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After learning from newspaper reports that one Ooi Kean Thong was charged by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur for "indecent behaviour" alleged to have been exhibited by him in a park, the Bar Council has procured a copy of the Summons and ascertained the precise nature of that charge.

Mr Ooi is charged under S.8(1) of the Parks (Federal Territory) Bylaws 1981, which reads : "any person found behaving in a disorderly manner in any park commits an offence". The basis of the charge, as described in the Summons, is that Mr Ooi had allegedly hugged and kissed a lady friend at around 5:20 p.m. on 2/8/03 in the park of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

The Bar Council is amazed that "hugging and kissing" can be termed "disorderly conduct". If, as it is widely assumed, the charge was proffered because a display of affection in public offends an out-of-sync sense of decency of some one or more officers in DBKL; then DBKL must be reminded that it is not for their officers to waste ratepayers' money in order to upkeep their subjective concept of morality.

Hugging and kissing are forms of expression of affection that are so commonly observed in 21st century Malaysia. The Malaysian public, young and old, are familiar with such scenes on television. The society does not find them objectionable. Freedom of expression, as guaranteed by our Constitution, must not be willy-nilly curbed, let alone punished, by reference to the lowest common denominator suggested by the most conservative members in a society.

The Bar Council urges DBKL to forthwith withdraw this frivolous charge against Mr Ooi. DBKL should move forward into the third millennium and effectively serve the people of Kuala Lumpur; and not occasionally and selectively appoint itself as a moral guardian.

Dated 7^th June 2004

Hj Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari
Chairman
Bar Council