When the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012(see full Act and proposed amendments below), introduced by Barisan Nasional came into being - it eroded the right to peaceful assembly significantly. PH just amended the Act - but nothing changes as we still have to get POLICE/GOVERNMENT PERMISSION before the right to peaceful assembly can be exercised. We have to get OWNER'S PERMISSION - even for public spaces that is under Local Council/Government...TOO MANY HURDLES - when a right is a RIGHT - and all such restriction and control just extinguishes the RIGHT. (To understand more about how the Act supress our right of peaceful assembly, read MADPET's statement)
Now...we in Malaysia had to get police "permission' and then police could impose conditions - and if not happy, we can appeal to the Minister... So, our 'RIGHT" was subject to police or government approval?
BN's
law just scared people - who will come out and proclaim himself
'organiser'... look at the awesom responsibility placed on him/her - see
Section 6 Responsibilities of organizers... and worse still, he/she may have to pay for the clean-up bill - 'ensure the clean-up of the place of assembly
or bear the clean-up cost of the place of assembly' ..
See MADPET's Statement:-
Now...we in Malaysia had to get police "permission' and then police could impose conditions - and if not happy, we can appeal to the Minister... So, our 'RIGHT" was subject to police or government approval?
SECOND - we cannot exercise the right of peaceful assembly immediately - we had to wait for at least 10(ten) days
-- and, in many issues, the 'delay' is a violation of the right to
peaceful assembly. Say, if Israel causes some gross atrocities on the
people of Palestine...Malaysians could not 'peacefully assembled' to
protest Israel's actions....for '10 days'? Angered by what happened in
New Zealand when bad persons shot and killed so many Muslim
brethren...we could not peacefully assemble and express our anger ...or
our 'solidarity' or 'support'...for 10 days. [Pakatan Harapan new
proposed amendment reduces it to 7(seven) days - Is this any different]
THIRD,
the 'ORGANISER" needed to reveal himself/herself to the police... (But
alas, sometimes, there are simply no organizers - people come forward
and exercise their right to peaceful assembly...and this is what
happened during the REFORMASI street protest in 1998 over many many
Saturdays - there was no organisers...or named or known organisers -
Word went out that we will gather at this location to protest this or
support that, and people came..]
See MADPET's Statement:-
Media Statement – 6/7/2019
Repeal draconian Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, not amend – Respect Right to
Peaceful Assembly
-Speedy ‘secret’ passing Peaceful Assembly (Amendment) Bill 2019
unacceptable -
MADPET(Malaysians Against Death
Penalty and Torture) is shocked to hear
that the Peaceful Assembly (Amendment) Bill 2019 tabled in Parliament, which
will amend the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, which was tabled on 1/7/2019, have
already been passed (Star,
5/7/2019), and a perusal of the Parliamentary website indicates
that it was passed on 4/7/2019, but interestingly a perusal of the Agenda (Aturan
Urusan Mesyuarat) for 4/7/2019 does not
state that the Bill was to be voted and passed.
This Parliamentary Session was
supposed to end on 18/7/2019, and as such there was no necessity to rush and
pass the Bill, which first came to public notice as to the contents only on
1/7/2019.
Such speedy tabling and passing
of new law was criticized during the Barisan Nasional era, as it does not give adequate
time for the public to respond, let alone discuss and communicate their
position with their respective Members of Parliament. The lack of transparency
is abhorred.
There would have even been no
time or opportunity to organize a peaceful assembly to protest or support the
said amendment – as the law as it was required 10 days prior notice before the
assembly, and even with 5 days prior notice, as the amended Bill apparently now
allow would be insufficient.
Even, when the Peaceful Assembly
Act 2012 was tabled under the BN regime, there was time enough for the
Malaysian Bar to organize a peaceful assembly involving about 1,000 lawyers,
and hand over their protest to Members of Parliament on 29/11/2011 before the
vote. This time there was no such opportunity for any peaceful assembly.
Amendments fail to remove draconian unjust provisions
MADPET is disappointed with lame
proposals contained in the said Bill, which demonstrates that despite Malaysian
Pakatan Harapan-led government’s promise in its election manifesto ‘Buku
Harapan’(Book of Hope) that it will remove unjust draconian provisions in this
Act, it is obvious that they fail to understand the fundamental principles of
the right of peaceful assembly and what are the provisions in the current law that goes contrary to this right.
Article 10(b) of the Federal
Constitution provides that ‘all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably
and without arms’. The right to peaceful assembly must be a right exercisable
by any person in Malaysia at any time without any restrictions or prior
requirement of ‘permission’ from the government, police or any other
person/entity.
