Perkasa rally in limbo, chief to stay home
With no stadium and no police permit, the Perkasa rally appears doomed. But Ibrahim Ali is now thinking about turning to the Selangor authorities.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Perkasa’s rally for tomorrow is now in limbo while its president Ibrahim Ali has decided to stay home following a court order restricting him from entering certain parts of the city.
However, Ibrahim said there is still time for Perkasa to look for a new venue after the KL City Hall rejected the movement’s application to hold the gathering at Stadium Titiwangsa here.
“We applied for Stadium Merdeka but was rejected. We asked for Stadium Titiwangsa but was rejected. Police permit also rejected,” he told a press conference here.
“We are having difficulty looking for a place… at this moment in time we can’t do anything,” he said, but added, “We still have time. It is only noon now, and we plan to gather at 2pm tomorrow.”
Ibrahim said Perkasa will vie for Stadium Selayang, located in the Pakatan Rakyat-controlled state of Selangor, but has yet to contact the relevant authorities.
Commenting on the court order obtained by the police yesterday barring him and 90 others from being present at some parts of the city, Ibrahim said he will remain at home.
“Even if I have to go out, I won’t go to the restricted areas,” he added.
Fourteen Perkasa members are on the list, which also includes Bersih 2.0 chief S Ambiga, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, PAS spiritual adviser Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang as well as numerous Pakatan MPs and Umno Youth leaders.
Despite the court order, Bersih has decided to push ahead with the rally slated for 2pm at Stadium Merdeka.
Yesterday, Ibrahim expressed confidence that the police will issue the movement a permit to hold its rally because it will be a peaceful gathering.
However, Sentul district police chief ACP Zakaria Pagan told FMT that Perkasa’s application was rejected because it does not have permission from the premise’s owner.
“Perkasa could not get City Hall’s approval to use the stadium as some other agency already booked the place for a sports event for both Saturday and Sunday,” he said.
‘Why does she insist on Stadium Merdeka?’
Ibrahim advised other Perkasa members who are not on the list to bring their families sight-seeing tomorrow and cheekily suggested Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, which is located close to Stadium Titiwangsa.
He said that 15,300 people have “enthusiastically” confirmed their attendance at Perkasa’s rally.
“They can take their families out to places like the Titiwangsa Lake Club as well which is something like the Hyde Park in London,” he said, drawing laughter.
Ibrahim reiterated his call on the police to check Bersih’s foreign funding and urged Perkasa members to file police reports on this issue.
