Dbkl Doesn T Own Dataran Merdeka Lawyer Corrects Govt

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Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is not the owner of Dataran Merdeka as asserted by the government, a lawyer pointed out.
New Sin Yew said the law is clear that the square is a public space that DBKL only oversees.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and police have asserted that organisers for an anti-corruption rally this Saturday need to obtain permission from premises owners if it wants to conduct its gathering, citing the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA).
New (above) noted that Section 10(c) of the PAA specified that consent from an owner or occupier of the place of assembly is needed "if applicable".
However, he said in the case of Dataran Merdeka, the Local Government Act (LGA) is clear that DBKL is not the owner of the square as per Section 63 of the Act, which states:
"A local authority shall have the general control and care of all places within the local authority area which have been or shall be at any time set apart and vested in the local authority for the use of the public or to which the public shall at any time have or have acquired a common right."
‘Legally wrong to reject notice on this basis’
The lawyer added that the LGA describes a public place as "any open space, parking place, garden, recreation and pleasure ground or square, whether enclosed or not, set apart or appropriated for the use of the public or to which the public shall at any time have access".
This he said covers Dataran Merdeka, which quite clearly can be accessed by the public at any time.
"That’s why there is no requirement to obtain consent from DBKL for the anti-corruption rally to be held at Dataran Merdeka.
"Any rejection of the notice given by the organisers on this basis is legally wrong.
"I hope the government will correct itself of its error," New added. - Mkini

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