Govt Agrees To Amend Peaceful Assembly Act, All Probes Into Previous Rallies Will Be Halted

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- The government has agreed to amend the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (Act 736) to make it easier for the public to hold any peaceful gathering in the country, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the bill to amend the Act, which is scheduled for tabling at the next parliament session, will, among others, abolish Section 11 of the Act relating to the requirement of approval of owners of the assembly site.

However, Anwar said organisers will be required to notify the police five days before the gathering is held to enable the authorities to take necessary steps to manage security, control and traffic.

“...with this, several previous actions, including the investigation into the anti-corruption rally involving university students, will be halted, and no action will be taken.

“The same applies to the hunger strike and protests or demonstrations (regarding) SOSMA (Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012) a few days ago, no action will be taken,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time.

Anwar said this in reply to Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) on whether the government was prepared to amend Act 736 to make it easier for the people to assemble peacefully without having to seek permission from the relevant parties before assembling.

Elaborating, the Prime Minister said that even though the proposed amendment would only be tabled at the next parliament session, the moratorium on the Act would apply for the time being.

“We have informed the police that while the amendment is being made, the moratorium allows for notification to be given...although there is some flexibility, there are still regulations to be followed, especially if it (the rally) is planned in the palace compound or some security areas.

“That's why there needs to be a notification so that the police can call the organisers, learn how many people are expected, prepare weapons requirements or get assurance that they control the participants and clean the area after the peaceful assembly. I don't think that's too complicated,” he said.

On whether the government is prepared to review or abolish SOSMA, Anwar agreed that the law should be clear and not be misused for other purposes, as experienced in cases involving the Internal Security Act (ISA).

However, he said that no country in the world, including Malaysia, is exempt from the threat of terrorism, and it cannot be taken lightly and requires specific laws.

“While we support freedom and democracy, we must distinguish that there are still elements that lead to violence, terrorism which requires a law that is quite different from the method currently applied,” he added.

-- BERNAMA