The High Court in Kuala Lumpur today fixed Jan 18, for a ruling on an application by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to strike out a charge he faces under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

Justice Kamardin Hashim set the date after hearing submissions by deputy public prosecutor Abdul Wahab Mohamed and the accused’s counsel, Karpal Singh.

Abdul Wahab, in his submission, said the court should take judicial notice that street rallies such as that organised by Bersih 3.0 on April 28, last year had adversely impacted traders in the federal capital.

He said, through observation and information from the print and electronic media, the court could see that the illegal rally had prevented the public, including foreign tourists, from entering the capital with ease.

Abdul Wahab said the participants had also acted aggressively against security personnel on duty and caused damage to public property.

Meanwhile, Karpal, in his submission-in-reply, said Section 4(1)(c) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 was ultra-vires Article 10(1)(b) of the federal constitution which clearly stated the people had the right to gather in a peaceful manner.

On May 22, last year, Anwar, 64, jointly with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, 48, and Rembau PKR branch chief Badrul Hisham Shaharin, 34, were charged with participating in a street protest on April 28, the same year, which allegedly led to chaos in the capital.

The trio also faced a second charge of conniving with Tangam Raju, Rajesh Kumar Gejinder and Farhan Ibrahim by inciting them to remove iron barricades at Jalan Raja in Kuala Lumpur on the same day.

They are the first individuals to be charged under Section 4(2)(c) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, which provides for a maximum fine of RM10,000 upon conviction.

On July 2, last year, the trio were charged with conspiring with Tangam, Rajesh, Farhan and five other supporters of the ‘Coalition for Free and Fair Elections’ (Bersih 3.0) to defy a magistrate’s court order dated April 26, 2012 not to hold a rally at Dataran Merdeka between April 28 and May 1, last year.

- Bernama