KUALA LUMPUR – Police need retraining to execute the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) properly and allow peaceful assemblies to be held without the need for a permit, former lawmaker Maria Chin Abdullah said.
The ex-Petaling Jaya MP stated her disappointment with the police’s refusal to accept a notice of a planned assembly by the organisers of the Women’s March noting that the PAA “facilitates” the right to peaceful protests.
“Under this act, organisers are merely required to notify or inform the officer in charge of the police district of an intended assembly. The police have no authority under the PAA to refuse the assembly.
“It must be stressed that the need for a ‘police permit’ is no longer applicable under the PAA. It is time that the police familiarise themselves with the act,” Chin said in a statement.
“The Home Ministry and the inspector-general of police must correct the Royal Malaysian Police and ensure that citizens are able to exercise their rights and freedoms.
“Further, I strongly recommend that the police be trained again in dealing with assemblies as well as have a much more complete understanding of what human rights means in a democratic society,” she added.
She also held that police’s refusal to accept the notice from the Women’s March organisers was “unacceptable”, claiming police had “overstepped” their authority.
It isn’t also the first time police have refused to accept a notice from a protest organiser, Chin added, citing the #KepungDemiPalestine rally in December 2023.
“Under our Federal Constitution, Article 10 guarantees our speech, assembly and association. The PAA implements and facilitates this right,” she said.
The Women’s March is a global protest in conjunction with Women’s Day on March 8. In Malaysia, organisers said on X that police had rejected the notice they submitted four times, on March 2 and 3.
Article 10 of the Msian Fed. Constitution clearly states that every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression, all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms. pic.twitter.com/sIX641gHOG
— Women's March MY (@womensmarchmy) March 3, 2024
Organisers are making a last attempt to re-submit their notice for the march at the Dang Wangi police headquarters today around 12.30pm. – March 4, 2024