The Bill to amend the Peaceful
Assembly Act 2012, sadly only proposes to reduce the 10 days prior notice to
the police to now make it seven(7) days, to apparently, make some of the
offences in the act compoundable offences – meaning violators will be offered a
compound, if paid will mean that they will no longer be charged and tried in
court, and the removal on the restriction on ‘street protest’. Before being
passed, apparently the notice period was reduced to five (5) days.
Decriminalizing of street protest – good but really of little
consequence
It is good, but a perusal of all
past large peaceful assemblies in recent times in Malaysia would show that
hundreds and thousands had gathered at meeting points and walked along the
streets to assembly points.
The Act currently defines
"street protest" means an open air assembly which begins with a
meeting at a specified place and consists of walking in a mass march or rally
for the purpose of objecting to or advancing a particular cause or causes’
It is good to specifically
decriminalize ‘street protests’ in the current law but at the end of the day,
it is really meaningless as ‘street protest’ has in fact been happening all
this while in practice.
Power of Police/Minister to control exercise of the right to peaceful
assembly must be abolished
Police should NOT have the power
to allow or not allow the right to peaceful assembly. They should merely facilitate
the exercise of this right, and that include provision of safety to participants,
facilitating traffic flow and such.
There is no need for a Peaceful
Assembly Act that provides for any new offences, as our other existing laws are
sufficient.
The Peaceful Assembly Act 2012
now has a mandatory requirement to notify the police, and thereafter the police
can impose conditions and/or restrictions, which if breached is a criminal
offence. A person who fails to submit such a notice, or beaches any conditions
imposed by the police shall now, on conviction, be liable to a fine not
exceeding ten thousand ringgit.
All that the proposed amendment
will do is maybe shorten the notice period, but it does not solve the problem
of police having the power to control the exercise of one’s right to peaceful
assembly. Neither does it remove the power of owner/occupiers to deny this
right.
Police or government’s powers to
set conditions and restrictions on the fundamental right to peaceful assembly
is wrong.
Only the law or the courts should
be vested with such powers. Certainly not the police or the Minister, as the
Act now provides that anyone unhappy with the conditions/restrictions imposed
by the police may appeal to the Minister.
PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY – A right that must be exercisable fast at times
The police even seem to have the
power to waive the application of the mandatory requirement of providing notice
10(ten days) prior to the intended peaceful assembly, which happened recently
in March in a peaceful assembly apparently proposed by a Minister. It was
reported, that ‘The police said today it will allow tomorrow’s Peace,
Solidarity Rally in Kuala Lumpur, despite not meeting the 10-day notice
requirement. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said
organisers can proceed with the “peace rally” at Dataran Merdeka, but only from
7.30am to 11am. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mujahid
Yusof Rawa had proposed for the rally back on Monday, which was too short for
the 10-day notice required under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012. (Malay Mail,
22/3/2019).
No reasonable person will protest
against that particular peaceful assembly in response to mass killings of
Muslims at their places of worship in New Zealand, but it highlights the point
that peaceful assembly or protest sometimes need to happen promptly to be
effective.
A peaceful assembly in response
to human rights violation against the Rohingya people in Myanmar, against atrocities
committed by Israel against Palestinians or even Parliament’s intention to pass
a Bill all would need a speedy response, and a law that impedes this right for
people to assemble peacefully to voice protest or support by imposition of a
requirement of any prior notice of 7 or 10 days is clearly violates the right
to peaceful assembly, and need to be abolished. The Bill was passed on 4/7/2019
by the Dewan Rakyat(House of Representatives), 3 days after it was first
tabled, and people did not have the time to exercise their right to peaceful
assembly, if they wanted to.
POLICE POWERS limited to facilitating the right to peaceful assembly
Police may take action against
any participant or others that breach the ordinary already existing many laws
of the land like maybe causing damage to property or assaulting another person.
When a peaceful assembly happens,
the police still have the power to take action against any individual that
breaks the law but this should never prejudice the right of others to continue
to exercise their right of peaceful assembly.
It is not uncommon that
perpetrators against whom the peaceful assembly is happening may place their
agents or even ‘agent provocateurs’ who may resort even to violence or damage
to property simply to undermine the objects of those exercising their right to
peaceful assembly. Such individuals who break laws may be arrested then and
there, but the right of other peaceful protesters must not be violated by
reason of actions of a few ‘trouble-makers’.
The Act now has presumptions with
regard to who is the organizer any person who initiates, leads, promotes,
sponsors, holds or supervises the assembly, or invites or recruits participants
or speakers for the assembly, shall be deemed to be the organizer of the
assembly.(Section 19). This means that even anyone who provide information to
another and ask him/her to join could be presumed to be an organizer. This
provision need to be repealed.
