(Malaysiakini) Riot police have barred activists from holding candlelight vigils to commemorate the Internal Security Act's 50th anniversary in eight places around the country.
At Dataran MBPJ, Padang Timur in Petaling Jaya, Selangor - which saw the earliest vigil begin at 8pm - members of the Light Strike Force (LSF) began dispersing the 300-strong crowd just as the latter began signing Negaraku.
Siti Kasim (right) from the Bar Council said this was the first time she had seen the police acted with such violence and going to the extent of arresting people even as they enter the nearby Amcorp shopping mall.
"This is very bad. Very violent and unacceptable. We are shocked," she told reporters.
At a press conference held shortly after, Petaling Jaya police chief Arjunaidi Mohamed (left) said the organisers did not obtain a permit for tonight's gathering.
At Dataran MBPJ, Padang Timur in Petaling Jaya, Selangor - which saw the earliest vigil begin at 8pm - members of the Light Strike Force (LSF) began dispersing the 300-strong crowd just as the latter began signing Negaraku.Police officers were also seen chasing some protestors out of the Dataran amid the activists' shouts of "Hidup, hidup! Hidup rakyat!”, as other personnel formed a line to block more protestors from entering the square.
At least five people were arrested immediately, including Abolish the ISA movement (GMI) chief Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) secretary-general S Arutchelvan and PKR supreme council member Badrul Hisham Shaharin.
Siti Kasim (right) from the Bar Council said this was the first time she had seen the police acted with such violence and going to the extent of arresting people even as they enter the nearby Amcorp shopping mall."This is very bad. Very violent and unacceptable. We are shocked," she told reporters.
Human rights group Suaram's director Kua Kia Soong also expressed shock and condemned the violence by the police.
"It's disgusting. This possibly could have been a peaceful vigil. What is the aim of the police (doing this)? It's going to make Malaysia more like a police state.
"Today is a very important day. Laws like the ISA only exist in very few countries nowadays. This law allows the authorities to detain people without trial. It's very shameful, and for the police to behave like this, makes Malaysia even more shameful.
"This is the first time I saw the police rushing and breaking the peace in shopping mall. This is very bad for business," said Kua.
"It's disgusting. This possibly could have been a peaceful vigil. What is the aim of the police (doing this)? It's going to make Malaysia more like a police state.
"Today is a very important day. Laws like the ISA only exist in very few countries nowadays. This law allows the authorities to detain people without trial. It's very shameful, and for the police to behave like this, makes Malaysia even more shameful.
"This is the first time I saw the police rushing and breaking the peace in shopping mall. This is very bad for business," said Kua.
Other than Ibrahim, Arutchelvan and Badrul Hisham, the other individuals arrested and brought to the Petaling Jaya district police station included Suresh Kumar, Mohd Fiqtriey, Naqiuddin Sahar, Albert Ang Yik Chuan, Yew Hun Ng, Ng Yap Hwa, Tsuing Han See, Enalini Elumalai, Mien Lor, Thilaga Sokiapillay, Kohila Y, Bawani K, Parames E, Sivaranjani, Lee Wei Ni, E Sarawanen, Xavier Sim Yoon Han and Aiman Siew Teck Meng.
By around 9:15pm, the police had stopped their dispersal and arrests.
At a press conference held shortly after, Petaling Jaya police chief Arjunaidi Mohamed (left) said the organisers did not obtain a permit for tonight's gathering. "No police permit was applied."
The police chief said further that the organisers had claimed to have been issued a permit from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ)
The police chief said further that the organisers had claimed to have been issued a permit from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ)
"But MBPJ is not the authority authorised to issue such permits. They, with their legal knowledge, should know this very well."
He went on to defend the police action on the basis of the protestors' defiance of police orders to disperse.
""We asked them to disperse, but they refused and went into Amcorp Mall.
"When they came out, they scolded the police and challenged us, so we made the arrests," said Arjunaidi.
He revealed that a total of 25 adults - six women and 19 men - were arrested for illegal assembly. Though there were children in the gathering, none was arrested, said Arjunaidi.
"There were kids involved in the demonstration. In fact, we were more than lenient with them. They only care about their purpose," he added.
