The authorities should not bar the Bersih 3.0 rally in view of the precedent set during the January 9 rally at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex, said the Bar Council.

Its president Lim Chee Wee said the Bersih coalition, now known as Bersih 2.0, has consistently shown that rallies which it has organised were peaceful, thus the authorities should not deny their constitutional right to assembly

"In any event, the police has allowed the Anwar 901 rally to take place near the court premises. There is no reason why Bersih 3.0 cannot be held at Dataran Merdeka.

“Malaysians have shown that they are able to have assemblies in a peaceful manner," he told Malaysiakini .

Lim said the Bar Council strongly believes that the police will help facilitate the Bersih 3.0 sit-in protest, as it had done for the January 9 rally and Himpunan Hijau rally on February 26.

"The police should stop repeat the mistakes of the previous Bersih 2.0 rally. These mistakes have been confirmed by the Suhakam inquiry proceedings that examine the events of Bersih 2.0.

“It confirmed that Bersih 2.0 was a peaceful rally and that there was indiscriminate use of non-lethal force by the police," he said.

He added that the Bar Council had consistently respected the constitutional rights of anyone to assembly peacefully, by groups ranging from the Bersih coalition to Malay rights pressure group Perkasa.

In addition, he said the Bar Council will organise a monitoring team and provide a legal aid representation team for Bersih 3.0.

New Act not in force yet

Since the 901 Anwar rally there have been a few peaceful assemblies and one of them was the anti-Lynas rally called Himpunan Hijau held on Feb 26.

Lim said that based on his research the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2011 has yet to come into force.

The much criticised Bill was tabled and passed by the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 29,  in a hurried manner amidst huge protests as the new law forbids protests in motion or street protests.

Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail had defended the Bill saying it encourages “freedom of expression” which is enshrined in the federal constitution and was meant to replace Section 27 of the Police Act.

Under the Police Act, a participant of an illegal assembly faces a minimum fine of RM2,000 up to a maximum of RM10,000 or one year’s jail or both.

Under the new PAA, those found guilty face a maximum fine of RM20,000. Children under 15 are not allowed to participate.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Commission commissioner Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah reiterated Suhakam’s stand that peaceful assemblies as the name suggests are peaceful hence, such events like Bersih 3.0 should be allowed.

“Police should also allow and consider managing it independently. All parties should work hard to facilitate and respect universal rights of the people to assemble and express their opinions peacefully on urgent public and national interest issues,” he told Malaysiakini .

The commission had in the past lauded the police’s move to hold dialogues and negotiations with rally organisers, as a public assembly is an avenue for the public to express themselves on issues that are of concern.