KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — The authorities cannot ban a peaceful assembly purely on grounds that there are objections to the event being held in a particular area, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) said today.

Its chairman, Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, said the commission maintains its position that freedom of peaceful assembly is a universal right that includes freedom of public expression, as outlined under Article 10 of the Federal Counstitution and by international charters on human rights.

“While the authorities have a duty to strike a fair balance between the fundamental right to peaceful assembly and the competing rights of others in the locality affected by an assembly, the Commission advises that opposition to an assembly is not good reason to impose prior restrictions on an assembly.

“Furthermore, while it is acknowledged that public assemblies may cause some level of temporary interference with, or disruption to, routine daily activities, assemblies are, by definition, temporary activities,” he said in a statement.

Hasmy acknowledged that the right to freedom of assembly only applies to peaceful gatherings and not rallies that are organised with violent intentions or to cause public disorder.

“However, the possibility of violent counter-demonstrations for example does not forfeit police protection and, therefore, restrictions placed on such assemblies must be in conformity with the law and for the purposes of protecting the right of peaceful assembly,” he said.

There are plans to hold two separate rallies in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu, with police approving plans for an anti-Goods and Services Tax rally in the national capital on condition that it is held at Padang Merbok.

The authorities in Kota Kinabalu, however, have barred the rally from being held in the city, with the police having secured a court order banning 16 respondents including opposition politicians and activists as well as the public from assembling in five open spaces in the city ahead of tomorrow’s proceedings.

Kota Kinabalu City Hall also rejected an application to use the city field for the rally on grounds that it can only be used by the government.