HUMAN rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) has reiterated that no permits are needed to organise peaceful assemblies – a fact that was reinforced by Inspector-General of police Tan Sri Razarudin Hussain on March 4 this year.
As such, the group said the Kota Kinabalu police must facilitate the #KamiMahuAir peaceful demonstration on Friday (June 14) while ensuring the safety of organisers and participants present.
“This is also enshrined in the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 which stipulated that rally organisers are required to notify the police five days before the assembly,” SUARAM said in a statement on Thursday (June 13).
“Therefore, the police must stop this longstanding practice of misleading the public into believing that permits are needed for protests to be ‘legal’ and protect their right to peacefully assemble instead.”
SUARAM’s statement came following reports of the Kota Kinabalu police saying that the #KamiMahuAir peaceful demonstration, organised by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) students and set to take place at the Chief Minister’s office in Menara Kinabalu this Friday, is illegal.
According to Kota Kinabalu OCPD Asst Comm Kasim Muda, the event cannot be processed for approval.
On this matter, SUARAM said any person can and should be able to organise and participate in peaceful assemblies without facing intimidation and reprisals from any party as assemblies are a legitimate vehicle to speak up on issues of interest.
“In this regard, SUARAM urges the Kota Kinabalu police to facilitate the #KamiMahuAir peaceful demonstration while ensuring the safety of organisers and participants present,” it said.
“On a broader note, systemic reforms need to be undertaken to ensure that the right to peacefully assemble is consistently respected by the state.
“The government’s expressed openness to streamlining notifications of peaceful assemblies should be concretised by efforts to conduct stakeholder engagements, including civil society, to gather input.”
Of late, there have been allegations on social media that the Sabah Water Department had not sent water supply to UMS, leaving students to endure days with no water.
This led to plans for the rally.
On Tuesday (June 11), Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said UMS’ water issues should have been resolved as the Water Department had already repaired the broken pipe that caused the problem and was supplying water to the campus.
“For additional supply, UMS has tube wells and if I’m not mistaken, these can provide over one million litres daily. I am not sure what the problem is, so I asked UMS to find out,” he added.
Despite not having received a permit from the police, The Star reported earlier that UMS students are set to proceed with their peaceful protest. – June 13, 2024
Main pic credit: Facebook/Suara Mahasiswa UMS
