The protests against Prime Minister Najib Razak's controversial Peaceful Assembly Bill kicked off with a crowd of more than 300 people dressed in yellow gathering at the KLCC Park in downtown Kuala Lumpur.
“The Bill itself is unconstitutional. The Bill is stifling, a rollback in terms of what Najib envisages as a democratic country,” Maria Chin Abdullah, a prominent social activist and a Bersih committee member, told the cheering crowd.
Give the short notice, the demonstration received a better than expected response. A candle-light vigil at Dataran Merdeka tonight is also expected to be well attended. And on Tuesday, the Bar Council will lead hundreds of lawyers in a march to Parliament to deliver a memorandum to Deputy Minister in the PM's Department, Liew Vui Kong.
Protests to go on
The protests are expected to carry on although the Cabinet has backed off somewhat, promising some 7 to 8 amendments to be announced on Tuesday. However, these are unlikely to appease Malaysians, who fear a "sleight of hand" to slip past unnecessary provisions to prohibit peaceful gatherings by the people.
"The only people who are happy with the Peaceful Assembly Bill are the Police and the Home Minister, who have been armed with arbitrary powers to impose restrictive and onerous conditions reducing the constitutional rights of Malaysians to freedom of assembly an empty one," DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said in a statement.
Among prominent civil society leaders present were Wong Chin Huat, also a Bersih committee member and head of the Freedom to Assemble Campaign, Klang MP Charles Santiago and Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng.
The half-hour demonstration was organised by the Freedom to Assemble Campaign, a coalition of over 30 NGOs.
“The entire point is why one, two, three four becomes illegal. We go to pasar malam often more than four people. Why the moment you think about the country it becomes illegal? What’s wrong with being patriotic? What’s wrong with a government that thinks a citizen being patriotic is criminal?” said Chin Huat.
“The Bill itself is unconstitutional. The Bill is stifling, a rollback in terms of what Najib envisages as a democratic country,” Maria Chin Abdullah, a prominent social activist and a Bersih committee member, told the cheering crowd.Give the short notice, the demonstration received a better than expected response. A candle-light vigil at Dataran Merdeka tonight is also expected to be well attended. And on Tuesday, the Bar Council will lead hundreds of lawyers in a march to Parliament to deliver a memorandum to Deputy Minister in the PM's Department, Liew Vui Kong.
Protests to go on
The protests are expected to carry on although the Cabinet has backed off somewhat, promising some 7 to 8 amendments to be announced on Tuesday. However, these are unlikely to appease Malaysians, who fear a "sleight of hand" to slip past unnecessary provisions to prohibit peaceful gatherings by the people."The only people who are happy with the Peaceful Assembly Bill are the Police and the Home Minister, who have been armed with arbitrary powers to impose restrictive and onerous conditions reducing the constitutional rights of Malaysians to freedom of assembly an empty one," DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said in a statement.
Among prominent civil society leaders present were Wong Chin Huat, also a Bersih committee member and head of the Freedom to Assemble Campaign, Klang MP Charles Santiago and Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng.
The half-hour demonstration was organised by the Freedom to Assemble Campaign, a coalition of over 30 NGOs.
“The entire point is why one, two, three four becomes illegal. We go to pasar malam often more than four people. Why the moment you think about the country it becomes illegal? What’s wrong with being patriotic? What’s wrong with a government that thinks a citizen being patriotic is criminal?” said Chin Huat.
Malaysia Chronicle
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