KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 — A students group has declared a rally to support PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s Bill as “legal”, in a bid to allay fears that participation could land students in trouble.
Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Se-Malaysia (Gamis) claimed the rally was approved and even “endorsed” by the authorities, according to news portal Malaysiakini.
“This is not like other rallies. It is not illegal and it was allowed by DBKL (Kuala Lumpur City Hall), while police has ensured security,” the group was quoted as saying.
“So we want to tell students across Malaysia to not be afraid and that no law can be used against you. The rally has been endorsed by DBKL and police.”
PAS has insisted on holding the rally at Dataran Merdeka, which DBKL has repeatedly said may not be used for such events.
The rally is aimed at demonstrating public support for Hadi’s Bill that aims to raise the ceiling on Shariah punishments from three years’ imprisonment, six strokes of the cane and an RM5,000 fine to 30 years’ imprisonment, 100 strokes, and an RM100,000 fine.
Separately, Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said he disagreed with a proposed rally to counter the PAS gathering, saying rival events were not a constructive response to Hadi’s Bill.
He told the organiser of the counter-rally that the more important issue was to educate the public about both sides of the issue, rather than to use attendance figures as a surrogate for the level of support.
“I don’t agree with holding a counter-rally. I feel that if others were to hold a rally and we hold a counter-rally, this thing will never end,” he was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.
The PAS rally in Kuala Lumpur and the rival event in Petaling Jaya organised by a group called BEBAS are scheduled to take place on February 18.
