Police: Cycling event cancelled as approval letter sent late
SHAH ALAM: Selangor police chief Datuk Mazlan Mansor said Central Spectrum Sdn Bhd (CSSB), the organisers of the Pulau Indah 180 Cycling Challenge, had delayed submitting the approval letter from the sports commissioner, leaving police with insufficient time to support the event.
He said the organisers only submitted the approval letter to the police at about 12.45am yesterday, just six hours before the race.
“With such short notice, it is impossible for the police to provide enough personnel to control traffic for the 180km race, which involves the police districts of Klang, Banting and Sepang.
“Organisers should submit the approval letter at least 24 hours before an event. If the organisers had complied with this procedure, the police would have had no problem cooperating,” Bernama quoted him as saying.
About 1,000 participants who had signed up for the competition were left disappointed, when the organisers announced that it was being called off due to safety reasons.
CSSB chief executive officer Datuk Mahmud Abbas assured that all participation fees would be refunded.
Mahmud said the decision to cancel the event was made after police informed them that they would not be deploying traffic control personnel for the race.
“We found out about the police’s decision at around 5am, so CSSB, as the organiser, decided to cancel the race for safety reasons,” he told a press conference yesterday.
According to Mahmud, the third edition of the annual race was then converted into a 80km fun ride, and the organiser also gave assurances that the participation fee of RM130 would be refunded.
Klang South police chief ACP Shamsul Amar Ramli said a directive was received from the Selangor traffic investigation department that the event had to be cancelled due to non-compliance with certain terms and conditions.