Kuala Lumpur chief police officer Zulhasnan Najib Baharuddin has again warned members of the public to steer clear from a planned mass gathering at Dataran Merdeka this Saturday.

At a press conference held at the Kuala Lumpur state contingent headquarters today, Zulhasnan reiterated that no permit has been given to organisers for the planned gathering and should the event take place, it would be considered illegal.

Zulhasnan warned members of the public that those found participating in the gathering would be violating Section 27 of the Police Act 1967 for participating in an illegal assembly.

He stressed that offenders would be facing the possibility of a fine of between RM2,000 and RM10,000 and up to one-year jail term.

"Do not attend the gathering. Do not go near Dataran Merdeka this Saturday... we will take harsh action (against offenders)," he said.

The gathering is organised by poll reforms pressure group Bersih, which is a coalition of NGOs and opposition political parties.

They intend to gather 10,000 in Dataran Merdeka this Saturday, which would be followed by a march to the King's palace about two kilometres away to hand in a memorandum calling for royal intervention in reforming the electoral laws.

The organisers have already made an appointment with the King's secretary to submit the memorandum.

Don't come to KL

Zulhasnan said there would be road closures near the venue and the erection of numerous police road blocks leading to the venue in order to stop would-be protestors from proceeding, including those on buses.

He also warned that those from other states who plan to make it to the capital for the event not come to Kuala Lumpur.

According to Zulhasnan, the Dang Wangi police district police chief ACP Zulkarnain Abd Rahman had received Bersih's application for a permit on Nov 3, but the police have rejected it on Nov 6.

When asked for reasons why the police have decided not to grant a permit for the gathering, Zulhasnan said the Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan would be issuing a statement on the matter soon.

Asked if Dang Wangi police district had received orders from Musa to decline the permit, Zulhasnan said that the decision was made based on Zulkarnain's discretion.

Asked why the Dang Wangi police had issued several permits for public gatherings to various groups during Asean Summit last July, Zulhasnan said the police make their decision on a case-by-case basis.

'They did not appeal'

Last July, the Dang Wangi police made an unprecedented move by granting several permits, including groups that did not even apply for one, to hold demonstrations in conjunction with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit.

Among the biggest demonstrations was one organised by Umno Youth and held near Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre where Rice was attending a function.

Zulhasnan said Bersih had 48 hours to appeal against the police decision, according to Section 27 of the Police Act.

"Until now, we have yet to receive any appeal (from the organisers)," he added.

However, Bersih coordinator Faisal Mustaffa when contacted by Malaysiakini said the coalition had already submitted a letter of appeal to Zulhasnan at 2pm today. Zulhasnan's press conference was at 4.30pm.

"His aide has provided us with an acknowledgment of receipt," he said.

No clashes of events

Faisal said among others, the appeal addressed several reasons given by the Internal Security Ministry for the rejection of their permit application.

To address the allegation that Bersih was not a registered group, the appeal letter was submitted by PKR, a registered opposition party.

The appeal letter also explains to Zulhasnan that the organisers will deploy 400 volunteers to act as traffic marshals.

It added that the Bersih rally does not clash with another event which is scheduled to take place in Dataran Merdeka - one of the six reasons given by the police in rejecting the Bersih's application.

Bersih organisers said their rally is at 3pm while the other function is to be held later in the evening.

Letter of rejection