Police block march by students, activists to Parliament

New Straits Times

a day ago

KUALA LUMPUR: A group of students and activists held a short procession from Taman Tugu Negara to the Parliament building here to call on the government to abolish the Sedition Act and the Peaceful Assembly Act.
The group braved the rain and marched about 300 metres before they were stopped by a police cordon on the main road to the Parliament building.
The situation turned tense briefly as the group, which intended to march to the main entrance of the Parliament building to present a memorandum to several members of parliament, could not do so.
They made a few attempts to move past the police cordon, but failed to make any ground before deciding to wait along the main access way.
Eventually, several members of parliament including Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, Theresa Kok and Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, came out to receive the memorandum from them.
The gathering, organised by MANDIRI, included activists from Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), Lawyers for Liberty, Bersih, student movements, Amnesty Malaysia, the National Youth Federation, Pusat KOMAS, MUDA, Article 19, the Women's Aid Organisation (WAO), Sisters in Islam (SIS), Justice for Sisters + friends and the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ).
Led by MANDIRI coordinator Wong Kukui, the group of 30 began marching from Taman Tugu at about 11.10am.
Wong later expressed disappointment at being initially prevented by police from handing over the memorandum to members of parliament.
"We're disappointed. This shouldn't have happened in the Madani era. We weren't trying to enter Parliament. We just wanted to hand over a memorandum at the gate.
"It wasn't our intention to cause trouble. We just wanted to meet with MPs peacefully. We know the people of this country deserve better. They are watching closely.
"Freedom of expression is not a privilege, it's a promise to the people," he said.
Syed Saddiq said he would attempt to raise the issue brought forward by the movement in Parliament soon.
"This is where the people's rights are always defended. My hope is that this isn't just about the Peaceful Assembly Act, but also about the Sedition Act.