Press Statement
Threat by police against joining Bersih rally is a betrayal by PH and contravenes decision of Court of Appeal
26 February 2024
We refer to the statement made last night by KL Police Chief Allaudeen Abdul Majid warning the public not join Bersih’s march on parliament on Tuesday and claiming that the rally ‘violates the law’ as no notice has been given to police.
Allaudeen’s claim that the planned Bersih rally is unlawful shows serious ignorance of the provisions of the PAA as well as the Federal Constitution.
Firstly, the Court of Appeal have already struck down section 9(5) of the PAA for being unconstitutional in the case of Nik Nazmi bin Nik Ahmad v Public Prosecutor in 2014. The decision of the Court of Appeal in this case still stands and has not been overturned by a higher court. In 2015 another court of appeal bench in PP v Yuneswaran gave an opinion that s 9(5) is constitutional and disagreed with the Nik Nazmi decision. However, the 2015 court could not overrule the earlier decision as both courts are of the same level. Only the Federal Court, which is a higher court, could have overruled the Nik Nazmi decision. This has never happened, and the decision remains valid and enforceable until now.
Secondly, failure to give notice does not render the rally itself unlawful. The concept of illegal assembly only existed under the repealed provisions on public assemblies in the Police Act 1967. Breach of any provision of PAA 2012 does not render any rally unlawful. Hence, there is no basis for the police chief to warn the public from attending the rally.
Finally, it is appalling that under a PH-led government, police are cracking down on a Bersih rally. The Home Minister is himself from the PH coalition. PH rode into power on the backs of many successful Bersih mass-rallies. PH leaders also marched side by side with Bersih in the streets, when the then BN government had also declared the Bersih rallies illegal or ‘haram’. Now in power, the PH-led government is doing the exact same thing. This is Judas-like behaviour by the PH coalition.
We urge the police to immediately withdraw the threat against those attending the Bersih rally. We further urge the government to halt all enforcement of section 9(5) of the PAA 2012 in accordance with the decision of the court of appeal in Nik Nazmi’s case.
Issued by:
Zaid Malek
Director
Lawyers for Liberty