Selangor CPO Khalid Abu Bakar later said that the police arrested 30 people in Petaling Jaya in total - eight women and 22 men.
In Ipoh, Perak, similarly, dozens of police officers had cordoned off the Dataran Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh and protesters were barred from entering the venue. About 200 people, nevertheless, participated in a 30-minute vigil which concluded without incident.
In Ipoh, Perak, similarly, dozens of police officers had cordoned off the Dataran Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh and protesters were barred from entering the venue. About 200 people, nevertheless, participated in a 30-minute vigil which concluded without incident.
In Penang, the police had earlier today posted notices - signed by Georgetown OCPD Asst Comm Gan Kong Meng - around the Speaker's Square in Georgetown warning against any illegal gathering in the area.
Even before the vigil began at 9pm, two activists - Choo Choon Kai and Kris Khaira from PSM - were arrested.
By 8.50pm, Georgetown district police chief Gan Kong Meng asked the crowd - numbering around 100 as opposed to the 180 police personnel who had been mobilised - to "disperse in five minutes."
At the same time, about 10 persons suddenly appeared claiming to represent "those who support the ISA".
Two more activists - lawyer Darshan Singh and Ong Jing Cheng of Suaram - were subsequently taken by the police to Jelutong district police station.
All four activists were released a little after midnight after their statements were recorded.
Lau Shu Shi of Suaram was also taken into custody after a warrant was served on her, but this was said to be over an earlier case.
Earlier, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said although this was a sad day as the ISA had been existance for 50 years, he hoped it would remind the people about the importance of freedom.
“In Malaysia, there is freedom of speech, but no freedom after speech,” he said.
The DAP leader also said Penang has tried to broaden the space for freedom of speech by having the Speakers' Square at the Esplanade, which is a tourist spot.
“It is very successful. So far, no untoward incident has happened. It shows that Malaysians can exercise freedom of speech and able to reject extremism,” he told a press conference after launching a DAP fundraising event in the morning.
He said he was not making these comments as a former ISA detainee, but as an 'an activist for freedom and democracy'.
“The ISA is anti-freedom, and together with other laws like the Official Secrets Act, Sedition and Publication and Printing Presses Act, it should be abolished,” he said.
The DAP leader also said Penang has tried to broaden the space for freedom of speech by having the Speakers' Square at the Esplanade, which is a tourist spot.
“It is very successful. So far, no untoward incident has happened. It shows that Malaysians can exercise freedom of speech and able to reject extremism,” he told a press conference after launching a DAP fundraising event in the morning.
He said he was not making these comments as a former ISA detainee, but as an 'an activist for freedom and democracy'.
“The ISA is anti-freedom, and together with other laws like the Official Secrets Act, Sedition and Publication and Printing Presses Act, it should be abolished,” he said.
In Kelantan, anti-ISA vigil coordinators Zaidi Musa and Hamidi Musa were held by the police after the anti-ISA event ended successfully.
In a statement issued soon after the crackdown, Suaram said it "strongly condemns the police for their continued attacks on freedom of expression, a fundamental right which is guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Federal Constitution of Malaysia."
1 comment:
Here's my story as I was there.
There were people at the parking lot outside the mall at around 7pm onwards.
At 8pm, they started to move towards the field and I followed.
Suddenly I heard them singing Negaraku and then shouted Destroy ISA, Destroy ISA and the police had already moved in to catch them.
To me the police already knew who to arrest. Then the scuffle broke out between the police and activists because the police were dragging them.
They continue to try and arrest more people and that causes the crowd to move back to the mall.
The police continue chasing the people into the amll and dragging more people out to be arrested.
The mall rolled the shutters down and that gave the people some peace, cos' of the barricade.
The police then formed a barricade outside the malls main entrance.
Later the people moved out again and shouted DestroyISA and the scuffle broke out again and the police dragged more people to be arrested.
The story in the papers are distortedThey painted a very nice picture about the police.
To me our tax payers money are going down the drain,instead of preventing more rape and theft cases, the police are making a fool of themselves trying to instill violence in to a peaceful vigil.
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