Special report:   2008 Olympic Games    

    KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Xinhua) -- All the necessary arrangements for the Beijing Olympic torch relay here are in place, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) said at a news briefing hereon Thursday.

    The 16-km torch relay would start from the Merdeka

 Square (Independence Square), a historic site where the independence of Malaysia was announced in 1957, and end at the Twin Towers, a landmark for the modern city of Kuala Lumpur, said OCM Deputy president M. Jegathesan.

    The selection of the two sites is aimed at showing the rapid growth of Kuala Lumpur since Malaysia became independent, he told reporters at the OCM headquarters.

    Jegathesan said that a total of 80 torchbearers will run in the relay which is scheduled to take place next Monday, and the concerned authorities have worked out necessary preparations for it, including contingency measures in case it will rain.

    OCM's honorary secretary Sieh Kok Chi said that the torch runners come from various circles, including sportspersons, officials, students and celebrities.

    OCM has been keeping close coordination with the concerned authorities, including the Malaysian police to make the preparations, he said.

    He believed that something happened in some western countries would not happen in Malaysia.