KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — The Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s suit
against Bersih leaders using the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) has raised
concern from among its own ranks that the move may confirm opposition
claims that the law is more restrictive than previous regulations.
Although they told The Malaysian Insider the rule of law must be
respected, they appeared uncertain of how voters would perceive the use
of the law, a key legislation in the Najib administration’s raft of
democratic reforms, ahead of a general election expected within months.
On Wednesday, 10 Bersih steering committee members including chairman
Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, became the first persons to be sued in a
civil action under the PAA, enforced just days before the April 28
demonstration for free and fair elections.
The government is claiming RM122,000 for alleged damage to 15
government-owned vehicles, citing Section 6(2)(g) of the PAA which
states that organisers must “ensure that the assembly will not endanger
health or cause damage to property or the environment.”
Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said when introducing the law last year
that it would be a “revolutionary” piece of legislation which allows
freedom of assembly “in accordance with international norms”.
But lawmakers from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have said the suit, which
follows Tuesday’s charges under the same law of participating in an
unlawful assembly brought against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Azmin
Ali, point to a “demonisation campaign and shows the prime minister is
no reformist but reactionary.”
“There is real concern of how the public will view the government,
which will appear to be sending mixed signals,” Umno’s Deputy Higher
Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah told The Malaysian Insider.
MCA central committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker also agreed with DAP
parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang that the move was more “reactionary”
and came because “the establishment has been challenged and if no action
is taken, then where is the authority?”
But he stressed that the government had little choice in the matter.
“Bersih cites a ‘cause’ and so it has higher moral ground. But the
government has to put its foot down and say you are not above the law,”
the lawyer, who is also MCA Kuantan chief said.
BN Backbenchers Club vice-chairman Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan also
said that while some contended that the PAA “is not fair, it is still
the law and it was broken.”
“We are so close to an election, there is no need to keep going to
the streets. PR can put it into their manifesto and see if people
support free demonstrations without restrictions,” the Kota Belud MP
said.
The federal opposition had staged a walkout last November when the
Act was debated in Parliament after criticising the law, which bars
“assemblies in motion”, as being more repressive than those in countries
like Myanmar, which has one of the world’s poorest human rights
records.
The April 28 rally that saw tens of thousands gather at six different
locations before heading to Dataran Merdeka was peaceful until about
2.30pm when Ambiga asked the crowd to disperse.
But her announcement was not heard by most of the crowd who persisted
to linger around the historic square which the court had already barred
to the public over the weekend.
Just before 3pm, some protestors breached the barricade surrounding
the landmark, leading police to disperse the crowd with tear gas and
water cannons.
Police then continued to pursue rally-goers down several streets amid
chaotic scenes which saw violence from both sides over the next four
hours.
Several dozen demonstrators have claimed that they were assaulted by
groups of over 10 policemen at a time and visual evidence appears to
back their claim but police also point to violence from rally-goers who
also attacked a police car.
The police car then crashed into a building before some protestors flipped it on its side
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