KUALA LUMPUR – Electoral watchdog Bersih has urged the government to uphold the freedom of assembly and basic needs rights in Sabah, following the arrest of eight students and a teacher at a #KamiMahuAir (We Want Water) rally.
Bersih asserted that police had no justification for arresting the students, who attend an alternative school, and their teacher, Cikgu Shafeeq, as they were not the rally’s main organisers.
“If the police wanted to investigate, they should follow the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, which places the responsibility on the main organisers to be professionally investigated – and not use other legal instruments for intimidation.
“Such instruments create a negative narrative towards the assembly, and at the same time, make the alternative school teacher and students collateral damage,” Bersih said in a statement today.
On Friday, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) students gathered in front of the Sabah State Administration Centre building in Kota Kinabalu for the #KamiMahuAir rally.
However, police reportedly arrested eight students and Cikgu Shafeeq, who hail from an alternative school managed by activists from Borneo Komrad.
Alternative schools are institutions for marginalised, undocumented children to receive education to improve their communities.
According to Bersih, police arrested them under the Immigration Act, and detained them at a distance away from the assembly site.
Meanwhile, Bersih also panned the police force for allegedly applying for an extension to Shafeeq’s remand period without informing his legal representatives, despite being aware that he was represented and in contact with his lawyers.
“This action clearly violates (Shafeeq’s) right under the Federal Constitution (and) Criminal Procedure Code, where a person under investigation has the right to be represented by a lawyer and be tried fairly under the law.”
Bersih called on Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to uphold the teacher and students’ fundamental rights by releasing them, so their educational activities can continue.
The organisation warned that failure to do so reinforces the perception that intimidation against activists was “business as usual” under the federal government, similar to previous administrations. – June 18, 2024