Age of persons entitled to organize/participate in peaceful assemblies
It is ironical that this
government wants to reduce voting age from 21 to 18, but then the right to
organize a peaceful assembly is only for persons above the age of 21.
Malaysia also forgets that it is
a signatory of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, whereby in Article
15, it clearly ‘recognize the rights of the child to freedom of association and
to freedom of peaceful assembly.’ The Convention, in Article 1 states that, ‘a
child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the
law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.’ Hence, a child,
whether accompanied by adults or not, should be granted their right to
participate in peaceful assemblies.
We recall that children have
opinions, and they must be granted the right to freedom of speech, opinion and
also the right to participate (and even organize) peaceful assemblies.
The penalizing of parents who
bring children to peaceful assemblies is also wrong. Parents have an obligation
to teach children values and principles, and as such bring them for peaceful
assemblies is a choice of parents. Many a parent also do not have domestic workers
to leave their children at home. As such, this restriction is discriminatory
and a violation of rights of persons with children. Note also that many who
join a peaceful assembly may have no prior plan but suddenly decided to join
because it was something they too support.
No right of peaceful assembly to non-citizens
This will include also permanent
residents and foreign nationals living and working in Malaysia. This is
unacceptable as this a human right and should not be a citizen only right.
In many countries, when some
inter-government meeting is going on like the ASEAN meet, it is not uncommon
that many will want to participate in a peaceful assembly to express a common
stance. Likewise, in some issues like the massacre of Muslims in New Zealand or
what happened to the Rohingya, it makes no sense to bar non-citizens from
participating in peaceful assembles. Migrant workers also may sometime want to
exercise this right to highlight some rights violation. This is a human right
which must be accorded to all in Malaysia.
Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 – Many Other Unjust Hurdles
That draconian Act brought about
hurdles to people exercising right of peaceful assembly.
Organizer
One, was the requirement of the organizer
to identify himself, and when he/she does so, he/she is made responsible for
all persons that participate in a peaceful assembly and may be criminally
liable for actions not his/her own. Then, there is draconian obligation to
clean up or to be liable to pay for cleaning bill. This obviously will deter
the exercising of the right of peaceful assembly. No ordinary person, community,
the poor or even smaller groups/organizations can afford this risk of such criminal
liability, and more importantly the financial obligations. As such, since the Peaceful
Assembly Act 2012, only bigger groups like BERSIH 2.0 and political parties
have the capacity of organizing Peaceful Assemblies.
In many peaceful assemblies,
there may be no organisers. People may gather at a place to protest with others
with a common objective. The 1998 Reformasi peaceful assemblies that happened
on several consecutive Saturday afternoons that saw thousands participating peacefully
along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman ending in Dataran Merdeka is such an example.
Likewise, the people of Kuantan
may want to protest Lynas or Bauxite mining, or the people of Pasir Gudang may
want to come together to protest the ‘chemical poison’ but they could not
because the law requires a named organizer, and no one wants to take on that
onerous responsibility.
As such, the need for an organizer
to come forward, to submit notification, to get permission from the consent of
the owner or occupier of the place of assembly, arrange for security, etc must all
be removed. This impedes the right to peaceful assembly
Consent Of The Owner Or
Occupier Of The Place Of Assembly
There should be no such
requirement, for owners or occupiers of the place of assembly and others must
respect the right of their fellow men to exercise their right to peaceful
assembly. Asking owners and occupiers consent is also unfair to
owners/occupiers as they suddenly have to decide whether to consent or not –
either way, there will be an implication to them directly or indirectly. They
would really prefer not to be burdened with this question of consent, and
should not be asked. If freedom of assembly is a right, then even others who
are against it should respect the right of those who choose to exercise that
right.
Most peaceful assemblies happen
not inside private premises, but in public areas which usually comes under the
Local Council or the government. In the past, as an example, the Kuala Lumpur
City Council (a government appointed Council) has rejected to allow peaceful
assemblies in Dataran Merdeka. This is very wrong and a violation of right to
peaceful assembly, which must be allowed in all public areas.
Cleaning Bills
This again is absurd, as in all
public areas, it is the obligation of the Local Council (Local Government) to
keep the area clean. It is an offence to litter, and it is alright to catch and
penalize litter-bugs but certainly not right to send organizers of peaceful
assembly a hefty Cleaning Bill.
Designated places of peaceful
assembly
If a peaceful assembly is held at
a designated place of peaceful assembly, then there is no need to notify the
police. As of now, the only such designated place is the Darul Makmur Stadium
in Pahang.
