KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) revealed that there were only 91 investigations and arrests from public assemblies last year, which was half that seen in 2022, and said it indicated better respect for the constitutional right to assemble.
However, the human rights watchdog revealed that the police have asked organisers to seek consent from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) before assembling at public places in Kuala Lumpur such as Dataran Merdeka.
“It is a property of the public.
“City Hall is merely a guardian of the public space,” Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said during a press conference after its 2023 Human Rights Report launch here, today.
He added that since they usually take place in public spaces, assemblies do not require consent.
The report recommended that an amendment be made to the Peaceful Assemblies Act 2012 to only require consent from the owners of private spaces and to gazette Dataran Merdeka and Parliament as designated places of assembly.
“There is a clear double-standard,” Sevan said in regard to assemblies that are in line with the government’s stance and those that are completely independent of it.
Three public assemblies from last year up to the report’s launch today were investigated under the Peaceful Assemblies Act 2012 alongside Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 for insulting behaviour, Suaram reported.
Sevan also told reporters that far more engagement was needed with the Home Ministry to further the reform agenda championed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and to ensure that his ‘Madani’ values are part of policymaking.
He also said that the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 should be amended so that students are no longer silenced, and the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) should be strengthened.
“We recognise that reforms need time, but we need not wait for 60 over years.
“The change in government finally took place in 2018.
“For the reform that was envisioned in 1998, to remain true to its course, the government must practise its reformist mindset,” Sevan said.
Suaram is a human rights watchdog specialising in advocating for and educating the public on civil and political rights in Malaysia since 1989.
