KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 30): Police have set three conditions for the organisers of a peaceful gathering to be held at Jalan Sultan this Friday.
The gathering is to protest last year's demolition of three historical buildings situated along Jalan Sultan for the construction of the MRT project.
The Preservation of Jalan Sultan Committee (PJSC) co-chairperson Stanley Yong said he was informed of the conditions after being summoned to the Dang Wangi police district headquarters at 4.30pm today.
Police told him that the organisers had not adhered to the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, which requires them to give the authorities at least 10 days advance notice of the event.
Nevertheless, the police have decided to give the green light for the Jalan Sultan gathering subject to the three conditions, Yong told fz.com.
The conditions are that participants cannot bring banners or placards with defamatory messages, cannot block the traffic in the gathering area, and cannot hinder workers from doing their work at the MRT construction site.
Yong added that the police stressed that if any trader lodged a complaint about suffering losses as a result of the gathering, the committee may have to pay a fine of up to RM10,000.
The gathering, held in conjunction with Federal Territories Day, is scheduled to start at 9.30am from the Gospel Hall at Jalan Hang Jebat.
As part of the event, there will be "art work moving" performance called "Moving Great Wall" organised by the Petaling Street Community Art Project.
The art piece, measuring 500 feet in length, will be moved to the MRT project site where the three buildings – UDA Ocean, Plaza Warisan and Klang Bus Stand – once stood.
The site will be surrounded by a mock Great Wall as a symbolic act of defending Jalan Sultan from the controversial land acquisition for the MRT project, and the protest by the people against alleged lack of transparency in the mega project.
This is another initiative by the committee to express its dissatisfaction against the "unreasonable"demolition of buildings for the project, said Yong.
The committee was formed in 2011 to preserve Jalan Sultan as a historical site amid the construction of the MRT project there.