The object of a peaceful assembly
is usually to highlight a certain issue, wrongdoing or failure, and it is held
in a public place where there are many other persons so that more will be
educated and convince to join the cause, and as such peaceful assemblies are
usually where there are many other people.
The idea of allowing a peaceful
assembly in a Stadium or some field, far away from the public eye defeats the
purpose. That exactly has been the reason why many peaceful assembly have been organized
along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, in front of KLCC and Dataran Merdeka.
If the peaceful assembly is
protesting something concerning a company, it may be held in front of that
company. If it is about ASEAN, it will be held where the ASEAN is meeting, If
it is concerning something in Parliament, then it will be in front of
Parliament. If it is to try and prevent a Malaysian being executed in
Singapore, then it will be before the Singapore Embassy.
As such, increasing the
designated places of peaceful assembly is foolish, for it all depends on the
subject matter of the peaceful assembly. Every public area should be places
permissible for peaceful assembly.
Power to compound – the proposed new section 21A
This will give the power to the
police to compound offence relating to failure to provide notification (Section
9) or persons who breach the restrictions and conditions imposed by police (Section
15). This power will negate the need to prosecute or provide a person with a
fair trial, thus removing the judicial supervision of actions of police unless
the victim refuses the offer to pay the compound. Some conditions/restrictions
imposed by the police may be found to be unjust or unconstitutional.
It must be noted that many in
Malaysia, guilty or not, would choose to pay the compound rather than be
prosecuted in court which will entail not just loss of time and income, but
also monies including legal and court fees.
It is of concern that the Home
Minister, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Muhyiddin bin Mohd Yassin, on 4/7/2019, also said
that the compound will be good for Parliamentarians as unlike fines, it would
not affect their qualification as MPs or their ability to contest in future
elections. (Hansard 4/7/2019, page 49)
Therefore MADPET
-
Calls for the repeal of Peaceful Assembly Act
2012;
-
Calls on the government to withdraw the current Peaceful
Assembly (Amendment) Bill 2019,
-
Call on the government to transparently disclose
to the public way in advance proposed Bills, or at least the proposed main points
of law to enable public participation, and not speedily rush and pass laws as
it did the Peaceful Assembly (Amendment) Bill 2019;
-
Call on Malaysia to amend Article 10(b) of the
Federal Constitution to provide all person with ‘the right to assemble
peaceably and without arms’; and
-
Call on the government to respect the fundamental
human right to peaceful assembly, and allow all persons in Malaysia, including
children, to freely exercise this right;
Charles Hector
For and on behalf of
MADPET(Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)
Kerajaan Pakatan Harapan juga akan memansuhkan peruntukan-peruntukan yang zalim dalam akta-akta berikut:
• Kanun Keseksaan 1997 terutama dalam isu perhimpunan aman dan kegiatan memudaratkan demokrasi
• Kanun Keseksaan 1997 terutama dalam isu perhimpunan aman dan kegiatan memudaratkan demokrasi
• Akta Komunikasi dan Multimedia 1998
• Akta Kesalahan Keselamatan (Langkah-Langkah Khas) 2012 (SOSMA)
• Akta Perhimpunan Aman 2012
• Akta Pencegahan Keganasan 2015 (POTA)
• Akta Kesalahan Keselamatan (Langkah-Langkah Khas) 2012 (SOSMA)
• Akta Perhimpunan Aman 2012
• Akta Pencegahan Keganasan 2015 (POTA)
PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY ACT 2012
ACT 736
Preamble
An Act relating to the right to
assemble peaceably and without arms, and to provide restrictions deemed
necessary or expedient relating to such right in the interest of the security
of the Federation or any part thereof or public order, including the protection
of the rights and freedoms of other persons, and to provide for related
matters.
ENACTED by the parliament of
Malaysia as follows:
PART I PRELIMINARY
1 Short title, commencement and non-application
(1) This Act may be cited as the
Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.
(2) This Act comes into operation
on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette.
(3) This Act shall not apply to-
(a) an assembly which is an election
campaign under the Election Offences Act 1954 [Act 5]; and
(b) an assembly which is a strike, lock-out
or picket under the Industrial Relations Act 1967 [Act 177] and the Trade
Unions Act 1959 [Act 262].
2 Objects
The objects of this Act are to ensure-
(a) so far as it is appropriate to do so,
that all citizens have the right to organize assemblies or to participate in
assemblies, peaceably and without arms; and
(b) that the exercise of the right to
organize assemblies or to participate in assemblies, peaceably and without
arms, is subject only to restrictions deemed necessary or expedient in a
democratic society in the interest of the security of the Federation or any
part thereof or public order, including the protection of the rights and
freedoms of other persons.
