The police are probing some 70 police reports lodged in connection with the avalanche of ceramah held in Perak following the fall of the Pakatan Rakyat state government.

Perak police chief (CPO) Zulkifli Abdullah today told a press conference that investigations are currently underway.

According to him, some of the police reports alleged that some of the ceramah were seditious in nature while others pertained to illegal gatherings.

"We will begin to record statements from leaders of the parties implicated and also participants. Starting from today, I have instructed the Perak criminal investigation director to identify those who have been giving illegal ceramah and call them in for questioning," said Zulkifli.

pkr perak ceramah 110209 crowd.jpg He also reminded political parties that it was important for ceramah organisers to respect the law and to apply for police permits first before holding these events.

"Any parties wanting to hold a ceramah must first apply for a permit with the local district police chief.

"The local district police chief has the right to refuse the permit if he deems the ceramah to be a threat to public security," said Zulkifli.

Asked if the police would use force to disperse any ceramah held without permits, the CPO said the police "would take all necessary action".

The Perak CPO also warned those who want to organise a ceramah against breaking the law by giving speeches with seditious content.

Extra conditions for permit application

He added the situation in Perak entails the imposition of extra conditions for permit application to avoid any untoward incidents.

The political temperature in the northern state has reached feverish heights after Barisan Nasional seized control of the state government last week.

malaysian law conference 291007 sultan azlan shah 1 A majority of the Perakian people have blamed the state's ruler, Sultan Azlan Shah, for the collapse of the Pakatan Rakyat government after he declined to dissolve the state assembly.

The dissolution of the state assembly, proposed by ousted Pakatan Rakyat Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin, was seen by many as the best solution to the state's constitutional crisis.

Zulkifli said given such a tense situation, any ceramah touching on the sultan can turn seditious in nature and would compromise public security - a situation the Perak police will not tolerate.

"I hope such events would not have contents that are seditious and provocative like matters pertaining to the sultan and so on..

"Our priority is to maintain peace and harmony and I believe this is also the desire of Perak's majority," stressed Zulkifli.

Roadblocks on routes to palace

At the same time, Zulkifli also said the police would be closing down routes from Ipoh towards Kuala Kangsar beginning tomorrow.

All state rulers and government leaders including Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will be attending Sultan Azlan Shah's jubilee held at the Iskandariah Palace in Kuala Kangsar tomorrow.

nizar jamaludin perak In a bold move that is certain to prompt an "awkward" and tense scenario, Nizar had also announced yesterday that he and his "exco" line-up will be attending the event tomorrow night.

Commenting on this, Zulkifli said the police have no control over the matter and that it was up to the "new" state government to decide.

"It is up to the state government. If they allow them (Nizar and his excos) to attend then we will obey, if not, we will not allow them. There is no middle lane with us," said Zulkifli.

Nevertheless, the Perak police will be tightening security measures around the palace and will be conducting road closures in stages, said the Perak CPO.

It is also rumoured that the Makkal Sakti movement will gather at the palace tomorrow evening to hand over a memorandum to the Sultan.

The memorandum is to protest the Sultan's decision to recognise the BN takeover and his refusal to dissolve the state assembly.

Zulkifli said his men will be on high alert to ensure that no trouble takes place.