KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 — Police today confirmed they are not investigating a May Day rally attended by thousands to protest an impending consumption tax, which authorities previously said was in breach of a public assembly law.

When contacted by The Malay Mail Online, Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad said between 13,000 and 15,000 people joined the largely-peaceful rally against the Goods and Services Tax (GST) today.

In a statement issued this evening, Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Seri Mohmad Salleh said that the city centre was under control at 5pm despite the huge crowd of rally-goers.

“There were also small incidents such as pushing among participants, but the situation was still under control,” Mohmad said.

Zainuddin earlier confirmed that there was some “commotion” between the rally-goers, but said that the police were not involved.

He said that no investigation papers were opened for “the whole rally”, despite reported sightings of minors at the event.

Zainuddin previously said the rally organisers had violated the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012 by failing to respond to a request for the venue to be shifted to the Merdeka Stadium.

Under the PAA, children or those aged below 15 years old are barred from joining a rally.

The law imposes a maximum fine of RM10,000 on the child and a maximum fine of RM20,000 for the person who brought or allowed the child to join a rally.

A scuffle broke out between youth protesters and volunteers from political party PAS during a May Day rally earlier today, when the former group tried to invade the historic Dataran Merdeka that was cordoned off to rally-goers.

The Malaysian Press Photographers Association (MPPA) said two photographers were assaulted by a group of black-clad and masked youths after the rally ended.

Protesting youths that were involved in an altercation with PAS volunteers during the May Day rally at Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur, May 1, 2014. — Picture by Pathma Subramaniam

In the same statement earlier, Mohmad said the crowd dispersed at 5.30pm, adding that police would carry out safety checks at a few locations.

The rally called “GST — Protest till it is dropped” is organised by a coalition of 89 non-government organisations, including workers’ rights group, Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit), and student activist group, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM).

Detractors have argued that the broad-based tax is “regressive” and takes a larger percentage of income from those in the low-income groups than from high-income groups.

The GST Bill was passed through the Dewan Rakyat on April 7, despite stern resistance, ensuring that the consumption tax starts at a flat rate of 6 per cent beginning April 1 next year.

Police estimated that around 15,000 people took part in the May Day rally here to protest against the GST, which also saw signs of discontent over Putrajaya’s prosecution of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and handling of missing flight MH370.