Padang Merdeka ban won't stop May Day Rally: Organisers

Kota Kinabalu: Organisers of the May Day Rally on May 1 will hold the event at Padang Merdeka here with or without the approval of the authorities which have banned the use of the field.Organising spokesperson Janie Lasimbang said the event had been planned way ahead and all relevant notices and documents had been sent to City Hall and police.

"We received a letter from City Hall informing that our gathering cannot be staged at Padang Merdeka as the venue is only for government functions.

"How can this be when all intents of having it preserved were meant for the people including civil society organisations," she said.

Lasimbang said City Hall had also advertised on its website that Padang Merdeka is for public booking at RM700 per day.

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"We cannot find elsewhere to hold our peaceful rally.

It is too late to find a suitable venue so we have no choice but to go on with the event at Padang Merdeka whether or not the authorities approve," she said.

She explained that the letter from City Hall dated April 10, a day after the organisers submitted their application, was only delivered to her office in Penampang by hand on April 17.

"I knew there would be hindrance.

It happens every time a gathering similar to this is planned so I am actually not surprised," she stated.

"We will send another letter notifying the authorities that this rally will go on as planned," she added.

The rally, from 3pm to 5pm, is held in conjunction with Labour Day and organised in response to incessant calls from civil society groups.

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"The rally will register the frustrations Sabahans have endured on some of our most perennial problems plaguing our lives and our beloved country," Lasimbang said.

"We hope to gather some 10,000 people for this rally, which we are confident would be peaceful and orderly as we have leaders and marshals as stakeholders who are highly committed to peaceful and civil rally as provided for under the Peaceful Assembly Act," she added.

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