3 Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context
otherwise requires-
"rights and freedoms of other
persons" includes-
(a) the right to peaceful enjoyment of
one's possession;
(b) the right to freedom of movement;
(c) the right to enjoy the natural
environment; and
(d) the right to carry on business;
"road" has the meaning assigned
to it in the Road Transport Act 1987 [Act 333];
"child" means a person below the
age of fifteen years;
"Minister" means the Minister
charged with the responsibility for home affairs;
"person who has interests" means
a person residing, working or carrying on business or having or owning
residential or commercial property in the vicinity of or at the place of
assembly;
"organizer" means a person who is
responsible for the organization of an assembly, including the arranging,
convening, collecting or forming of the assembly, or who is responsible for the
conduct of an assembly;
"assembly" means an intentional
and temporary assembly of a number of persons in a public place, whether or not
the assembly is at a particular place or moving;
"counter assembly" means an
assembly organized to convey disagreement with the purpose for which another
assembly is organized, and held at the same time, date and place or
approximately at the same time, date and place as the other assembly;
"simultaneous assemblies" means
two or more assemblies to be held at the same time, date and place, but which
have no relationship to each other;
"participant" means a person
intentionally or voluntarily present for the purpose of an assembly;
"arms" means any firearm,
ammunition, explosive, corrosive, injurious or obnoxious substance, stick,
stone, or any weapon or object, which by its nature, can be used to incite fear
or cause injury to persons, or damage to property;
"public place" means-
(a) a road;
(b) a place open to or used by the
public as of right; or
(c) a place for the time being open to
or used by the public, whether or not-
(i) the place is ordinarily open to
or used by the public;
(ii) by the express or implied
consent of the owner or occupier; or
(iii) on payment of money;
"prohibited places" means-
(a) the protected areas and protected
places declared under the protected Areas and protected places Act 1959 [Act
298]; and
(b) the places as may be specified in
the First schedule;
"place of assembly" means the
place where the assembly is held and in relation to a procession, includes a
place at or through which it is proposed the assembly will stop or pass;
"designated place of assembly"
means a place designated by the Minister under section 25.
Amendment of
section 3
2. The Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 [Act 736],
which is referred to as the
“principal Act” in
this Act, is
amended in section
3 by deleting the
definition of “street
protest”.
PART II RIGHT TO
ASSEMBLE PEACEABLY AND WITHOUT ARMS
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;
(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.
(2) A person commits an offence
if-
(a) being a non-citizen, he organizes or
participates in an assembly;
(b) he organizes or participates in an
assembly held at any prohibited place and within fifty metres from the limit of
the prohibited place;
(d) being a person below the age of
twenty-one years, he organizes an assembly;
(e) being a child, he participates in an
assembly other than an assembly specified in the second schedule; or
(f) he recruits or brings a child to an
assembly or allows a child to attend an assembly other than an assembly
specified in the second schedule.
(3) A person who commits an
offence under paragraph (2)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) shall, on conviction, be
liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit.
(4) A person who commits an
offence under paragraph (2)(f) shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not
exceeding twenty thousand ringgit.
Amendment of section
4
3. Section 4
of the principal
Act is amended—
(a) in subsection
(1), by deleting
paragraph (c);
(b) in subsection
(2), by deleting
paragraph (c); and
(c) in subsection
(3), by deleting
the words “(c),”.
5 Right of person who has
interests
A person who has interests shall
have the right to be informed of the details of an assembly in the manner
specified in section 12 so as to allow him to raise his concerns or objections
to the assembly.
PART III
RESPONSIBILITIES OF ORGANIZERS, PARTICIPANTS AND POLICE
6 Responsibilities of organizers
(1) An organizer shall ensure
that an assembly is in compliance with this Act and any other written law.
(2) For the purpose of subsection
(1), the organizer shall-
(a) ensure that the organization and
conduct of an assembly is not in contravention of this Act or any order issued
under this Act or any other written law;
(b) ensure that he or any other person at
the assembly does not do any act or make any statement which has a tendency to
promote feelings of ill-will or hostility amongst the public at large or do
anything which will disturb public tranquility;
(c) ensure that he or any other person at
the assembly does not commit any offence under any written law;
(d) ensure that the organization and
conduct of an assembly is in accordance with the notification of assembly given
under subsection 9(1) and any restrictions and conditions which may be imposed
under section 15;
(e) appoint such number of persons as he
thinks necessary to be in charge of the orderly conduct of the assembly;
(f) co-operate with the public authorities;
(g) ensure that the assembly will not
endanger health or cause damage to property or the environment;
(h) ensure that the assembly will not cause
any significant inconvenience to the public at large;
(i) ensure the clean-up of the place of assembly
or bear the clean-up cost of the place of assembly; and
(j) in the case of simultaneous assemblies
or counter assemblies, ensure that the organization of the assemblies are not
intended to specifically prevent the other assembly from taking place or
interfere with the organization of such assembly.
