KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — Police today interviewed organisers of a May Day rally here for investigations under the Peaceful Assembly Act and Penal Code.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) central committee members S. Arutchelvan and V. Selvam, along with Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) executive director Sevan Doraisamy spent over two hours at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters today.
“Prior to the rally, we did have discussions with the police and they were notified. We even discussed with them about our rally route,” Arutchelvan told reporters here.
“But no one told us we needed a permission from the City Hall (DBKL) as well,” he said, adding the investigation was uncalled for..
The May 1 rally was attended by around 300 people demanding for a higher minimum wage, and passed without incident.
The police are investigating the organisers under Section 9 (5) of the PAA, which stipulates the 10-day notice period before a public assembly, and Section 143 of the Penal Code, which addresses unlawful assemblies.
The Court of Appeal last year declared Section 9 (5) of PAA as valid, one year after the same court ruled the provision as unconstitutional.
