Police Investigations on Illegal Assembly

SUARA RAKYAT MALAYSIA

^{Penang Branch:}

^{Address: 63B – 01 – 07, University Heights, Jalan Sungai Dua,}

^{11700 Penang.}

^{Telephone / Fax: + 6 04 658 2285}

^{E-mail: suarampg@gmail.com}

Press Statement

27^th Feb 2010

Dear editor,

Re: Police Investigations on Illegal Assembly

Suaram Penang views with dismay the recent spate of police investigations - concerning "illegal assemblies" and "sedition" - directed at elected representatives from Pakatan Rakyat. It has been reported that police, in ongoing investigations, have requested for statements from Sivarasa Rasiah, Salahuddin Ayub, P. Ramasamy, Lim Guan Eng, Abdul Malik Kassim, Jason Ong Khan Lee, Sim Tze Tsin, M. Manogaran and Lee Boon Chye. We find it disturbing that police action is again used in attempt to silence legitimate free speech and we therefore call for all such investigations to be dropped immediately.

The police's action, taken in relation to political rallies organised by Pakatan Rakyat, is politically biased and motivated due to the following observations:

1. The rallies/ceramah alleged to be illegal were held to criticise Barisan Nasional's politics, policies, or conduct in governing the country.
2. The rallies/ceramah alleged to be illegal were held to criticise the ongoing prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim, which is widely (even internationally) held to be politically motivated.
3. No action has been taken on "illegal" rallies/ceramah run by other organisations (i.e. ethnic-based, Umno-aligned) that spoke out against Pakatan's state administrations of Selangor and Penang in particular. And/Or...
4. The accordance of permits for rallies/protests that are believed to be anti-Pakatan corresponds, unfortunately, with the denial of similar applications for rallies/protests that are made by Pakatan organisers.

Now that the police have chose to launch investigations, which could lead to formal charges, we believe Malaysians have little choice but to condemn this potential violation of the people's basic right to assembly and free speech.

Section 27 of the Police Act, which gives the police arbitrary powers to allow or refuse permits for public gatherings, is a contravention of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. As Article 10 in the Constitution guarantees civil liberties with regards to the right to assembly and free speech, this piece of law that allows the police to deny – on ANY grounds – the Malaysian people this right hence leaves it open to misuse and abuse, as again seen in latest developments.

Although the rights guaranteed under Article 10 of the Constitution are limited as far as the security of the nation is concerned, the following observations completely disprove any supposed threat political/protest rallies pose towards the wellbeing of Malaysia:

1. The rallies/protests alleged to be illegal have all ended with NO occurrence of any disturbance or violence.
2. No inter-ethnic strife has risen as a result of such rallies/protests.
3. Discontent with a political party or government’s actions/policies/conduct cannot be equated to incitement of hatred towards the harmony of a country.

Suaram Penang calls for the abolition of draconian, unconstitutional, and undemocratic laws that so often are used in the name of security but in reality misused for the sake of silencing views that threaten the continual dominance of a particular band of ruling elites.

The right to assembly and free speech are basic indicators to how democratic a society is. With laws that curtail this civil liberty, coupled with enforcement authorities that are obliged to please its political masters, the Malaysian people stand to be ultimate victims of state control. Hence, we call for the police to cease from being a tool of the Barisan National regime as it is long overdue for it to regain some semblance of a dignifies law enforcement and crime fighting agency. Political debate, and therefore social discourse, must not be held on the leash of a government’s arbitrary discretion. A responsible government must be at all times ready to be held accountable and answerable for its actions and not depend on anti-freedom laws to hide its flaws.

Ong Jing Cheng
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
Penang Branch Coordinator,
63B-01-07, University Heights,
Jalan Sungai Dua,
11700 Penang.
Tel / Fax: +6 04-6582285
Mobile phone: +6 012 7583 779
E-mail: suarampg@gmail.com
http://suarampg.blogspot.com/