Following complaints that human rights violations took place when police dispersed a gathering organized by the Anti Fuel Price Hike Coalition at KLCC on 28 May 2006, SUHAKAM held a Public Inquiry into the incident.
The terms of reference of the Public Inquiry are to determine whether there were violations of human rights during the incident, and, if so, who were responsible, how the violations came about, and what measures should be recommended to ensure that such violations do not recur in future.
54 witnesses testified at the 8-day hearing, where the Bar Council participated as observers, on the invitation of SUHAKAM; and the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre (Kuala Lumpur) acted on behalf of some of the affected parties.
The Bar Council and the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre (Kuala Lumpur) today submitted to SUHAKAM two separate reports of our observations made in respect of the subject matter of the Public Inquiry, with the hope of assisting SUHAKAM in its deliberations and recommendations, which we eagerly await.
The evidence obtained in the Public Inquiry call into focus the important right of citizens to hold peaceful assemblies, and the question of the proper use of force in crowd control situations.
Despite the constitutional guarantee in Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, the right to hold peaceful assemblies has in the Malaysian context been severely limited by legislation and by the practices of our law enforcement officers. This is out of step with the demands of democracy, and stifles the healthy contestation of ideas. It is high time that our laws and practices be reviewed in tandem with our aspirations of becoming a developed society.
There is a need to strike a better balance between the exercise of the right to assemble and the interest of the State to maintain public order. The Bar Council calls for a thorough review of the relevant laws and guidelines relating to the freedom of assembly, by adopting a “cooperative approach” (rather than the current “prohibitive approach”). This will include amending various provisions in the Police Act, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Public Order (Preservation) Act, the Inspector-General’s Standing Orders, and the Police Public Order Manual on the Use of Force. Instead, laws pertaining to the right of peaceful assembly and law enforcement officers’ powers should be clarified and enacted in a “Freedom of Assembly Act”.
The Bar Council hopes that the Government will undertake such a review in a transparent manner, by involving all stakeholders, including the police, local authorities, legislators, NGOs, SUHAKAM, the Bar Council, and civil society in general. Steps should be taken to conduct more effective human rights education and practical training of law enforcement officers, with the view to changing mindsets and attitudes in relation to the right of peaceful assembly, from one of restricting such right to one of upholding it. The importance of setting up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) must again be stressed.
The Bar Council further calls upon the Government to expeditiously ratify international human rights conventions, such as the International Convention of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the Convention Against Torture & Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The Bar Council hopes that its input and recommendations will receive favourable consideration by SUHAKAM, and, in turn, by the relevant authorities.
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Following complaints that human rights violations took place when police dispersed a gathering organized by the Anti Fuel Price Hike Coalition at KLCC on 28 May 2006, SUHAKAM held a Public Inquiry into the incident. 
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