Anticipating Positive Change In Peaceful Assembly Act

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I have been to every single Bersih demonstration that has ever been organised (except for 2015 when I had a baby).
Even though I am a journalist and carried a media pass at these demonstrations, I was also present as a citizen who believes that the right to peaceful assembly by the people is an important element of democracy and human rights in this day and age.
From my observations throughout the years, I can see how demonstrations in Malaysia happen (well, at least from the late 1990s anyway). In the beginning, these demonstrations would have allegations of police brutality (and in many instances, protestors were pretty violent too).
There was one Bersih demonstration in 2011 where more than 1,000 people were arrested.
As the years went by, these demonstrations also started to change. The authorities got a bit more lenient. I noticed the police were not so busy trying to arrest people and were instead helping to keep things in order by directing road traffic and also the people’s march.
Bersih rally circa 2007The atmosphere of these demonstrations, especially in 2015 and after, changed as well. It became more like parties and celebrations.
Of course, as all this was happening, the police probes and investigations continued, especially against the organisers of the demonstrations. Even up till 2018 when there was a change in government for the very first time, these issues with the Peaceful Assembly Act were never settled and have continued even now during the Madani government.
Demonstrations happen and we still see the authorities using the Act to try and control, curb or stop things from happening. This is ironic seeing that those who have been elected to power today are the very people who saw these laws being used against them when they were busy demonstrating and screaming that they had a right to protest and assemble peacefully.
These very same elected leaders also made promises before being elected that they would ensure to amend what needed to be amended once they got into power. I’m sure everyone remembers the “Reformasi” cries for the last 25 years or so, right? I’m also sure that everyone today is also familiar with the more sarcastic cries of “Reformati” today.
Govt to amend PAA
Well, lo and behold, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has finally announced in Parliament that the government will now amend the Peaceful Assembly Act. Not only that, all recent probes under the Act will be halted under a moratorium.
This includes the two recent gatherings that happened - an anti-corruption demonstration in Kuala Lumpur city and a protest outside the Sungai Buloh prison.
A protest outside the Sungai Buloh prison recentlyWhen the anti-corruption demonstration was about to happen, the authorities were warning the organisers that the gathering would be illegal and action would be taken. At the last minute, the prime minister said that he had no problems with the gathering.
The police started investigations after that. But as Anwar stated, they only acted on existing laws and without a clear directive to implement the moratorium.
All the actual specifics of the amendment aren’t clear or known yet, but in general, the issue of getting permission from premise owners might be removed and organisers are only required to give notice to the authorities rather than ask for permission. The prime minister has already directed the Home Ministry to work on the amendments and to bring it up at the next parliamentary session.
He also stated that the police have been informed that while the amendment is being made, the moratorium allows for organisers to make notifications of any gatherings they plan to hold. He stressed that approval will no longer be required and that a five-day notification to the police is all that is needed.
The right to freedom of assembly is an important part of democracy. It is one of the major ways that the people of a country can make their voices heard by the government and those in power.
Not allowing demonstrations and public gatherings curbs freedom of expression, a huge violation of human rights. This is something that Malaysians have been waiting for for decades.
There is a very high expectation for the amendments that are to come. I hope the new laws will be done in favour of the people and not those in power. It also needs to be done fast and soon instead of being delayed and dragged out.
Although we welcome this announcement by the prime minister, we are still waiting to see how suitable the amendments are and how fast they will be implemented. - Mkini
ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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