He said what was said was just about filling up forms to obtain details like the name of the person requesting the house-to-house visits and the locations.

He said the directive was made solely to safeguard the safety of the public and stressed that police did not want to impose any political restrictions.

”We want to avoid any confrontations during a heated moment. That’s what we are worried about.”

The Election Commission (EC) announced on Tuesday that those contesting in the Tanjung Piai by-election must get police permits to do house-to-house campaigning or walkabouts.

Johor police chief Mohd Kamarudin Md Din told a press conference yesterday that the provisions of Section 24(B) of the Election Offences Act require a permit for such “mobile campaigning”.

However, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas today clarified that the provision under this section does not expressly refer to walkabouts and door-to-door campaigning.

Bersih and opposition parties had opposed the requirement for the permit, stating it hindered smooth campaigning.