7 Responsibilities of
participants
A participant shall-
(a) refrain from-
(i) disrupting or preventing any
assembly;
(ii) behaving offensively or abusively
towards any person;
(iii) doing any act or making any
statement which has a tendency to promote feelings of ill-will or hostility
amongst the public at large or doing anything which will disturb public
tranquility;
(iv) committing any offence under any
written law at any assembly; and
(v) causing damage to
property; and
(b) adhere to the orders given by the
police, organizer or any person appointed by the organizer to be in charge of
the orderly conduct of the assembly.
8 Responsibilities of police
A police officer may take such
measures as he deems necessary to ensure the orderly conduct of an assembly in
accordance with this Act and any other written law.
PART IV
REQUIREMENTS ON ORGANIZING OF
ASSEMBLY
9 Notification of assembly
(1) An organizer shall, ten days before the date of an assembly, notify the Officer in
charge of the police District in which the assembly is to be held.
(2) Subsection (1) shall not
apply to-
(a) an assembly which is to be held at a
designated place of assembly; and
(b) any other assemblies as may be
specified in the Third schedule.
(3) If the assembly is a
religious assembly or a funeral procession, the organizer may inform the Officer
in charge of the police District in which the assembly or procession is to be
held; and may, if assistance is needed to maintain traffic or crowd control,
request for such assistance.
(4) The notification under
subsection (1) shall be given to the Officer in charge of the police District
in which the assembly is to be held by A.R. registered post or courier or by
hand.
(5) A person who contravenes
subsection (1) commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine
not exceeding ten thousand ringgit.
Amendment of section
9
4. Subsection 9(1) of the
principal Act is amended by substituting for
the words “ten
days” the words
“seven days”.
10 Requirements regarding
notification of assembly
The notification made under
subsection 9(1) shall-
(a) be in the form in the Fourth schedule;
(b) be signed by the organizer;
(c) be accompanied by a copy of the consent
of the owner or occupier of the place of assembly, if applicable;
(d) be accompanied by any additional
document as may be specified by the Officer in charge of the police District,
if any; and
(e) contain the following particulars:
(i) the name and details of the
organizer;
(ii) the correspondence address of the
organizer;
(iii) the name and address of the
speakers in the assembly, if any;
(iv) the purpose of the assembly;
(v) the date on which the assembly is
to be held;
(vi) the place at which the assembly is
to be held;
(vii) the times at which it is proposed
that the assembly will begin and end;
(viii) if the assembly is a procession-
(A) the proposed route of the
procession;
(B) any place at which it is
proposed that the procession will stop; and
(C) the length of time it is
proposed that the procession will remain at each such place;
(ix) the expected number of
participants;
(x) the person appointed by the
organizer to be in charge of the orderly conduct of the assembly; and
(xi) a description of the sound
amplification equipment or device proposed to be used, if any, during the
assembly.
11 Consent of owner or occupier
of place of assembly
The organizer of an assembly,
other than a religious assembly or a funeral procession or an assembly held at
a designated place of assembly, shall obtain the consent of the owner or
occupier of the place of assembly for it to be used for the purpose of the
assembly.
12 Requirement to inform persons
who have interests
(1) Upon receipt of the
notification under subsection 9(1), the Officer in charge of the police
District shall, within twenty-four hours, cause the details of the assembly to
be informed to persons who have interests-
(a) by posting a notice conspicuously at
various locations at the place of assembly; or
(b) by any reasonable means suitable or
necessary so as to make the information available to such persons.
(2) A person who has interests
may, in writing, inform his concerns or objections to the assembly together
with his reasons to the Officer in charge of the police District within forty-eight
hours of being informed of the
assembly under subsection (1).
(3) The Officer in charge of the
police District shall take into account the concerns or objections received for
the purpose of imposing restrictions and conditions under section 15.
Amendment of section
12
5. Subsection 12(2) of the
principal Act is amended by substituting for the words “forty-eight hours” the
words “twenty-four hours”.
13 Meeting with organizer
The Officer in charge of the
police District may at any time after receiving the notification under
subsection 9(1), if the circumstances warrant it, call the organizer for a
meeting to advise the organizer on the assembly.
14 Response to notification of
assembly
(1) The Officer in charge of the
police District shall respond to the notification under subsection 9(1) within
five days of the receipt of the notification and shall, in the response, inform
the organizer of the restrictions and conditions imposed under section 15, if
any.
