Lawyers end march, say to keep up pressure on assembly law
The Bar Council warned the Najib administration today it will “continue knocking on the doors of Parliament” if the Peaceful Assembly Bill is passed without public consultation.
Malaysian Bar President Lim Chee Wee urged the government to consider the council’s proposed alternative to the government’s original Bill, which he described as an “unjust law made in haste ... which will impose unreasonable and disproportionate fetters on freedom of assembly”.
“The Bar will continue knocking on the doors of Parliament if the Bill makes it to the statute books in its current form. We will not give up hope,” he vowed during a brief press conference in Parliament here.
Bar Council presents alternative assembly bill
The Bar Council has made public its alternative to the controversial Peaceful Assembly Bill, saying it takes “significantly different approaches” from the one the Dewan Rakyat passed today.
The council said in a media statement that its draft, also called the Peaceful Assembly Bill, complied with international conventions. It gives every person, regardless of age, the right to assemble peacefully.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/11/29/bar-council-presents-alternative-assembly-bill/
More than 2,000 lawyers gather to protest Assembly Bill
More than 2,000 lawyers from the 14,000-strong Bar Council turned up for the much-anticipated protest despite the short notice given. They began begin their 2.5km 'Walk for Freedom' to Parliament at around 12.30pm.
On reaching the august House, president of the Bar Lim Chee Wee and 9 others were allowed into the lobby. They handed over a copy of the Bar's alternative Bill to Deputy Minister Liew Vui Kong, plus a letter reiterating their call to MPs to vote wisely on the Bill.
“We are not anti-government or pro-opposition. We are anti-injustice and anti-unconstitutionality. We are pro-justice and pro-rule of law. We have always worked closely with the government,” Lim said.
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=23657:more-than-2000-lawyers-gather-to-protest-assembly-bill-walk-to-begin-soon&Itemid=2
Lawyers march against Assembly Bill
More than 1,000 members of the Bar Council marched to the Dewan Rakyat today to protest the proposed the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011.
Led by their president Lim Chee Wee, they asked MPs not to pass the controversial Bill, claiming that it would curtail the right to peaceful assembly.
Lim said that Malaysia was founded on public demonstrations, citing founding father Onn Jaafar’s leading of the Malayan Union against the British.
He also pleaded to the MPs not to rid Malaysians the right to assemble peacefully “with the stroke of a pen”.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/11/29/lawyers-march-against-assembly-bill/
Malaysia passes ban on street protests
Malaysian and international rights groups describe it as repressive because it bans street rallies and imposes tough restrictions and penalties for demonstrators.
The law was announced only last week, and some critics say the vote was rushed without proper public consultation.
About 500 lawyers and their supporters marched to parliament hours before the vote, urging lawmakers to reject the bill and chanting "freedom to the people'' before police stopped most of them from entering the complex.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2011/11/201111299054994173.html?utm_content=automateplus&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=SocialFlow&utm_term=tweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount#.TtTR3pmqa6A.facebook
Malaysia’s ruling coalition advances ban on street protests criticized as repressive
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ruling coalition says the Peaceful Assembly Act is intended to strike a balance between public order and the right to peaceful assembly. The act passed easily in Parliament’s lower house after the boycott, and the law is expected to be enforced after Parliament’s upper house, also dominated by the National Front coalition, approves it as early as next month.
Opposition MPs walk out, refuse to vote on Peaceful Assembly Bill
Opposition MPs staged a walkout during the debate on the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 on Tuesday, claiming that the Government was rushing the bill through.
The entire bench stood and left the House at around 3pm after the Speaker allowed the debate to continue despite calls for it to be suspended and for the bill to be referred to a Parliamentary Select Committee.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/11/29/nation/20111129153616&sec=nation
Peaceful Assembly Bill passed
KUALA LUMPUR: The Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 was passed by Parliament Tuesday after six amendments were made to the bill.
The bill was passed with no dissenting votes after the Opposition refused to take part in the debate and staged a walkout.
The walk-out was staged before Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri tabled six amendments to the bill.
The bill was passed before Deputy Speaker Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia had allowed just three Opposition MPs to debate the proposed law.
The Opposition had asked for it to be retracted and put before a Parliamentary Select Committee for review.
The six changes include Sub-Clause 9 (1), where the 30-day notice period required to be given to the police was changed to 10 days.
Under Clause 12 (b), objections against a proposed assembly must be lodged with the police in writing within 48 hours, instead of five days.
For Clause 14, the change included the provision for police to give a reply to organisers within five days instead of 12.
In Clause 16(a), appeal against the rejection of an application or the exercise of police discretionary orders to organisers can be done within 48 hours of receipt, instead of four days while under Clause 16(b), the Home Minister is to answer any appeals within 48 hours of receipt instead of six days.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/11/29/nation/20111129164017&sec=nation
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http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/182714
Govt paranoid, says Ambiga
BERSIH chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan claims the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 is a "paranoid" Bill.
Asked if the proposed legislation was a retaliation against Bersih 2.0, she said: "I do not know whether it is a direct retaliation.
"I think it is a paranoid Bill. I think the government seems to fear the idea of the rakyat expressing themselves."
Ambiga said this before the Bar Council organised walk from Lake Gardens to Parliament building yesterday.
http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/bar_news/berita_badan_peguam/draft_peaceful_assembly_bill_prepared_by_bar_council_malaysia.html
ReplyDeleteDraft Peaceful Assembly Bill prepared by Bar Council Malaysia
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204262304577067382301595196.html
ReplyDeleteHundreds of Malaysian lawyers staged a rare protest march Tuesday demanding that the government abandon plans for a law that will forbid street rallies.
The protest, led by Malaysia's main grouping of lawyers, occurred hours before federal legislators were scheduled to debate and potentially pass the Peaceful Assembly Act proposed by Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition.