Police to deploy 80 personnel for 'Melayu Berdaulat' rally in KL

Summary:

• The police will deploy 80 personnel to maintain order during the "Melayu Berdaulat" rally near Sogo in Kuala Lumpur, as organisers insist on proceeding despite road closures linked to the Asean summit.

• The rally aims to raise concerns about Malay and Islamic interests under the current government, with organisers citing issues such as the Urban Renewal Act and land acquisition in Kampung Sungai Baru.

The police will deploy 80 personnel tomorrow to manage the crowd during the "Melayu Berdaulat" (Malay sovereignty) rally expected outside the Sogo shopping complex.

Dang Wangi police chief Sulizme Affendy Sulaiman said police are aware of the planned rally and the deployment is aimed at ensuring public safety and order.

“We have held discussions with the organisers, but they remain firm in their decision to proceed with the rally,” Bernama reported him saying in a statement today.

The group plans to gather at four locations - Masjid Jamek Kuala Lumpur, Masjid Jamek Kampung Baru, the Sultan Sulaiman Club in Kampung Baru, and Jalan Raja Laut - before converging at Sogo.

This is despite major road closures in conjunction with the Asean summit affecting roads connecting to the rally venue.

While those roads where the rally is planned for are not closed, they will likely be affected by closures at Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Parlimen, and Jalan Kuching, among others.

At a press conference last week, organising chairperson Syed Hassan Syed Ali said that the group has no intention of disrupting the Asean summit, and that the clashing dates were just a coincidence.

"We don't like to cause chaos, we just want to express our worries as regular citizens who observed that the interests of Malays and Islam are declining under the current government," he said.

Among their grouses are the Urban Renewal Act (URA), which they claim can undermine Malay land ownership, and issues surrounding land acquisition at Kampung Sungai Baru in Kuala Lumpur.

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