Selangor to allow limited public demonstrations

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said today that an agreement has been reached with state police to facilitate demonstrations.

When met by reporters in Parliament for his comments on the Internal Security Act demonstrations held yesterday, he said that Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar has agreed to a process which allows the public to gather in private halls.

"For those held in halls, meaning multipurpose halls and the like, the police will not take any action," he said.

"If there is a desire to make their feelings publicly known, then it must be done as quickly as possible so as not to become a hindrance to others," he added.

According to the head of the PKR-led state government, it has been suggested that such public protests should last no more than 15 minutes before the group returns to the hall to continue with other items on the agenda such as lectures or discussions.

"However, it would still be better to make an official request to the police to inform them of such an event," he said.

Police arrested nine men, who were among 200 supporters at the launch of an anti-Internal Security Act rally in Ampang last night while several hundred also marched along Jalan Tun Razak in support of the act yesterday.

Khalid, who is also Bandar Tun Razak MP, refused to be drawn into the issue of double standards with the handling of demonstrations organised by opposition as compared to those by Barisan Nasional.

He merely said that he hoped the state police will follow the new procedures agreed upon to deal with such gatherings in the future.