Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun said some 800 officers and personnel will be on duty for the Carnival Ria event at Menara Kinabalu, where a peace rally is also supposed to take place at 2pm today (Tuesday).
He said police have turned down the organisation of the “Gempur Rasuah Sabah” assembly scheduled in front of Menara Kinabalu to maintain public order in the state.
AdvertisementThe Sabah Government will be organising the Carnival Ria programme at the same venue, and the programme had received permission it from the Kota Kinabalu City Hall.
Therefore, he said the police did not want a clash between the two programmes which could create an uneasy and unsafe atmosphere, especially for Carnival Ria visitors, including women, children and the elderly.
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“I advise this group not to hold an assembly for the well-being of the community in the surrounding area. I also call on the public not to participate in the assembly,” he said at a press conference at the Sabah police contingent headquarters here.
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Hence, no assembly would take place at the compound in front of Menara Kinabalu as the landowners, DBKK, have not issued the permission.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});On a possible clash with a counter-movement also expected to hold an assembly, he said the two sides would not meet.
“Just cancel your intentions of taking part in the assembly as it will cause uneasiness among carnival goers especially to the children, their mothers and the elderly.
“Direct your wishes through the proper channels.
“The public are advised not to take part in the assembly said to be organized by a group of University Malaysia Sabah students who have clearly gone against the rules,” he said at Kepayan Sabah Police Headquarters.
He said it is possible that the group is being led by former students.
“The movement represents the interests of certain quarters. The student name is just being employed.
“There will be a few students, we don’t know who. So we ask these student bodies to be more proactive and not give themselves a bad name,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said visual activist Fahmi Reza is still in Sabah and that police have taken down a few of his provocative caricatures of incoming Sabah Governor Tun Musa Aman in Tuaran and Putatan, among other locations.
The secretariat of the gathering in a statement earlier said the gathering was expected to attract up to 10,000 participants from all over the country, to voice their protest against the corruption crisis that is alleged to have tarnished the state’s reputation.
Jauteh said the group was advised to use the right channels if they had intentions or things to convey and not to use platforms that could disrupt public order.
Asked about the involvement of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) students in the gathering, he said the UMS Student Representative Council (MPP) had denied their involvement.
Meanwhile, UMS in a statement announced that the gathering did not involve any entity in the university involved, including faculties, academies, centres, institutes and university staff.
“UMS provides a platform and channel for students to discuss current issues scientifically by prioritising facts and rational and ethical discourse,” he said .