The police have been invited to be involved in this year's Local Democracy Festival due to the "increasing oppression and violence" against freedom of expression, by several right wing groups in Penang.

 

The event, led by Penang Suaram and supported by the state government, was launched by state cabinet member Chow Kon Yeow today.

 

Other partners of the festival are Penang Youth Development Cooperative, Badan Bertindak Penebatan Banjir Kadun Machang Bubok, Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign and state assemblyman Lee Khai Loon's service centre.

 

Spokesperson for the event Ong Jing Cheng ( right ) said that a letter has been hand-delivered to police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi on Nov 18.

 

"We hope the police can come in especially to deal with groups trying to stop the events.

 

"This is also a form of oppression and violence against freedom of expression. We hope the police can do something about this," Ong said at a press conference today.

 

"If trouble happens, we hope they can intervene and separate the groups," he added.

 

Ong cited two incidents where the aggressive groups had interrupted and aborted pro-democracy events - the anti-Sedition Act gathering at the Esplanade on Oct 12 and a forum by student activist Fahmi Zainol at Universiti Sains Malaysia on Nov 15.

 

These groups, which include Umno Youth, Perkasa and Persatuan Mukabuku Pulau Pinang, have disrupted similar events including intruding into the Penang Legislative Assembly on May 21, as they were angered by DAP's Seri Delima assemblyman for labelling Umno "celaka" (damned).

 

Asked if these groups would be invited for the festival, Ong said the events were "open to all".

 

At the time of writing, Abdul Rahim was not available for comment.

 

Chow said the state government has been supporting the event since 2010, which started small but has grown with the involvement of various groups.

 

He was happy to see groups such as the flood action body getting involved and influencing the state's budget for community needs.

 

"Some of the issues target the state government to respond to the needs of the community but we are happy to experience this process.

 

"Democracy is not the sole responsibility of the government. Both state and community must work together for it to be successful," added the state DAP chief.

 

One event to look forward to is the forum on ‘How does the 2015 Penang government budget benefit us?’ on Nov 30 at Dewan Sri Pinang.

 

Events featured in the festival include a ‘Youth Parliament’, ‘Community Empowerment’ by Badan Bertindak Penebatan Banjir, ‘Expressing the Migrant and Refugee Journey: An Arts and Music Extravaganza’, ‘Democratic Heritage Tour’ and the release of a booklet on ‘Hartal’, the national workers’ strike in 1967.

 

The festival will culminate in the Human Rights Day celebration with the launch of the Penang Local Democracy Report 2014 on Dec 10.

 

There will also be a forum on ‘Participatory Budgeting and Community Empowerment on how to influence the budget’ on Dec 11.