KOTA KINABALU, May 4 — Police have taken statements from five organisers of Bersih 2.0’s May Day rally in Sabah that saw a gathering of about 500 people at Padang Merdeka here last Friday.

Sabah Bersih 2.0 vice chairman Jannie Lasimbang said she was contacted by police yesterday to give her statement, along with four other members of the organising committee.

“We were just asked to give our statements, but was not issued any warrant of arrest,” she told reporters after giving her statement at the Karamunsing police station today at 11am.

The others who also recorded statements today were Annie Lasimbang, Wilfred Gaban, Andrew Ambrose Mudi, and SM Muthu.

Lasimbang said that police might call up to 20 people to come in for questioning soon, mostly activists and opposition party members.

City police chief Assistant Commissioner M. Chandra, however declined to confirm if this is true and merely said the investigation is ongoing.

The rally last Friday saw a turnout of several hundreds, short of its 10,000 target, after its legality came into question with a police prohibition ban on five open spaces in the city centre.

Despite a last minute Sabah High Court ruling that the court order was invalid due to an expiry of time limitation, police insisted that the rally was illegal because a permit could not be obtained.

Bersih 2.0 organisers are still weighing the possibility of contesting the court order and their right to hold peaceful protests.

On Friday, the organisers and their supporters circumvented the ban by emerging from different locations to meet at the Bandaran Berjaya roundabout before moving towards the town field, where they had originally planned to assemble, at 3.20pm.

The group of some 500 people donning yellow and t-shirts, as well as traditional attire, were holding the Malaysian and Sabah flags, as well as banners and signs some calling for the right to be heard as well as cries of “reformasi”.

Several non governmental organisations gave short speeches on several issues including illegal immigrants, land matters and the newly implemented Goods and Services Tax while police kept close watch.

The protest ended about an hour later.