Gathering on assembly law reform turns tense in brief standoff with cops

Free Malaysia Today

2 days ago

Rallygoers were involved in a brief standoff with police outside Parliament this morning.
KUALA LUMPUR : A gathering calling for the abolition of the Sedition Act and the reform of the Peaceful Assembly Act turned a little tense when a participant was allegedly manhandled by a policeman outside Parliament this morning.
Student group Himpunan Advokasi Rakyat Malaysia (Haram) president Brendon Gan, who witnessed the incident, claimed that a policeman grabbed a demonstrator by the neck during a standoff at the barricade.
'Who gave the cops the right to do that?' he asked.
'If it wasn't for YB Syed Saddiq who came to help, who knows what would've happened?,' he said, referring to Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
FMT has contacted the police for comment.
The incident occurred as about 50 demonstrators – from electoral reform group Bersih, rights group Suaram, student groups, unions, and several civil society organisations – marched from Taman Tugu to Parliament to hand over a memorandum demanding reforms.
They were stopped in the middle of the road by policemen who prevented them from reaching Parliament's gates.
Protesters, some of whom turned up as early as 10.30pm despite the downpour, chanted 'long live the people, rise up against oppressive laws!' while beating drums and holding up banners that read 'fight draconian legislation'.
The crowd was later met by several MPs and representatives, including Syed Saddiq; Perikatan Nasional's Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal; Teresa Kok, Syerleena Abdul Rashid, Dr Kelvin Yii, Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh and Khoo Poay Tiong from Pakatan Harapan; as well as Warisan's Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis.
Addressing the crowd, Wan Fayhsal and the other MPs in attendance expressed support for the protesters.
'If I, as a parliamentarian with immunity, can be punished for speaking out, imagine the risks faced by citizens. I will ensure your voices reach the Dewan Rakyat,' Wan Fayhsal said.
Yii, the Bandar Kuching MP from DAP, reaffirmed the constitutional right to peaceful assembly, saying it had long been part of Malaysia's democratic tradition.
He urged the authorities not to suppress such gatherings but to instead 'facilitate them better',
'A bill will be tabled to amend the Peaceful Assembly Act,' he said. 'I haven't seen the final draft yet, but once I do, I will study it to ensure it includes the necessary reforms.
'Regardless of whether we agree with the message of a demonstration, we must respect their right to assemble.'
Several other speakers criticised the government for failing to deliver on its promises to abolish the Sedition Act and ensure meaningful reform of public assembly laws.
'This is not the first time we've submitted a memorandum calling for the Sedition Act to be abolished,' said Bersih chairman Faisal Abdul Aziz.
'We've done it before. Today, we are here to demand that the government listens and acts.'
Qistina Johari of Amnesty International Malaysia said peaceful assemblies and freedom of speech were being treated as 'a threat' by the authorities.
'Protests are not criminal. Protests are patriotic,' she said. 'The Sedition Act should have been abolished along with the British Empire — instead it's still being used to protect the powerful.'