Peaceful assembly - the Executive definition

Barely 15 minutes after protestors gather – KeAdilan’s Tian Chua has just finished his opening speech – a senior police officer announces from a patrol car’s loudpeaker that this is an unlawful assembly. He tells the crowd to disperse. It's a much smaller crowd. But his final sentences are drowned by the heightened chantings of “Hidup, hidup”.

It’s clear – the police aren’t giving much leeway this time around. Somebody higher up isn’t pleased with the softer approach at Sunway Pyramid the previous week. Who gave the orders?


The Constitution of Malaysia spells out nine fundamental liberties. (Part II: Articles 5 to 13) These are guarantees to all Malaysians.

Article 10 Clause 1(b) states: All citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms.

But as with with freedom of speech and expression (Clause 1b), the quality of this value has been constantly remodeled since the beginning of independence. It is important to know/remember how we got here. Indelibly, what was once used to safeguard against communist threats and explosive communalism is now part of the machinery for the Executive branch of govt to safeguard itself. Tommy Thomas provides his hallmark paper here.

It begins with Malaya being born in a State of Emergency. When the Merdeka Constitution was enshrined in 1957 - we were then under commmunist threat - Article 149 empowered parliament to pass laws which counter subversion. These laws were to automatically lapse one year after operation. Article 150 provided extraordinary powers to the executive when a state of emergency is declared. These powers were to lapse two months after proclamation unless their continuity is extended by Parliament.

The Constitution Amendment Act (1960) removed these expiry periods and made them indefinite. (It is interesting to note that the State of Emergency in Malaya was lifted the very same year.) In any case, the floodgates had been opened.

On Sept 3, 1964, a State of Emergency was declared over Konfrontasi with Indonesia. This has not been revoked till today even though we now have a sibling relationship with Indonesia. On May 15, 1969 a State of Emergency was declared after the May 13 riots. The National Operations Council took over the reigns; Parliament and the Constitution was suspended till 1971 when the two were finally restored. But the State of Emergency has not been revoked.

We are technically living in a State of Emergency, in fact two states of emergencies, even though this is peace time. (Sarawak and Kelantan exist under three states of emergencies). In the soon-to-be 50 years of our existence, there have been only four years when the country was free from emergency (Aug 15, 1960-Sept 2, 1964). Befuddling.

People are huddling closer rather than thinning. It was earlier a loose agglomeration spread across the broad tarmac. The line of FRU personnel maintains its “at ease” stance. No threatening banging of shields. As at Sunway, the organisers announce early that this is a peaceful protest; national security is nowhere being threatened.

30 minutes: The same senior police officer walks up to the organizers just as PAS leader Idris Ahmad takes the mic – “Hidup Rakyat” again the chants grow – and tells them to cut it. There seems to be some bargaining. A yellow Ford 4WD becomes a makeshift stage for the speakers.


Being in a perpetual state of emergency is convenient for the govt in power. It gives the Executive virtually sweeping powers by liberal interpretation of terms such as “national security”. It keeps the judiciary - guardians of the law - away.

First off, there’s the tandem Fear Factors: the Internal Security Act and the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance. If you’re deemed a pest, you can be detained without trial and the courts can't help you much. Much has been written about these laws. F'instance here.

But just what is meant by national security? I don't know. Is it simply Barisan compliance? How is it that seditious statements made by members of the ruling party go uncondemned yet a dark cloud hangs over the average joes who protest toll hikes?


40 minutes: Something distracts. Over at the tarmac near Projet, two armoured vehicles move into place. Not that there guns pointed at the crowd, but it’s curious all the same why they’re being deployed. The armoured vehicles stick around for less than five minutes and drive off. MC Badrul Hisham makes fun of the war-time effect. The senior police officer doesn’t think it’s funny and marches over with his finger wagging. However, FRUs remain “at ease”.


We’re at peace-time. We have the fundamental right to assemble peacably and without arms. But inspired by emergency powers, this right has in practice been restricted by subsequent legislation, including the Police Act and the Penal Code.

The Police Act(58) defines an "unlawful assembly" as when any assembly, meeting or procession takes place in a public place without a police permit, or when three or more persons taking part in the assembly neglect or ignore police orders.

From Amnesty International: Under the Act, police may refuse a permit if they believe it to be prejudicial to national security or to threaten a disturbance of public peace. (59) Police are empowered to stop any unlicensed meeting as an “unlawful assembly”, to arrest participants without a warrant, and to use force “as is reasonably necessary for overcoming resistance” if participants ignore orders to disperse.

The discretionary powers given to police officers in issuing and cancelling permits have led to repeated allegations of selective application of the law, political bias and an absence of justifiable grounds for refusing permits for both indoor and outdoor meetings.


45 minutes: Traffic police block the entire thoroughfare heading towards east Kuantan. A huge jam builds up. Photogs rush to the middle of the road snapping wildly. The Red Tide appears; FRU reinforcements arrive in two troop carriers, the mobile command post, and the water canons. The women unit march out and take their positions.

The chants get louder. It’s getting serious; the organisers see it too. The last speaker, MTUC President Syed Shahir rushes through his speech, finishing in barely a minute. A police officer strides over to Ford Ranger and tells them the show’s definitely over. A small explosion goes off at the passenger’s side of the 4WD, startling the group nearby. Was it a large cracker? I doubt it’s from members of the public. The speakers dismount. Tension eases.


This past Sunday’s protest will go on record as being peaceful. But the undercurrent was vastly different from that at the Sunway Pyramid. It was by sheer tolerance from the police in attendance and diehard protestors that it actually lasted about an hour.

I sense the higher-ups won’t be too pleased. 15 minutes stretching to an hour. There're more peaceful protests being planned in the near future. How many minutes this time before force is used? Clearly, the police have been ordered to be more incisive in dispersing the crowd. Clearly, it isn’t something they themselves relish – you see it in their faces, stoic as they might portray themselves.

This is simply the face of the Executive. The executive which has over the years heaped such dizzying powers onto its own slate; the Executive that eroded our fundamental rights.

The Executive that needs to be reformed.