Jonker Street must never be shut down, say traders

About 100 traders staged a walkabout in Jonker Street to protest the state government’s decision to shut down the famous weekend Jonker Walk.

Carrying placards written in Chinese, the group gathered at about 9pm on Sunday at a stage near the area.

They started chanting “Jonker Walk to stay forever” and “No shutting down of Jonker Walk” as they marched towards the arch near the Tamil Methodist Church for a group photograph before they continued to the Heritage Park.

One of the traders, Yeoh Kim Cheng, said the protest was to bring to the state government’s attention the predicament they faced, adding that “Jonker Street must not simply be shut down”

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Cops hurt in scuffle with protesters

Aswad, a police officer from Sentul police headquarters, sustained injuries to his right eye and nose

A number of protesters lying on the road during a demonstration in front of Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.



Several police officers were injured while 32 protesters were detained during an illegal demonstration in front of Parliament House yesterday.

This happened about 11.30am when a group of people, who rallied in front of the Parliament's main entrance to protest against alleged irregularities in the 13th General Election, tried to break through the police barricade there.

City police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh said the 29 men and three women, who gathered in the name of "Parliament for the People", had also provoked the officers by throwing water bottles, eggs and splashing paint.

"An officer from the Sentul police headquarters sustained injuries to his right eye and nose, while another officer from Dang Wangi police headquarters sprained his left thumb and broke his front tooth.

"A few other officers also sustained some light injuries during the scuffle," he said.

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Protesters in front of Parliament

While the new parliamentarians are waiting to be sworn in inside the Dewan Rakyat, a group of about 100 protesters, the same group which had camped out at Padang Merbok for the past two days, are outside the august house chanting "reformasi" and "hidup rakyat".

Led by Batu MP Tian Chua, the group are demanding for the resignation of the Election Commission commissioners.

The group, carrying banners and placards also urged Tian Chua to boycott the swearing in ceremony as a sign of protest against election fraud.



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Black 505: 1% pitch tent

The big picture with the Black 505 rally is that it came and went largely without incident, even though a fraction of those protestors have decided to make camp in Padang Merbok and test the patience of the authorities.

More than 20,000 protestors took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur from seven gathering points about noon and marched to Padang Merbok, chanting anti-BN slogans. But almost all of them left at about 6pm.

All but 1%.

About 200 protestors representing Solidarity Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) have decided not to leave.

How Malaysians record the history of this day depends on how they choose to interpret the above facts.

The critics will point to the 200 students and youth who have pitched about 40 tents on the field and plan to stay until Parliament convenes on Monday. Some will say this is occupation, like the ones that sparked changes abroad. Others will point to the big picture and 99% went home.

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'Padang Merbok off-limits to opposition for rally'

Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib telling the media why City Hall is not approving the opposition’s request to hold its rally at Padang Merbok



NO GO, SAYS MAYOR: Several reasons cited for decision

KUALA LUMPUR: PADANG Merbok is off-limits to the opposition's planned June 22 "Blackout 505" rally.

Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib in explaining City Hall's decision yesterday said this was because the open space would not be able to accommodate a large gathering.

He listed several other reasons why the City Hall had to reject Pakatan's application to use the field for the rally, including that it had already been booked for a June 23 event by the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).

"OCM needs the field a day earlier to prepare for its event and had applied to use the venue at the end of last year. They hence have priority," he told reporters at his office here.

The opposition's earlier application to hold the rally on June 15 at the same venue had been rejected as it was booked for a marathon organised by the Public Cleansing Management Corporation.



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Ku Nan tells June 15 rally organisers to use stadium and not Padang Merbok

Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor has advised those organising a gathering at Padang Merbok on June 15 to not go ahead with the plan as the location is not suitable.

He said the place was "too open" and holding a rally there could cause congestion in the area.

He suggested the organiser look for an alternative venue at a stadium.

"To me, Padang Merbok is an open place and we cannot let them hold the gathering there.

"We have laws, so they have to abide by them by choosing another place.

"If they want Merdeka Stadium or the Bukit Jalil Stadium, just let the owners know," he told reporters after opening the ministry's Clients' Day here Saturday.

He was commenting on the "Black 505" gathering being planned by the Opposition at Padang Merbok, which comes under the jurisdiction of City Hall here.

2 Perak opposition politicians charged under Peaceful Assembly Act

Ipoh Timur MP, Thomas Su Keong Sing, 52 (second from left) dan Perak PKR Secretary, Mohamad Anuar Zakaria, 45 (second from right) walks out of the Ipoh Mahkamah Sesyen after being charged under Section 9(1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 for not giving sufficient notice to the Ipoh Chief of police for an illegal rally on May 9 and 12 Mei.


For the first time in Perak, two opposition politicians have been charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act for organising political gatherings without permits.

DAP's Thomas Su Keong Siong, 47, and PKR's Anuar Zakaria, 45, were both charged at the Ipoh Sessions court this morning for holding illegal gatherings on separate occasions.

Su, who is DAP member of Parliament for Ipoh Timur, was charged for organising a DAP ceramah at Dewan Chin Woo here on May 9.


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Crackdown begins!

Batu MP Chua Tian Chang, activist Haris Ibrahim and PAS’s Tamrin Ghafar were arrested for sedition today and brought to the Jinjang police station for questioning, according to reports.

It is understood the trio were detained separately in an apparent police crackdown today. This is the third police investigation into sedition since the May 5 general election.

“I was arrested, now in the police car, at Jalan Kuching, heading towards the Jinjang police station,” Tamrin, the son of former deputy prime minister Tun Ghafar Baba, told The Malaysian Insider in phone call at 2pm today.

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IGP: Zero tolerance for street crimes

Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar announcing his plans for a Crime Prevention Department at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur yesterday. At right is his deputy, Datuk Seri Bakri Zinin.

Focus on public order, crime prevention and police integrity

KUALA LUMPUR: The nation's top cop yesterday outlined his plans for zero tolerance towards crime, especially street crimes, by announcing plans to create a department dedicated to crime prevention.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters at Bukit Aman yesterday that the Crime Prevention Department would be dedicated to reducing all types of crimes.

He declined to reveal who would be chosen to lead the department, saying he had to first seek approval from the Home Ministry.

The New Straits Times learnt that Commissioner Datuk Ayub Yaakob, who is the Crime Reduction National Key Result Areas (NKRA) Secretariat chairman, has been tipped to lead the proposed department.

Khalid said the three main challenges he currently faced were public order, crime prevention and integrity among the police.

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Nik Nazmi charged over Kelana Jaya rally, risks disqualification as lawmaker

Nik Nazmi (centre) speaks to the press after he was charged in court today.


PKR’s Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad was today charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012 with failing to give the police 10 days’ notice for the post-election rally at the Kelana Jaya stadium on May 8.

The PKR communications director pleaded not guilty when the charge under section 9 (1) of the Act was read out to him in the Sessions Court here.

If convicted under section 9(5) of the same Act, Nik Nazmi could be fined up to RM10,000, which could see the Seri Setia state assemblyman losing his seat.

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