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Review of assembly bill

Saturday, 26 November 2011 09:56am

©The New Straits Times (Used by permission)
by ALANG BENDAHARA

Notification of gathering to be shortened to just 10 days

THE cabinet yesterday ordered a review of the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 which was tabled for its first reading in Parliament here last Tuesday.

It is learnt that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, who had tabled the bill, was ordered to act on it.

A government source told the New Straits Times that although the bill was scheduled for debate in the

Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, amendments could still be made when the bill reaches the committee stage.

A significant change would be the provision requiring assembly organisers to notify police 30 days in advance of their assembly which would be shortened to 10 days.

“Some politicians and political parties had commented that it was too long,” said the source.

With the shorter period, a police officer who received the notification of the assembly would need to inform the people in the area within four days.

The source said this meant that if there were objections to the assembly, the people had six days to do it.

“The initial 30-day period was because we wanted to give the police, people and the organiser ample time for objections and negotiations,” said the source, adding that the role of the police was as the “facilitator”.

The source also said this was similar to the law in the United Kingdom where an assembly could be directed to be held at a designated speaker’s corner if the earlier location was objected to.

Other changes to the bill were minor, said the source, adding that the cabinet was adamant about banning street protests.

The source said the extensive research of assembly laws in developed countries had been done before the bill was drawn up.

“We’ve taken the best provisions, such as requiring the organiser to put down a deposit should there be any damage at the venue of an assembly.”

The Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 allows citizens to organise and participate in assemblies peacefully and without arms, subject to restrictions deemed necessary in the interest of public order and security.

There have been some reservations from several groups who claimed that the proposed bill would provide more powers to the authorities to curb freedom of assembly and stifle dissent.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak defended the bill, saying it gave more freedom to assemble because no police permit was required.

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