KOTA KINABALU: Organisers of the Himpunan May Day on May 1 said they have received a letter from City Hall informing that their gathering cannot be staged at the Padang Merdeka as the venue is only for official functions of the government.
Jannie Lasimbang of Bersih Sabah in a statement yesterday said the letter was dated April 10, a day after the organisers submitted their application to City Hall, but was only delivered to her office in Donggongon by hand on Friday (April 17).
“Now we find it perplexing that City Hall and the state government want to have exclusive use of the historical Padang Merdeka when all intents of having it preserved was meant for the ordinary rakyat jelata as well as the state which must include civil society organisations.
“And if it is indeed just for official functions of the state as claimed, why does City Hall continue to advertise the Padang Merdeka for public booking at RM700 per day, as is published in its website,” she lamented.
According to her, the Padang Merdeka is gazetted as public space and so denying civil society movements and the people usage of it is a mockery of democracy and Parliament as the parliament itself passed the Peaceful Assembly Act in 2012.
“This particular Act provides for and encourages peaceful assembly by local civil movements where organisers need only to notify the police at least for about 10 days.
“All 40 CSOs for this Himpunan May Day have pledged committment to ensure the rally is peaceful and orderly and that we fully co-operate with all authorities to make sure the rally is a success for all, public authorities included,” Lasimbang added.