When contacted, Kuala Lumpur police chief Allaudeen Abdul Majid said the roadblocks were part of an “operation to prevent crime and ensure traffic compliance” in the city.

“It has nothing to do with the rally,” he told FMT.

The media was alerted by rally organisers that several roadblocks have been set up since this morning, including from Melawati towards MRR2 and from Jalan Ampang towards the city centre, as well as in Kampung Baru.

Yesterday, Malaysiakini quoted Allaudeen as saying that the police would not be rolling out roadblocks around Kuala Lumpur where the “Selamatkan Malaysia” protest would be held today.

Allaudeen said police have made the necessary preparations to ensure peace and security, including deploying officers to monitor the rally and be on standby to prevent any untoward incident.

Asked if police would deploy the anti-riot Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) as a standby measure, Allaudeen replied in the negative.

Yesterday, police said they had rejected an application submitted for the “Selamatkan Malaysia” rally as the information provided was incomplete and did not meet the requirements under the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA).

At a press conference, Bukit Aman criminal investigation department (CID) chief Shuhaily Zain said the organisers did not notify the police of the location of the rally and the names of those involved. “We also found that the venue for the rally kept changing,” he said.

PN Youth previously said it would hold a Malaysia Day protest over deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s discharge not amounting to an acquittal in his Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case.

The rally, dubbed “Selamatkan Malaysia”, was initially planned to take place outside the Sogo shopping mall along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur.

PN Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari later said they were willing to change the rally venue to Bukit Bintang. However, it was later reported that the rally would go ahead in Kampung Baru.