There is no evidence that the Bersih T-shirt can lead to prejudice to public order or national security.

Lawyer Edmund Bon, representing election reform movement Bersih in its judicial review to challenge the ban on yellow Bersih T-shirts, said this in his submission today.

“No reasonable person can say that,” Paulsen said of the ban by the Home Ministry that was issued on Aug 27 last year, two days before the mammoth Bersih rally.

Citing Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s affidavit, which states that the Bersih rally did not obtain permission for it to be held, Paulsen pointed out how these were two separate matters.

“The rally complied with the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA). All you need to do is to inform the police. There’s no need for permission,” he said at the High Court in Shah Alam today.

Paulsen also pointed out how the order to ban the T-shirt was made on Aug 27 but that the minister in his case referred to matters during the rally, which took place two days later.

“So, is it reasonable to say that the T-shirt can lead to public disorder? There must be more evidence than that,” he said.

Bersih had filed the judicial review, he said, because many had been arrested for wearing and possessing the Bersih T-shirts.

Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali and PKR parliamentarian Tian Chua are among those under investigation for wearing the T-shirts during the rally.

The ban was not limited only to T-shirts but also any other material bearing the words 'Bersih 4' on them.

Representing the government, federal counsel Suzana Atan said the home minister has absolute discretion, under Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act, to ban publications that he thinks are likely to be prejudicial to public order, security and national interest.

“The term ‘likely to be prejudicial to public order’ doesn't necessarily refer to actual public disorder but anything, according to the minister’s satisfaction, that has the potential to disrupt public order,” Suzana said.

Decision on Feb 19

However, Paulsen asked how material printed in yellow with the words 'Bersih 4' could bring about public disorder.

“The rally was not banned and it was peaceful. There were no bad words, no weapons, so how could it be prejudicial?” he asked.

After the submissions were heard, judge Mohd Yazid Mustafa fixed Feb 19 for decision.

Bersih, through its chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah ( photo ) and steering committee members Masjaliza Hamzah and Fadiah Nadwa Fikri filed the judicial review application in September last year.

The Bersih 4 rally, among others, called for good governance and the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

It was attended by at least 100,000 people and prompted a counter-rally on Sept 16 by Malay groups that claimed the Bersih 4 rally had insulted the Malays.

Met by reporters later, Maria said banning the T-shirts and claiming that the T-shirts had the potential to create a national security threat was “absolutely ridiculous”.

“It was a peaceful assembly. Even the police were happy with the performance of protesters.

“And now they are saying it could create a national security threat. They have really lost the plot,” she said.

The authorities, Maria said, did not respond to demands made during the rally and instead only picked up “inconspicuous issues”, such as the T-shirt, to get back on the participants.

“That's not the way to govern this country,” she added.