UNDI18 - Those below 21 still NO RIGHT to Peaceful Assembly in Malaysia? Repeal PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY ACT 2012

When Israel attacked Palestine recently, many would have wanted to exercise their right to protest publicly immediately  - BUT the law, that unjust PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY ACT 2012 currently says we cannot do so, not until we submit a NOTICE to the police at least 5 days before the intended peaceful assembly... PH Plus after GE14 'betrayed us' as the failed to remove the legal requirement of notice - all they did was to reduce the notice period from 10 days to 5 days. 

Then, them PH leaders and MPs 'broke the law' without giving the required absurd 5 day notice - when they assembled in Dataran Merdeka on 2/8/2021. Remove the 5 day notice requirement - as many a time the right to Peaceful Assembly have to be exercised fast - to be still relevant. In fact, repeal the PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY ACT 2012.

De facto opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad also voiced their dissatisfaction over the blockade by the police...After being prevented from entering Parliament by police, several opposition lawmakers from PKR, DAP and Amanah instead gathered at Dataran Merdeka...The opposition MPs finally dispersed after a face-off with Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel in riot gear.

Peaceful Assembly is a human right - and the POLICE should never be the 'PERMISSION GIVER' ...Police duties should be confined to protecting the rights of persons to peacefully protest - nothing else. If there are counter-protests, they keep 2 groups separate to safely exercise their rights.. 

Before the PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY ACT 2012, although it was then an offence for more than 3 or more to assemble and protest, things may have been better for the right of peaceful assembly in Malaysia. Then, when the people exercise their right to peaceful assembly, the police come and then ask the people to disperse after some time - and then ... 

When Israel does anything 'evil' against Palestine, it was not uncommon to see people after Friday prayers assembling before the US embassy to exercise their right of peaceful assembly in numbers, even handing over memorandum of protest >> and then, they peacefully disperse going back to work. [The interesting thing that I have observed about Malaysians when they exercise their right of peaceful assembly is that they are not only 'peaceful' but also responsible - they do not generally protest during working hours, or cause any trouble..]

With the advent of the PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY ACT 2012, this RIGHT has been much diminished. Now, they want 'the organiser' to identify themselves and take responsibility for others that join - ABSURD, as most times, there are no such one organizer - word may go out, that there will be a protest and people just gather and protest peacefully. Who were the 'organisers' of them Saturday afternoon protests in KL in 1998 that saw the participation of about 10,000 during the so-called 'REFORMASI protest' - there were no one, at no one that was ever claimed to be. It was just the people...So, the insisting of the organizer identifying himself to the police before the event, undertaking to pay up for cleaning, etc all are a deterrent to the rights of peaceful assembly in Malaysia.

Anwar and the PH led coalition government must immediately repeal the PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY ACT 2012..

A 18 year old Malaysian have the right to VOTE but NO RIGHT to organize and participate in a Peaceful Assembly - odd, is it not? 

PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY ACT 2012, Section 4  Right to organize assembly or participate in assembly

(1) The right to organize an assembly or participate in an assembly peaceably and without arms under this Act shall not extend to the following:

(a) a non-citizen;

(b) an assembly held at any prohibited place and within fifty metres from the limit of the prohibited place;

(c) (Deleted by Act A1600:s.3)

(d) in relation to the organization of an assembly, a person below the age of twenty-one years; and

(e) in relation to the participation in an assembly other than an assembly specified in the second schedule, a child.

There are so many reason why the draconian PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY ACT 2012 ought to be repealed...and, I may deal with it in another post later.

Roads to Parliament closed, opposition assemble at Dataran Merdeka and demand for PM's resignation

Surin Murugiah

/

theedgemarkets.com

August 02, 2021 12:12 pm +08

Roads to Parliament closed, opposition assemble at Dataran Merdeka and demand for PM's resignation. (Photo by Bloomberg)

 KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Major roads leading to the Parliament building in Kuala Lumpur have been closed, while opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) were prevented from entering Dewan Rakyat.

In separate live feeds on social media, opposition MPs including Nurul Izzah Anwar, Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh and Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin said the roads to Parliament were closed despite the postponement of today's sitting.

Dewan Rakyat was ordered shut for two weeks from July 29 after Covid-19 cases were detected among attendees last week.

After being prevented from entering Parliament by police, several opposition lawmakers from PKR, DAP and Amanah instead gathered at Dataran Merdeka.

De facto opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad also voiced their dissatisfaction over the blockade by the police.

Calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the opposition MPs criticised the move by the ruling government led by Muhyiddin to revoke the Emergency Ordinances despite denial by Yang di-Pertuan Agong that he had given his consent to the revocation.

The MPs then proceeded to Dataran Merdeka.

Among the opposition MPs marching to Dataran Merdeka were Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and Semporna MP Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

Using loud hailers, the MPs stressed that the government led by Muhyiddin had acted in bad faith.

Anwar said the government had disobeyed the wishes of the King as well as disregarded the public, and thus must resign.

Meanwhile, Shafie said the Dewan Rakyat Speaker had undertaken that questions about the Emergency Ordinances will be answered today.

"But Parliament is shut, using Covid-19 as an excuse.

“Legally, we have the right to be in Parliament," he said.

Yeoh, meanwhile, tweeted that the opposition MPs planned to debate the emergency proclamation and its ordinances in Dewan Rakyat but were blocked by police.

"An MP with a walking stick, [another] seven-month pregnant as well as those aged above 90 came along. This is our duty," she said.

The opposition MPs finally dispersed after a face-off with Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel in riot gear. - Edge Markets, 2/8/2021

ICS

Walk for Judicial Independence participants were not falsely imprisoned by human chain, says police

By NURBAITI HAMDAN
Nation

Wednesday, 11 Jan 2023 7:18 PM MYT

 
KUALA LUMPUR: The human barricade formed by the police during the Walk for Judicial Independence in June last year was to restrict the participants from marching to the Parliament and not to falsely imprison them, says the police. Even so, the police said it had allowed up to 30 people to continue with the march after several rounds of negotiations.

This was the authorities' contention in a statement of defence they filed on Dec 22, last year, against the Malaysian Bar's lawsuit.

The defendants claimed that the barricade was not to restrict their movement to other places, with exception to the august house.

"The plaintiffs were never prevented from leaving the assembly area.

"They were not besieged and they were free to enter and leave the Padang Merbok parking area.

"They were only restricted from marching to the Parliament," the statement said.

The defendants claimed that the Bar's allegation of "false imprisonment" was a "misstatement under the law".

The defendants further claimed that the police had succeeded in stopping the march after it was told that no procession was allowed.

The plaintiffs, however, had negotiated with the defendants to carry on with their programme and the defendants compromised by allowing 10 of the participants to continue the march.

"However, the plaintiffs continued to push the police to allow a procession for all the participants.

"The police subsequently allowed for 20 people and later, for 30 people, after another round of negotiations," the statement said.

The defendants also stated that no arrests were carried out by the police during the assembly and all its actions were lawful.

They also contended that they received feedback from nearby SK Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah, Aswara and Bank Negara, which objected to the assembly, prior to the event taking place.

On Oct 20, 2022, the Malaysian Bar and its office bearers sued the police and the government for alleged wrongful detention when they were barred from proceeding with their "Walk For Judicial Independence" to Parliament on June 17, 2022.

The walk was organised as a peaceful protest against the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) investigations into Court of Appeal judge Justice Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who convicted former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.

The four office bearers were Bar president Karen Cheah, vice-president Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab, secretary Anand Raj R. Balasupramaniam and treasurer Murshidah Mustafa.

They named Noor Dellhan Yahaya (in his capacity as the officer in charge of the Dang Wangi police district), Nuzulan Mohd Din (in his capacity as the head of criminal investigation at the Dang Wangi district headquarters), the police, the Inspector-General of Police, the Home Minister and the government of Malaysia as the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth defendants respectively.

According to the statement of claim, the plaintiffs said about 500 members of the Malaysian Bar assembled peacefully at Padang Merbok for the march between 7.45am and 10am on June 17, where they planned to march to Parliament to submit a memorandum to the then deputy minister (Parliament and Law) in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.

The plaintiffs said the police had placed plastic barriers around Padang Merbok to prevent the participants from entering or passing through.

The plaintiffs claimed that the participants were falsely restrained and imprisoned between 10.35am and 11.15am by the defendants, when they were forcibly confined at the Padang Merbok car park within the barricades constructed by police under the direction of the first defendant.

As a result, the plaintiffs claimed to have suffered loss of freedom for 40 minutes, and their constitutional rights under Articles 5, 8, 9 and 10 of the Federal Constitution were violated.

They further claimed that the defendants breached their statutory duties under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and committed misfeasance in public office.

The plaintiffs are claiming special damages of RM19,449, and unspecified general, aggravated and exemplary damages as well as other reliefs deemed fit by the court.

Case management has been fixed for Thursday (Jan 12). - Star, 11/1/2023