Pak Lah justifies police action at anti-ISA meeting
The police had sealed off the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (SCAH) and stopped a planned anti-Internal Security Act meeting there last Tuesday because the organiser did not inform the police about the gathering, said Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today.
He said the police had acted accordingly with the problem on the ground to prevent the situation from getting out of order.
Abdullah, who is also the home minister, said an application must be forwarded to the police before any gathering is held as it is a normal procedure.
Asked to comment on Tuesday's standoff between the anti-ISA crowd and about 100 policemen outside the SCAH, he stressed that any group wishing to organise a public gathering must apply for a police permit. The standoff turned ugly after riot police beat up several people who turned up for the gathering.
The Tuesday's meeting was organised by the Abolish ISA Movement (AIM) to renew opposition against the ISA in the wake of last month's Federal Court decision which ruled that the initial detention of five reformasi detainees was unlawful.
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