owners,” he said when tabling the Peaceful Assembly (Amendment) Bill 2019.

“Currently, only Stadium Darul Makmur in Pahang is gazetted as a designated assembly place,” he said.

A total of 8,668 protests and assemblies were held in 2018, and 1,592 were held this year up to May 2019, Muhyiddin added.

When winding up the PAA bill much later, he said his ministry was in discussion with local authorities nationwide, to increase the number of designated assembly locations.

This was to provide more venues for the local people to conduct assemblies, he said.

During the policy stage debate, Maria Chin Abdullah (Harapan-Petaling Jaya) asked the government to include iconic Dataran Merdeka as a designated assembly place.

In his reply, Muhyiddin said the idea of making Dataran Merdeka as designated assembly place was turned down by Kuala Lumpur City Hall which had raised concerns over vandalism.

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