The police have claimed that they are not behind the denial for inter-religious group to hold a forum on water at the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur.

In a meeting with Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner N Siva Subramaniam yesterday, Dang Wangi district police chief Mohd Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman said the police respect human rights and have no objections to the holding of the forum at the mosque.

"If permission from the mosque was obtained, I was told he would have approved the permit. There was no other reason," said Siva when contacted.

Organisers of the seminar - entitled 'United for Water: Religions Speak on the Human Rights to Water' - were forced to change the venue of the event at the eleventh hour.

On Tuesday, Siva had met with the seminar organisers who described the revocation of the permit as an "abuse and misuse of police powers."

Siva also said Zulkarnain had told him that the groups had failed to apply for the police permit five days before the event as stipulated by regulations.

Mosque officials had agreed

When contacted, deputy-president of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) Azril Mohd Amin was puzzled by the police chief's statements.

He said mosque leaders, including the head Imam, had earlier responded positively to the organisers' request to hold the forum at the mosque.

As late as one day before the seminar, he added, Dang Wangi officers themselves had directed him to pick up the police permit as it had already been prepared.

Azril also claimed that the mosque's change of heart came soon after its officials were visited earlier this week by Special Branch officers from Dang Wangi and advised to deny the said permission.

In response to this, Siva said he would endeavour to set up a meeting between Zulkarnain, the mosque officials, and leaders of the religious groups in order to ascertain the truth of the matter.