At a press conference outside Padang Merbok, with Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil, Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh asked whether the fence was a reaction to the Malaysian Bar’s “Walk for judicial independence” in June.

Police had then prevented a group of lawyers from marching to Parliament, which is around 300m away.

Yeoh said deputy federal territories minister Jalaluddin Alias had responded to her in a Twitter post that the field was temporarily fenced up due to upgrading work.

However, Yeoh said the 1.5m-high metal fence seemed like a permanent structure.

“This shouldn’t be happening. When there are fences like this, it’s as if we are sending a message that the field is not for public use,” she said.

“We have only a few fields like this which are used by the public (for playing sports and picnics).

“Imagine if this happened at Dataran Merdeka.

“This is not people-friendly … And I think the people of KL cannot accept this.”

Fahmi said he did not object to the field being upgraded, but disagreed that such a fence needed to be erected, stressing that it would disrupt recreational activities.

He also called on Jalaluddin to explain how much was spent on erecting the fence and upgrading the field.

“The fence separates the grandstand and the field, and is not user-friendly,” he said.

“Usually, when we see such fences in KL, they are not as high and are used as a crime-prevention measure. This is not sending a good signal.”

On June 17, an estimated 500-strong crowd of lawyers gathered at Padang Merbok before marching to Parliament to submit a memorandum to the government to uphold judicial independence.

However, the walk failed to go ahead as planned as police at the scene only allowed 20 lawyers to march to the Parliament building, a proposal which the Bar rejected.

Deputy law minister Mas Ermieyati Samsudin later arrived at the field to accept the memorandum from Bar president Karen Cheah.

FMT has reached out to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for comment.