Taman Awam Teluk Likas park in Kota Kinabalu will be the venue for the Sabah chapter of the Bersih 4 rally this weekend. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, August 29, 2015.
Excitement about Sabah’s Bersih’s rally, which its organisers feared has been lukewarm, has gone up in the past two days thanks to an unlikely source – the police.
Sabah Bersih committee chairperson Jannie Lasimbang said the phones at the office had been ringing non-stop ever since the Sabah police said they were not going to let the rally proceed at a park in Tanjung Lipat, in Kota Kinabalu.
Due to the overwhelming interest from Sabahans, the organisers managed to sell their entire signature yellow Bersih 4 t-shirts from Monday afternoon till yesterday morning, Lasimbang said.
This overwhelming response from Sabahans has given the organisers confidence that the public will turn out for the Merdeka weekend rally even if its leaders were arrested before it.
“People are angry that the police did not want to let the rally proceed. I was surprised by the response to the police’s statement,” she told reporters in Penampang where organisers were handing out leaflets for the rally.
On Monday, Sabah police said the rally could not proceed in Tanjung Lipat as its organisers did not have permission from the Kota Kinabalu City Council to use the Taman Awam Teluk Likas park.
Sabah police chief Datuk Jalaluddin Abd Rahman was quoted in English-language daily The Star as saying organisers faced fines of RM10,000 under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 if they went ahead with the gathering.
Jalaluddin also said they could be charged under Section 124 of the Penal Code for undermining parliamentary democracy. The offence carries a 15-year prison term upon conviction.
Lasimbang said organisers would meet with Kota Kinabalu police tomorrow to negotiate on using the Teluk Likas park, a stretch of beachfront which is a popular picnic spot.
Specifically, organisers are hoping that police will allow them to hold “the walk for democracy”, the highlight of the gathering.
“They have also given us some conditions and we are meeting with the police to see how we can fulfil them. We hope that there won’t be any arrests.
“We are confident that things can be worked out but we are also prepared for any eventualities,” she said.
One of those eventualities is that Lasimbang and her committee members may be arrested before the start of the rally on August 29, so as to cripple the gathering.
This is since the police in Kuala Lumpur have not ruled out that organisers of Bersih 4 in Dataran Merdeka may be picked up ahead of that rally.
Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainol Samah had said this today because the rally has been declared unlawful.
Lasimbang said she and Sabah Bersih did not rule out the possibility they could also be detained but stressed this would not stop the demonstration from proceeding.
“I think people will still come out to it because they will be angrier.”
In a press statement today, Lasimbang said the committee has set up a team of marshals and medical personnel to aid participants. An urgent arrest team has also been set up to aid those detained.
- TMI
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