(2) If the Officer in charge of
the police District does not respond to the notification in accordance with
subsection (1), the assembly shall proceed as proposed in the notification.
15 Restrictions and conditions
(1) The Officer in charge of the
police District may impose restrictions and conditions on an assembly for the
purpose of security or public order, including the protection of the rights and
freedoms of other persons.
(2) The restrictions and
conditions imposed under this section may relate to-
(a) the date, time and duration of
assembly;
(b) the place of assembly;
(c) the manner of the assembly;
(d) the conduct of participants during the
assembly;
(e) the payment of clean-up costs arising
out of the holding of the assembly;
(f) any inherent environmental factor,
cultural or religious sensitivity and historical significance of the place of
assembly;
(g) the concerns and objections of persons
who have interests; or
(h) any other matters the Officer in charge
of the police District deems necessary or expedient in relation to the
assembly.
(3) Any person who fails to
comply with any restrictions and conditions under this section commits an
offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten
thousand ringgit.
16 Appeal on restrictions and
conditions
(1) Any organizer aggrieved by
the imposition of restrictions and conditions under section 15 may, within forty-eight
hours of being informed of the
restrictions and conditions, appeal to the Minister.
(2) The Minister shall give his
decision within forty-eight hours of receipt of the appeal under subsection
(1).
Amendment of section
16
6. Section 16
of the principal
Act is amended
by substituting for
the words “forty-eight
hours” wherever appearing
the words “twenty-four
hours”.
17 Simultaneous assemblies
(1) If the Officer in charge of a
police District receives notifications for two or more assemblies to be
organized, and the assemblies are proposed to be held at the same time, date
and place, the assemblies may, subject to restrictions and conditions imposed
under section 15, be held simultaneously.
(2) If, in the opinion of the
Officer in charge of the police District, the assemblies referred to in
subsection (1) cannot be held simultaneously-
(a) the Officer in charge of the police
District shall give preference to the organizer who first submitted the
notification to hold the assembly in the place of assembly stated in the
notification, unless the place of assembly is traditionally or contractually to
be used for the other assembly; or
(b) in the case of notifications of
assembly received at the same time, the Officer in charge of the police
District shall give preference to the organizer whose name is extracted in a
draw held by the Officer in charge of the police District to hold the assembly
in the place of assembly stated in the notification.
18 Counter assembly
If the Officer in charge of a
police District receives a notification of a counter assembly and it is evident
that the organization of the counter assembly will cause conflict between the
participants of the assemblies, the Officer in charge of the police District
shall give an alternative for the counter assembly to be organized at another
time, date or place.
19 Presumption as to organizer
If-
(a) an assembly is held at a designated
place of assembly;
(b) an assembly is specified in the Third
schedule;
(c) a notification required
under subsection 9(1) was not given; or
(d) a notification required under
subsection 9(1) was given but the identity of the organizer stated in the
notification is false,
any person who initiates, leads,
promotes, sponsors, holds or supervises the assembly, or invites or recruits
participants or speakers for the assembly, shall be deemed to be the organizer
of the assembly.
PART V
ENFORCEMENT
20 Power of arrest
(1) A police officer may, without
warrant, arrest any organizer or participant-
(a) who, during an assembly, refuses or
fails to comply with any restrictions and conditions under section 15;
(b) who, during an assembly, has in his
possession any arms; or
(c) who recruits or brings a child to an
assembly other than an assembly specified in the second schedule.
(2) The police officer shall,
before exercising the power of arrest under this section, take necessary
measures to ensure voluntary compliance by the organizer or participant.
21 Power to disperse assembly
(1) A police officer may issue an
order to disperse in the following circumstances:
(a) the assembly is held at a prohibited
place or within fifty metres from the limit of a prohibited place;
(c) any person at the assembly does any act
or makes any statement which has a tendency to promote feelings of ill-will or
hostility amongst the public at large or does anything which will disturb
public tranquility;
(d) any person at the assembly commits any
offence under any written law;
(e) the participants did not or do not
comply with the restrictions and conditions imposed under section 15; or
(f) the participants are engaging in, or
about to engage in, unlawful or disorderly conduct or violence towards persons
or property.
(2) The police officer, in
exercising the power to disperse an assembly under this section, may use all
reasonable force.
(3) Any person who fails to comply
with the order issued under this section commits an offence and shall, on
conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit.
Amendment of section
21
7. Subsection 21(1)
of the principal
Act is amended
by deleting paragraph (b).
