Today's rally against controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik failed to materialise, with police taking precautions and cordoning off roads in Kuala Lumpur's Brickfields area.

Messages had been circulating on social media urging people to attend the rally, even though organiser Shankar Ganesh said yesterday that the protest had been cancelled after PKR president Anwar Ibrahim purportedly requested the rally to be called off.

No protesters were seen here amid the presence of at least 100 cops stationed in the area.

Police had decided to cordon off the area today due to concerns about the impending gathering.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Mazlan Lazim thanked members of the public for choosing not to attend the rally today.

Mazlan also advised the public to move on as the recent "sensitive issues have been settled".

The rally had been expected to address issues such as Zakir's ongoing presence in Malaysia, the unilateral conversion of minors, the distribution of funds allocated to the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra), and the issue of statelessness and citizenship in the Indian community.