The Bar Council today took the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to task for 'selectively' appointing itself as a moral guardian and curbing freedom of expression.

In a press statement, council chairperson Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari said the constitutionally-guaranteed freedom should not be 'willy-nilly' suppressed, let alone punished.

He was reacting to the case of a 22-year-old youth, who was charged by the city hall in April with indecent behaviour for allegedly hugging and kissing his girlfriend at a public park.

According to a copy of the summons obtained by the council recently, Ooi was charged under section 8(1) of the Parks (Federal Territory) Bylaws 1981 which reads that "any person found behaving in a disorderly manner in any park commits an offence".

"The Bar Council is amazed that hugging and kissing can be termed as disorderly conduct," said Kuthubul.

"If, as it is widely assumed, the charge was proffered because a display of affection in public offends an out-of-sync sense of decency of some officers in DBKL, then DBKL must be reminded that it is not for their officers to waste ratepayers' money in order to upkeep their subjective concept of morality," he added.

Not objectionable

Kuthubul, who is also the Malaysian Bar president which represents some 11,000 lawyers, said hugging and kissing are forms of expression or affection commonly observed in Malaysia today.

"The public is familiar with such scenes on television. Society does not find them objectionable," he added.

In view of this, he said the 'frivolous charge' against Ooi must be withdrawn.

Ooi, who has pleaded not guilty, will have his case heard in July. If found guilty, he could face a maximum fine of RM2,000 or a year in jail, or both.

He was caught by council officials last August in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre's park, which is located beside the Petronas Twin Towers, while sitting with his girlfriend, Siow Ai Wei.

The case received international media coverage while many quarters criticised DBKL for its harsh and archaic action.