Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek SAMA) urges Parliament to (1) welcome the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) protesters who plan to gather peacefully at the gate of Parliament to urge the Government to expedite institutional reforms and (2) assure the Police facilitate the gathering.
Speaker of Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Johari Abdul, who had joined previous Bersih rallies as a member of the then Opposition, and the new President of Dewan Negara, Datuk Mutang Tagal, can take this opportunity to show that Malaysia Madani is a politically mature society where petitioning citizens will be welcomed, not assaulted, arrested or harassed.
Doing so would showcase Tan Sri Johari Abdul’s vision of making our Parliament a people-friendly institution, which moves “with the aspirations of the people.” https://www.suarakeadilan.my/post/parlimen-perlu-bergerak-seiring-aspirasi-rakyat-johari-abdul
Projek SAMA laments that the Police have not updated their understanding of the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012 since 2014.
This time, Kuala Lumpur City police Chief, Commissioner Datuk Allaudeen Abdul Majid, has tried to deter the gathering on the grounds that Bersih has not given any notice to the Police as per Section 9 (1) of PAA. He has done so despite being clearly aware that Bersih plans to gather protesters at Plaza Tugu Negara at 8am tomorrow (February 27), and then march to Parliament, which is but a few hundred metres away.
On April 25, 2014, The Court of Appeal ruled in the case of Nik Nazmi (another PH leader who has joined Bersih rallies, now the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability) v PP that Section 9(1) of the PPA is unconstitutional. http://www.cljlaw.com/others/files_jt/[2014]%20CLJ%20JT%20(4).pdf
This ruling was again affirmed by Court of Appeal on September 7, 2016 in the case of Maria Chin v PP. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2016/09/07/court-of-appeal-strikes-out-bersih-chiefs-illegal-assembly-charge/1200813
We urge Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution (incidentally another PH leader who has joined previous Bersih rallies) to uphold the rule of law and protect the professional image of the Police. We urge him to do so by directing the Police to organise training for senior police officers on the PAA, with inputs from legal experts in the National Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) and the Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU) of the Prime Minister’s Department.
A warm welcome of the Bersih protesters by Parliament and professional facilitation by the Police tomorrow will demonstrate that Malaysia is a liberal democracy under the ideal of MADANI championed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, yet another former participant in Bersih rallies.
Issued by:
Projek SAMA
Project – Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek SAMA) is an initiative to advocate for institutional reforms for the sake of political stability and accountability at a time when our nation steers through the uncharted waters of a hung parliament and coalition government. In Malaysia, we share the common (“sama”) destiny. Ngeow Chow Ying serves as convenor. You may contact us via email projeksama.malaysia@gmail.com or visit our website at www.projeksama.org for more information
