'An assembly only becomes illegal if it commits or threatens violence. It does not become illegal simply because there is no police permit.'
Don: Cop's Bersih ban is against constitution
Kit P: Thank you, Professor Abdul Aziz Bari for reminding us what the constitution guarantees. My layman's reading of the constitution on this particular subject is 'you have the right to freedom of assembly, subject to constraints in the interest of public safety'.
After so many years of Merdeka, this has instead been reduced to 'you do not have the right to assembly, unless the police permit it'. This BN-Umno interpretation is a perversion of the constitution.
An assembly only becomes illegal if it commits or threatens violence or destroys/damages property. An assembly does not become illegal simply because there is no police permit.
Bender: I bet the police and the BN government won't give a hoot about what Prof Aziz Bari is saying, because he is talking based on what is right and honourable.
BN would prefer to listen to the characters who will defend every act of injustice and constitutional breach made by the police, just so that they will be able to secure their rice bowls and those of their political masters.
Thank you, Prof Aziz for having the guts to say what is right.
Disgusted: All citizens should stand with Bersih and support the rally by taking part in it. This is to test the law of the country to see if it is in line with the constitution and not allow the powers-that-be to bully the citizens who put them in the seat of power in the first place.
This is especially true for the Chinese in this country, who often hide behind doors and let the Malays, Indians and others do the dirty work for them. Even Ibrahim Ali said the Chinese are 'chicken' and will not take part in rallies of such nature. It's time for Chinese to stand together with all other races and be counted.
People's power will bring a rogue regime down as in the Phillipines and Indonesia. Even in Burma, the people rose up and tried to change the government in spite of the overwhelming power of the government there. Many sacrificed for the cause.
Think of our children and future generations. Not everyone can emigrate elsewhere. Most of us have to stay here for good.
Ksn: Those agencies which are empowered to enforce the laws impartially, responsible to ensure that the citizen enjoy the rights guaranteed by the constitution and clearly accountable to the people, are the ones who should be held answerable. They are definitely on the wrong side of the law and the constitution.
Patriot: If any of the principles of a democratic process is to be upheld, then it should allow the voices of the Bersih gathering to be heard without any form of suppression or harassment.
We voted for a government for the people, of the people and by the people, but sadly when power is secured, the very opposite occurs in most developing countries under the disguise of 'national security'.
Docs: The Malaysian constitution clearly states, "The police have no power to suspend the right of peaceable assembly guaranteed by Article 10(1)(b) of the constitution".
This applies in a democratic state. I think we can safely say that looking at the events of the last few years with Umno running the country, Malaysia has moved from a democratic state to an autocratic state similar to what we see in Syria.
Malaysia may no have reached the level of brutality that the Baath party in Syria uses to keep its citizens subjugated, but the hallmarks of this brutal regime can be seen in the way Umno is running Malaysia.
One clear similarity is that both Umno and the Baath party use numerous fraudulent tactics to rig their elections.
MySecret: This is definitely a police state. No two ways about it. The more you stifle the rakyat's wish, the more you will sink Malaysia into a cesspool from which only one result is of certainty. The rakyat will prevail ... I promise you.
2cts Worth: What the police is doing in not permitting the march and setting up road blocks to deny it is illegal. The laws apparently are made to be broken by the people in authority and the Umnoputras. What a way to go.
AnakBangsaMalaysia: As Professor Abdul Aziz Bari has pointed out, the people's right to peaceful assembly is enshrined in Article 10(1)(b) of the federal constitution, a fact that the Umno-BN regime, the Home Ministry, the police and the Perkasa thugs are fully aware of but are blatantly ignoring by issuing explicit threats of arrest, violence and even death threats against the organisers and participants of Bersih 2.0.
By knowingly violating the constitution and attempting to suppress the people's right to peaceful assembly, any action by the Umno-BN regime, the Home Ministry and the police are - unequivocally - illegal.
This just confirms further that virtually the entire government machinery is being abused by Umno-BN to hold on to power at all costs - aided and abetted by the police and Election Commission.
Dicksonian_sltiger: I suggest the organisers take the police to court, send a notice to demand the deputy IGP to retract his statement.
If that fails, file an application to the court to dismiss him from his post. He is after all just a public officer and cannot act beyond his administrative function. Whether these succeed or not doesn't matter, Bersih must think outside the box.
4EverMalaysian: Can all other law or political science professors in the country rise to the occasion like Aziz Bari, without fear or favour? Wake up guys, academicians, professionals, lawyers, engineers, doctors, accountants, teachers.
Say something. This is your country, and your kids' future is at stake.
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