Zahid, who is also the home minister, said RoS Director-General Mohammad Razin Abdullah felt that the two groups should register under the Societies Act to be gazetted as societies.

Zahid said that as the Bersih and Red Shirts groups were not registered under the Societies Act, the activities they organised were banned.

“As was decided by me in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Bersih 5 and the Red Shirts are disallowed from holding any gatherings.

“This is the official order from the home ministry and enforcement will be undertaken by the police,” he told reporters after launching the Home Ministry Innovation Day celebration here today.

The Red Shirts and Bersih had planned a gathering for Saturday at Dataran Merdeka on Nov 19.

Zahid said Kuala Lumpur City Hall had issued an official letter disallowing the two groups to make use of Dataran Merdeka for their gatherings.

“The decision of KL City Hall is final. As such, the decision of the police is in tandem with that of KL City Hall and all instructions must be adhered to,” he said.

Meanwhile, Razin explained that if Bersih and the Red Shirts did not register with RoS, then RoS could take legal action under the Societies Act.

“It is learnt that Bersih is registered under the Companies Act through the Companies Commission of Malaysia and the commission can take enforcement action,” he said.

Earlier, in his speech, Zahid instructed all agencies and departments under the home ministry to be well prepared to face the annual floods later this year.

“We cannot avoid the floods, but we can prepare ourselves well to face it,” he said.

Zahid praised enforcement officers and personnel for their sacrifice in leaving their flood-stricken families to help others affected by the floods.