Organisers of anti-graft rally 'surprised' with cops imposing extra conditions

Summary

• Organisers of an anti-corruption rally on Jan 25 are surprised by the police's instruction to obtain the consent of the premises owner for the gathering.

• Their legal adviser Zaid Malek says the condition has no legal basis under the Peaceful Assembly Act and that the police should be facilitating the rally rather than impeding it.

• Zaid adds that Anwar Ibrahim should be well aware of the importance of the right to peaceful assembly, noting that the premier had been involved in many protests in the past.

Sekretariat Rakyat Benci Rasuah has expressed surprise over the police's instruction to obtain consent from the owners of the premises where the group is planning to hold an anti-corruption rally.

Its legal adviser, Zaid Malek, said the additional condition imposed upon them had no legal basis as the protest will be in a public space.

"This rally is being conducted in a ‘public place’, as the police are fully aware from the notification sent to them.

"The rally is to commence outside Sogo in KL and proceed towards Dataran Merdeka. These are all public places which can be used by the public ‘as of right’, as stated in Section 3 of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA)," he said in a statement today.

Zaid, who is also Lawyers for Liberty director, said organisers of the Jan 25 rally had already notified the police of the assembly on Jan 15 as required under the PAA.

It was in the police's response on Jan 17 that they were told to obtain consent.

‘Don’t obstruct efforts’

However, the lawyer said the PAA's purpose was to facilitate the people's right to peaceful assembly and the authorities should not obstruct efforts to do so.

Zaid also reminded the premier of his participation in many rallies and protests in the past.

"The Madani government, helmed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, should be well aware of the importance of peaceful protests in a democratic society.

“The prime minister himself was the subject of and leader of many large public gatherings," he added.

He stressed that no respectable democratic government would obstruct or stop a protest against corruption.

The Rakyat Benci Rasuah rally on Jan 25 is a follow-up to the student-led New Year's Eve rally in Sabah, which protested against state politicians implicated in an ongoing graft scandal.

This came after a Malaysiakini exposé on Sabah assemblypersons allegedly discussing bribes to obtain mining prospecting licences, which also implicated Chief Minister Hajiji Noor.

Hajiji and others linked to the scandal have denied any wrongdoing, claiming it to be a conspiracy to destabilise the state government ahead of the state polls.

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