'Himpunan 355' rally organiser must follow the law - IGP

Police will only allow 'Himpunan 355' planned at Dataran Merdeka on Feb 18 if the rally organiser complies with all conditions under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the rally organiser has to obtain the permission from the owner of the venue where the event is to be held.

"If the organiser complies with all the conditions of the Peaceful Assembly Act, the police will facilitate but if they do not abide by the conditions, we will not allow it," he told reporters after attending the handover of duty ceremony at the Police Training Centre (Pulapol) here, today.

At the event, SAC Shamsudin Mat was appointed as the Commandant of Pulapol, taking over from Datuk Zahari Mohd Yusoff who will retire tomorrow.

Asked whether the organiser has made an application, Khalid said that he was not informed of the matter.

PAS plans to hold a big rally to brief the public on the amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, otherwise known as Act 355.

On another matter, Khalid said a grudge was behind the brawl in Sri Serdang Industrial Zone on Jan 5 which left five Myanmar nationals killed and two others seriously hurt.

"We believe that the brawl was due to domestic matters. Let us conduct the investigation," he added. --Bernama