PKR will hold a ceramah (public talk) tonight in Klang although it was unable to get a police permit to do so, said publicity chief Tian Chua.

However, he said the police have been informed of the event, scheduled to start at 7.30pm, and he hoped that they will extend cooperation.

The talk is primarily to address issues affecting the Indian Malaysian community. Party top guns such as de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim are among the long list of speakers.

There has also been a change in venue - now a field which is also the site of the Bukit Naga PAS headquarters in Jalan Kebun.

“To our knowledge, a permit is not required for a function on a private property,” said Chua at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

The event was to have been held at the Klang Hokkien Association hall, but plans had to be changed after PKR failed to obtain a police permit.

“The hall management’s new policy is to have all political parties show a police permit before the premises are rented out. They were apparently pressured by the authorities to do so,” said ceramah organiser and PKR deputy secretary-general Dr Xavier Jeyakumar.

Application rejected

Xavier said an application for a permit was made to the Klang district police on Dec 4 but that it was rejected on Dec 7.

“We knew that once it was turned down, we would not be able to get the hall. So we chose the nearest venue which can accommodate 2,000 to 3,000 people,” he said.

He added that volunteers will be stationed at the hall to redirect participants to the new venue.

On the purpose of the ceramah , Xavier said the event is to allow Indian community leaders to have their say on issues, following the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) rally on Nov 25.

“We also invited Anwar to explain what PKR can offer to Indians and all Malaysians,” he said.

The police have subjected several members of civil society groups and opposition members to a crackdown since the Hindraf rally.

Klang district police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop was unable to comment on the matter as he is currently out of town for a seminar.