Seksualiti Merdeka has today failed for the second time to obtain permission to initiate judicial review against the police to lift its ban on their event organised in 2011.

NONE This comes as a three-member panel at the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Clement Allan Skinner, unanimously dismissed the appeal brought by the festival's organiser Pang Khee Teik and four others over the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision last year.

Justice Skinner ruled that the decision by then deputy Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar to ban the event was not preemptive as the organisers had already run the event for two days.

"The announcing of the ban by Khalid (now IGP) is in exercising his duty to investigate alleged offenses under the law," said Skinner.

Skinner added the court also shared the same views as the KL High Court judge's decision that the appeal was academic.

The other judges in the panel were Justices Mohd Ariff Mohd Yusof and David Wong.

On March 1, last year, KL High Court Justice Rohana Yusof ruled that police are empowered to stop the event to ensure security as 28 police reports were lodged against the event by Christian, Muslim and Buddhist groups.

Creating awareness

She said the organisers had sought to review the police decision two days after the programme was launched.

“From the bare facts, I am inclined to agree with the objection raised by the senior federal counsel that the application and relief sought are academic,” she said in allowing the preliminary objection and refusing to grant permission to initiate the judicial review last year.

The organiser’s claimed Khalid's decision to ban the event is in contravention of Article 8 and 10 of the federal constitution.

NONE Following that, Pang and the others named Khalid ( right ), the police and government as respondents to the case where they sought an order to quash the police decision to ban the event and for the police to disclose copies of police reports made.

The Seksualiti Merdeka event, which had been organised in previous years, is aimed at creating awareness and in celebrating human rights of people who have diverse sexual orientation, including from the lesbians, gay, bi-sexuals and transgender (LGBT) community.

Pang and the others were represented by lawyer Honey Tan while senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan appeared for the respondents.