KLANG -- Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said on Wednesday the decision to allow the July 9 rally at the Merdeka Stadium rested with the police.
"We have left it to the authorities, particularly the police, to decide in terms of security and so on," he told a news conference after launching the Malaysian Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Foundation, here.
He said any official application from the organiser to hold the rally must fulfil conditions, one of which was that the organisation must be a registered one.
The organiser should also adhere to the conditions pertaining to security imposed by the police, he added.
Replying to a question, Najib said: "Bersih is illegal. It has never been registered." Bersih 2.0 is a group asking for changes to the electoral system.
Asked when he was meeting S. Ambiga, the chairman of Bersih 2.0, the prime minister said: "I didn't say I will be meeting Ambiga. The government can mean anyone; government doesn't mean me specifically."
Asked whether he had received any request from Bersih 2.0 for a meeting with him, Najib said there was none.
In KUALA LUMPUR, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim suggested that the organiser of the July 9 rally hold the gathering in a stadium in one of the states administered by the opposition.
They could hold the gathering in Penang, Kelantan, Kedah or Selangor, he said, adding that stadiums in states administered by the Barisan Nasional (BN) should only be considered as an alternative.
Dr Rais spoke to reporters after chairing a weekly meeting of the communications brigade at his office. The communications brigade comprises agencies engaged in communications operations under the ministry.
