Cops greenlight Sabah anti-graft rally, organiser surprised

Summary

• Police have unexpectedly raised no objections to the “Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0” anti-corruption rally in Kota Kinabalu, scheduled for June 21–22.

• The rally demands legal action against the Sabah Water Department, full autonomy for the MACC, and a reopening of cases against Sabah governor Musa Aman.

• Organisers also notified police of a planned follow-up rally in Kuala Lumpur on June 28.

Police have raised no objections to the planned “Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0” rally set to take place throughout this weekend in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

In a statement, the rally’s secretariat described the police’s decision as unexpected and “unusual”.

“Referring to the letter from the Kota Kinabalu district police chief, Kasim Muda, we wish to inform that the notification has been received and the police have confirmed there are no objections to holding the ‘Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0’ rally.

“We consider this an unusual development which the authorities should normalise in respecting the constitutional right to assemble and to express oneself freely - unlike the first rally last December, when the police rejected it.

“We also urge Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to issue a similar statement encouraging greater participation by students, intellectuals, and the public in this anti-corruption movement,”the rally’s secretariat said today.

The rally is scheduled for June 21 to 22 in front of Suria Sabah, a shopping mall in the state capital.

According to the statement by the secretariat, the demands for this rally remain unchanged - namely, urging legal action against the Sabah Water Department (Jans) and calling for full autonomy for the MACC.

It calls for firm action against corrupt individuals and suspending those charged. It also protests the appointment of Sabah governor Musa Aman by demanding that corruption cases against him be reopened.

Another rally

Meanwhile, the Secretariat Rakyat Benci Rasuah 2.0 co-coordinator, Hamdin Nordin, said his group has submitted a notification to hold an anti-corruption rally in Kuala Lumpur on June 28.

The notice was submitted today to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters in accordance with the Peaceful Assembly Act.

“IPD Dang Wangi has also acknowledged receipt by stamping the copy of the notice we submitted earlier.

“We did not seek permission; we only gave notification to the police as required under Section 9 of the Peaceful Assembly Act,” Hamdin told Malaysiakini.

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