KUALA LUMPUR—About 1,000 Malaysian lawyers marched to Parliament House Tuesday to oppose the new Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 (PA 2011). They also submitted their own alternative version and called for a parliamentary select committee to review PA 2011 before passing it.
Dressed in formal court attire despite the hot afternoon sun, the lawyers gathered before starting a Walk for Freedom rally organized by the Bar Council.
The bar’s proposed amendments to PA 2011 were successfully delivered by Lim Chee Wee, president of the Bar Council, to Datuk Liew Vui Keong, deputy minister in the prime minister’s department.
Despite the opposition, the Malaysian Senate passed PA 2011 on Tuesday after six amendments were made. The opposition politicians staged a walkout in protest and refused to take part in the debate.
The bill has been condemned by critics as not being in the public’s interest and something that will cripple the public’s ability to stage justifiable protests—like the one organized Tuesday by the lawyers.
Lim says he has tried to persuade many members of Parliament and ministers that the current form of the bill should be debated. “We will continue to knock on the door of Parliament, until they see our side of the argument. The objection of the bar is the absolute prohibition against processions—the amendments by the government on this bill is not enough,” said Lim.
The attorney points out that in 1946, Dato' Onn Jaafar, founder of Malaysia’s largest political party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), and grandfather to the current minister of home affairs, led a procession of 15,000 individuals in protest against the Malayan Union for disregarding the interests of the Malay rulers and the Malay people. Lim added that it was the first of a series of marches that ultimately lead to Malaysian independence.
“It is ironic that the government now wants to prohibit the very processions that led to the founding of our nation,” stated Lee in an open letter to Parliament.
Ambiga Sreenevasan, a former Bar Council president and activist who was at the rally, says she cannot understand why the government is rushing to pass this new bill, which is much more restrictive than the act it replaces.
“The bill restricts people’s freedom as much as possible, until the bill needs to have an exception for funerals and weddings.” said Ambiga.
PA 2011 requires groups to apply for a permit to assembly 10 days in advance, and it lists an array of areas where gatherings would be forbidden, such as dams, reservoirs, water treatment plants, gas stations, airports, public transportation terminals, places of worship, schools, and kindergartens. It also forbids noncitizens and anyone under 15 years old from the right to peaceful assembly.
Ambiga pointed out that an alternative has been presented.
“The Bar Council has drafted an alternative bill that is more sensible and according to international norms, and we hope the government will consider it,” she said.
A statement released by the bar pointed out that the government’s bill approaches the right of peaceful assembly from a very limited and restrictive standpoint that does not accord with international norms, the current rapid developments around the world on such fundamental rights, as well as the aspirations of the Malaysian people.
KW Chia, a young lawyer who traveled about 220 miles to join the march, said the government prepared PA 2011 without consulting civil society and nongovernmental organizations, like the Bar Council or rights groups, and rushed to pass the bill in Parliament in one week.
“I think this bill is a mistake and seriously abuses the people’s constitutional rights to peaceful assembly. The government should seek consultation from civil society before debating the bill in the Parliament. As a member of the bar, we should come out to voice our disagreement,” said Chia.
Lawyer Nurashikin and her colleague Suhaiyu also joined Tuesday’s Walk for Freedom.
“We want to support Bar Council’s movement to amend the bill and open it to public consultation. We hope the government will listen to us. If the bill is passed from this moment onward, people’s freedom will be restricted,” said Nurashikin.
“Obviously the new act is against the fundamental human rights and very restrictive. We should not allow this bill to be passed by the Parliament, which will become a bad law in a bad timing,” added Suhaiyu.
Another participating lawyer, Yeat Nee, noted the importance of free assembly.
“The rally today would have become illegal if the bill is passed as law,” said Nee. “We would like to express our basic rights today.”
Roger Chan, co-deputy chairperson of the Human Rights Committee of Bar Council said it is possible the new bill will become law in just two to three weeks.
“Today the Senate passed the bill, and the next step is to send to the king for royal assent, so it’s quite possible for this bill to be passed as law within a short time,” said Chan.
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