The Bar Council is pleading with the Senators to exercise their right and not to follow party rights.
In an open letter to Senators, Bar president Lim Chee Wee called the Bill an “unjust law”, and advised members of the Dewan Negara not to support the rush to pass it.
“Now, more than ever, you must remember that you were elected as a representative of the people, to carry out responsibilities as a Senator.”
“Please do not put blind obedience to party and partisanship before your duties as a servant to the people. The rakyat should not be made to suffer the consequences of party politics…There can be no other choice,” Lim said in a press statement.
The Peaceful Assembly Bill was passed in the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 29 despite widespread public condemnation and opposition from Pakatan Rakyat.
Together with the Bar, they have claimed that the Bill – which will ban street protests and give police the final say on political ceramahs – would severely curtail the right to gather in public.
Though the Bar quickly presented an alternative to the Bill, the government wasted no time in bringing in its own amendments before it was passed in the Dewan Rakyat.
Fundamental liberty
Barisan Nasional MPs have all given the Bill their respective thumbs-up.
Currently in session until Dec 22, the Dewan Negara is the last line of Malaysia’s legislative order, where passed Bills can still be debated, or rejected before they are sent to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to be signed into law.
However, critics have denounced the Dewan Negara as nothing more than a “rubber stamp”, with Senators supposedly following the command of party whips in the passing of new laws.
According to a 2005 Star report, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz ordered 19 female BN Senators to vote for the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) (Amendment) Bill 2005.
He did so despite the opposition raised by female Senators, adding then that though they were “free to debate” the matter, they had no choice but to vote on the Bill.
Lim hinted at this concern in his open letter, adding that the Peaceful Assembly Bill needed to go through a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) first, before it was hurriedly passed through the Senate.
“The Bar is resolute that any attempt to regulate a fundamental liberty – the right to assembly – must only be done after due consultation with all stakeholders, including opposition MPs and civil society groups.”
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