Organisers breached rally terms, say police

By Yow Hong Chieh

A participant holds a banner at today’s rally in Kuantan. — Picture by Jack Ooi

KUANTAN, Feb 26 — The organisers of the anti-Lynas rally held here earlier violated several conditions of their police permit, Kuantan OCPD Mohd Jasmani Yusoff said today. He noted that protesters had marched to the event venue with opposition leaders and brought children below 15 along with them, which went against the guidelines agreed upon by Himpunan Hijau 2.0.
Political speeches had also been delivered while placards and banners condemning the government were carried by some participants, he added.

“We will summon the organisers for a meeting to discuss the violations. In a meeting prior to granting the approval for the rally, the organisers had agreed to our conditions.
“We will review future approval for such rallies to ensure all conditions are met,” Mohd Jasmani said at Padang MPK 4 where the rally had taken place.
He added that police had the situation under control and facilitated the rally to the best of their abilities.
He said no roads were closed and some 300 policemen, including FRU personnel, had been placed on standby during the two-hour rally.