Bar Council chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan today criticised the arrest of the
council’s human rights committee chairperson Edmund Bon, labeling the arrest as
"bullying tactics" by the police.
Edmund was arrested this afternoon for allegedly impeding Kuala Lumpur City Hall
(DBKL) officers from performing their duty in removing banners outside the
Malaysian Bar headquarters.
Ambiga believed that DBKL had "intent to disrupt such an innocent event".
"To me, if you put (banners) up in your own premises then I'd like to see what
law it is that they are (invoking) to take it down, particularly when the
banners were things like 'No to corruption'," she said at a press conference
held after an emergency council meeting.
The banners were placed in place to celebrate the council’s 'Festival of Rights'
in conjunction with the International Human Rights Day, which falls tomorrow.
The venue for the festival was relocated from Central Market to the Bar’s own
building after police insisted that the Bar apply for a permit.
Ambiga also expressed her shock at the police's action in arresting eight people
who participated in a march this morning.
"We called off our walk in good faith and certainly didn't expect this
response," she said.
Mulling legal action
On Tuesday, the Bar Council called off its annual march due to pressures from
the authorities to obtain a permit.
Nevertheless, a number of lawyers decided to proceed with the march this
morning, which garnered a crowd of almost 100.
As a result, eight people, including five lawyers, were arrested for illegal
assembly and are being held at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters. They are
expected to be charged tomorrow.
The five lawyer arrested are N Surendran, Latheefa Koya, R Sivarasa, Eric
Paulsen and Amer Hamzah. The others were activists Anthony Andu, Noor Aza Othman
and a bystander named Akhbar Ali Raja.
Ambiga said that the council, which represents strong 13,000 lawyers in
Peninsular Malaysia, will write to the inspector general of police to seek
clarification. She also did not rule out a legal action against the police.
"It really emphasises what we are trying to say on human rights, why it is so
important," she said.
"In my view, this is a sad day for human rights in Malaysia. What should have
been a celebration has really turned into a very sad day, unnecessarily so," she
added.
It's SOOOO Ridiculous! written by Syamsuriatina Binti Ishak,
Sunday, December 09 2007 11:03 pm
The event at the Bar Council secretariat was certainly peaceful, intellectually mind-opening & family oriented. I brought along my almost-2-yr old to watch Mama perform even!
There was no reason whatsoever for the authorities to come over & remove banners on private property. Why the selective prosecution? There are Ah-Longs & advertisers who put banners up ALL OVER KL and DBKL leaves them be.
I was very sad that a friend & colleague was arrested over trying to prevent this misuse of power. Latest SMS has also informed that the people detained today were denied bail & have to spend the night in the lock-up. Ridiculous indeed!
Syamsuriatina Binti Ishak
High Handed Guardians of Peace! written by Tan Peek Guat,
Monday, December 10 2007 08:25 am
For the police to deserve the respect and co-operation of Malaysians, they ought to be thoughtful, mindful, considerated and understanding. For the police to behave in such a drastic manner during a UNVERSAL celebration of rights day, and against our citizens too, all HUMANS will not condone to their high handed actions.
Even though they may choose not to act with love and care, the least they ought to be reminded is to act with concern and differentiation between citizens and illegal immigrants.
Without possessing the necessary attibutes required of them, they are not qualified to be our trusted guardians of peace and security.
Tan Peek Guat
Write comment
You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
2012 Hotel Corporate Rates Attending seminars? Going for a holiday? Click on the link above to check out the list of hotel corporate rates for Members of the Bar, which is updated regularly.
Talk on Intellectual Property Law (10 Feb 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, the talk on “Intellectual Property Law” will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 10 Feb 2012 (Friday). The talk will feature Bahari Yeow Tien Hong. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on the Fundamentals of Bankruptcy Proceedings (21 Feb 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, the seminar on “The Fundamentals of Bankruptcy Proceedings”, featuring Sanjeev Kumar Rasiah, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 21 Feb 2012 (Tuesday). Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on the Fundamentals of Conveyancing (24 Feb 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar featuring Jeremiah R Gurusamy will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 24 Feb 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Mediation Skills Training Course (29 Feb to 4 Mar 2012) Organised by Bar Council, the Mediation Skills Training Course will take place at 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, at Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 29 Feb to 4 Mar 2012 (Wednesday to Sunday). Deadline for registration and payment is 17 Feb 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on “Land Fraud: An Australian Perspective” (13 Mar 2012) Organised by IGIL, GSGSG and UUM COLGIS, this free talk featuring Quintin George Rozario of Delta Law, Brisbane, Australia, will take place at 9:00 am, at Dewan Seminar A, Pusat Konvensyen, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, on 13 Mar 2012 (Tuesday). To RSVP, contact Mr Abutt (04-928 4397; abutt@uum.edu.my).
News 
©
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Circular No 021/2012: Application to State Authority for Consent to Transfer Properties
The event at the Bar Council secretariat was certainly peaceful, intellectually mind-opening & family oriented. I brought along my almost-2-yr old to watch Mama perform even!
There was no reason whatsoever for the authorities to come over & remove banners on private property. Why the selective prosecution? There are Ah-Longs & advertisers who put banners up ALL OVER KL and DBKL leaves them be.
I was very sad that a friend & colleague was arrested over trying to prevent this misuse of power. Latest SMS has also informed that the people detained today were denied bail & have to spend the night in the lock-up. Ridiculous indeed!
Syamsuriatina Binti Ishak