The red shirts protest that appears to be a threat to peace should not be used to justify an outright ban of rallies, said PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil.
Fahmi was responding to Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s declaration he did not want to see any more street demonstrations, be it by the red shirts or yellow shirts, the latter in reference to electoral reform coalition Bersih.
"Even though his statement is intended to avoid certain quarters like the extremist red shirts from disturbing public order, but it is actually against Article 10(1)(b) of the federal constitution," said Fahmi.
The PKR leader said as long as rallies are held peacefully and without arms, Zahid cannot deny Malaysians the right of assembly.
"At the same time, Zahid should not equate the Bersih 4 rally - which called for electoral reform and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's resignation due to corruption allegations - to the red shirts gathering comprising extremists which use racist words to create tension," said Fahmi.
He said while the Bersih 4 rally on Aug 29 and 30 took place peacefully, its counter protest in the form of the red shirt rally on Sept 16 saw protesters trying to breach police lines at Petaling Street, forcing the Federal Reserve Unit to intervene with water cannons.
"To date, there has been no word of whether those responsible of intruding into Petaling Street were arrested and charged in court," he said.
The red shirts again caused tensions last week when certain groups threatened to protest at Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, purportedly over counterfeit goods.
The said rally yesterday was however aborted following the arrest of red shirts frontman Jamal Md Yunus, who has denied any involvement in the rally.
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