Kuala Lumpur: Pakatan Rakyat said it has received a guarantee from Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ismail Omar that the cops will merely take on a facilitatory role during the planned Jan 12 rally at Stadium Merdeka.

"The IGP said he wants this rally to be a historic moment where the police can learn from their past weaknesses," said PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution (far left) after meeting the IGP today.

"They (police) will strive to give their best service to ensure the rights of everyone according to law are respected."

He said the police had also said they will provide marshals to guide journalists during the rally, based on provisions in the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu had led a delegation of 11, including Saifuddin, to Ismail's office in Bukit Aman at 2.30pm.

Setting a record
Other members of the delegation are PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali, DAP central committee member Teng Chang Kim, Bersih 2.0 secretariat members Hishamuddin Rais and Maria Chin Abdullah.

Mohamad said the meeting with Ismail was cordial and there was a healthy exchange of ideas.

He said the police had sought the cooperation of the rally organisers to ensure that the rally is held peacefully.

"They are aspiring to achieve the record of the most peaceful pre-election rally.

"The IGP wants to make history through this rally through the application of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012," he said.

Name tags

Meanwhile, Saifuddin said Ismail had promised that the police would be wearing their name tag and numbers on their uniform.

According to Saifuddin, Ismail had rose when the matter was brought up to show the delegation that he was indeed wearing his name tag.

During the meeting, Maria Chin sought Ismail's assurance that there will not be a repeat of incidents in which police personnel were not equipped with proper identification, which caused difficulties when lodging complaints against them.

"He stood up and showed us his uniform which bore his name. (He assured us that) it won't happen again. They will wear name and number tag," said Hishamuddin.