New section 21a
8. The principal
Act is amended
by inserting after
section 21 the
following section:
“Power to compound
offences
21a. (1) The Officer in
Charge of a Police District may, with the
consent in writing
of the Public
Prosecutor, compound any
offence punishable under
section 9 or
15 by making
a written offer
to the person
suspected to have
committed the offence to compound the offence upon payment
to the Officer in Charge of
the Police District
of such amount
of money not exceeding five thousand ringgit within
such time as may be specified in
the written offer.
(2) An offer
under subsection (1)
may be made
at any time
after the offence
has been committed
but before any
prosecution for it
has been instituted.
(3) If the amount specified in the offer is not paid within
the time
specified in the
offer, or such
extended time as
the Officer in Charge of the
Police District may grant, prosecution for the offence may be instituted at any
time after that against the person to
whom the offer was
made.
(4) Where an
offence has been
compounded under subsection (1), no prosecution shall
be instituted in respect of the offence against the person to whom the offer to
compound was made, and
any document or
thing seized in
connection with the
offence may be
released by the
Officer in Charge
of the Police
District, subject to
such terms as
the Officer in
Charge of the
Police District thinks
fit.”.
PART VI
MISCELLANEOUS
22 Maintenance of register
(1) The Officer in charge of a
police District shall maintain a register containing the record of
notifications received under subsection 9(1), in chronological order.
(2) The register referred to in
subsection (1) shall be in the form as the Minister may prescribe.
23 Recordings
A police officer may make any
form of recording of an assembly.
24 Media access
Any media representative may have
reasonable access to a place of assembly and use any equipment to report on the
assembly.
25 Designated place of assembly
(1) The Minister may, by notification
in the Gazette, designate any place to be a designated place of assembly.
(2) For the avoidance of doubt,
any person who organizes or participates in an assembly held at a designated
place of assembly shall have the same responsibilities as an organizer and a
participant under sections 6 and 7.
26 Power to amend schedules
The Minister may, by order
published in the Gazette, amend the schedules.
27 Regulations
The Minister may make regulations
for the better carrying out of the provisions of this Act.
FIRST SCHEDULE
[Section 3]
PROHIBITED PLACES
Dams, reservoirs and water catchment areas
Water treatment plants
Electricity generating stations
Petrol stations
Hospitals
Fire stations
Airports
Railways
Land public transport terminals
Ports, canals, docks, wharves, piers, bridges and marinas
Places of worship
Kindergartens and schools
SECOND SCHEDULE
[Paragraph 4(1)(e)]
ASSEMBLIES IN WHICH A CHILD
MAY PARTICIPATE
Religious assemblies
Funeral processions
Assemblies related to custom
Assemblies approved by the Minister
THIRD SCHEDULE
[Paragraph 9(2)(b)]
ASSEMBLIES FOR WHICH
NOTIFICATION IS NOT REQUIRED
Religious assemblies
Funeral processions
Wedding receptions
Open houses during festivities
Family gatherings
Family day held by an employer for the benefit of his
employees and their
Families
General meetings of societies or associations
FOURTH SCHEDULE
[Section 10]
FORM
NOTIFICATION UNDER SUBSECTION
9(1) – full form not included – see Act.
Peaceful Assembly (Amendment) Act
2019
-
See below just the EXPLANATORY STATEMENT to the Bill
This Bill
seeks to amend
the Peaceful Assembly
Act 2012 (“Act
736”).
2. Clause 1
contains the short
title and provision
on the commencement
of the proposed Act.
3. Clauses 2,
3 and 7
seek to amend
sections 3, 4 and 21
of Act 736
respectively to do
away with the
offence relating to
a street protest.
Due to the
change of policy
of the Government,
the Government is
of the view
that the right
to assemble peaceably
and without arms
may include the
right to organize
or participate in
a street protest
so long as
the street protest
does not pose
any threat to
or affect the
security of the
Federation or public
order. The street
protest must also
be held in
a manner that
takes into account
the protection of the rights and
freedom of other persons. In the event that a street protest causes
any nuisance, or
involves any act of violence
or commission of any criminal offence, such act may be
dealt with under other existing laws such
as the Penal
Code [Act 574]
and Criminal Procedure
Code [Act 593].
4. Clause 4
seeks to amend
section 9 of
Act 736 to
shorten the notification
period of an
assembly from ten
days to seven
days, before the
date of the
assembly. This is
to further facilitate
the holding of
peaceful assemblies.
5. Clauses 5 and 6 seek to amend
sections 12 and 16 of Act 736 respectively consequential to
the amendment made
to section 9
of Act 736.
6. Clause 8
seeks to introduce
a new section
21a to provide
for the power
to compound offences
punishable under sections
9 and 15
of Act 736.
7. Clause 9
contains savings provision.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONSThis Bill
will not involve
the Government in
any extra financial
expenditure
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