Candlelight vigiling, police permits, and what to do when the going gets rough

Yes, I’m candlelight vigiling later tonight in Seremban and this weekend in PJ on Sunday.

Regarding the vigil in PJ, let me tell you of some developments.

Tuesday morning last, I bumped into the Selangor MB, YB Khalid Ibrahim, at the Parliament lobby.

We spoke of the events of the night of 9th November when the police violently ended the vigil outside the Dewan Sivik.

I told YB Khalid that as the vigil was in support of the anti-ISA policy of his party and the Pakatan Selangor state government, it was only right that the vigilers should be supported by him and his government in our weekly vigil.

All of yesterday morning I was in touch by phone with several elected reps from Selangor to get their commitment to attend the vigil this Sunday. Many have said ‘Yes’. Details later.

Yesterday evening and this morning, have been on the phone with some important people in the state government who are working towards making it safe for vigilers. This may or may not entail a change of venue.

Please come back here after 4pm today for the latest details about the PJ vigil this Sunday, including details of any change of venue.

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To the ‘Now, Khalid…’ post, doinkers sent this comment :

‘…As a lawyer, you need to post a “what to do if you’re arrested” guide, before the coming vigil.Many who were caught were first-time offenders, and many people were unsure of their legal rights & what the police are legally allowed to do’

Here’s my lawyer and non-lawyer 2 sen. First, a little bit about your right to assemble, then my attempt to shoot down this nonsense about requiring a permit for every vigil, and then some ‘what to do if…’

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Your right to meet, light candles and hold vigil with like-minded anak-anak Bangsa Malaysia is guaranteed under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution which protects the right to ‘assemble peacably and without arms’, the Constitution giving to Parliament the limited power to make law to restrict this right ‘as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof or public order’.

Please be clear about this.

Parliament can only pass law to restrict your right to assemble peacably and without arms, necessary in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof or public order.

Article 10, in pdf, is linked below.

article-10

Parliament purported to exercise this limited power to restrict the right of assembly by enacting section Section 27(2) of the Police Act, 1967 wherein is prescribed the ‘police permit’ requirement that we always hear about.

I say ‘purported’ because if you carefully examine section 27(2), you will find it to be one of the most ridiculous laws Parliament has ever inflicted upon the rakyat.

For your convenience, all of section 27 of the Police Act, 1967, in pdf, is linked below.

section-27-police-act-1967

You will see that section 27(2) imposes an obligation on ‘any person intending to convene or collect any assembly or meeting or to form a procession in any public place’ to first apply to the OCPD for a licence.

‘Public place’ is not defined in the Police Act but has been interpreted in the Interpretation Acts, 1948 & 1967 to include ‘every public highway, street, road, bridge, square, court, alley, lane, bridle way, footway, parade, wharf, jetty, quay, public garden or open space, and every theatre, place of public entertainment of any kind or other place of general resort to which admission is obtained by payment or to which the public have access’.

If the police take ‘public place’ in section 27(2)  to mean any of the places as described in the Interpretation Acts, and then insist on giving the fullest, literal effect to the words of section 27(2), it would mean that a husband and wife intending to meet at Taman Jaya, PJ for lunch, two friends planning to meet at the bus stop in PJ New Town, or two housewives arranging to meet in PJ Old Town for char kuey teow at the roadside stalls before heading off to the wet market, would have to first apply and obtain a licence from the OCPD!

Insisting on a strict implementation of the terms of section 27(2) would bring the economic and social life of this nation to a standstill!

Thankfully, PDRM has not taken such a nonsensical approach in its implementation of section 27(2).

So, what criteria does PDRM adopt in deciding whether a meeting, assembly or procession must first be licenced under section 27(2) and when such a licence should be refused?

Do the four earlier vigils and the disrupted one on 9th November shed any light?

I would like to think that the reason the first to the fourth vigils, from 12th October to 2nd November, proceeded without any police hindrance because the police adopted a ‘let them proceed, intervene only if there are reasons to deem a threat to national security or breach of public order’ policy, remembering that plainclothes police officers were at those four vigils.

Adopting such a policy allows for the fullest possible exercise of the right of assembly guaranteed under the constitution, without abdicating their duty to ensure that such exercise of constitutional rights do not occasion a situation that might threaten national security or public order.

Seen in this light, the question of having to first apply for a permit before one exercises the right of assembly does not arise. To insist otherwise, as I have pointed out above, will bring life to a standstill.

Of course, if this is the policy of the Selangor state police authorities, this would not explain why the vigil of 9th November was disrupted even before it started.

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What to do if you’re at a vigil and police order that it be brought to a close

1. Have someone lead negotiations with the police and take directions from that person.

2. Whoever is negotiating with the police must communicate whatever directions given by the police to vigilers so that individuals can make up their own minds whether to remain or disperse,  knowing all the facts.

What to do and not do if arrest is imminent

1. If you’re a smoker, quickly light up and enjoy that smoke. It may be your last for a quite a while.

2. Do not run. In fact, if the circumstances permit, sit.

3. Whoever is in charge, or, if there is no one in charge, whoever is prepared to take charge, ought to announce to the police that arrest will not be resisted and that therefore the police have no reasons to act aggressively in effecting arrests.

4. Do not resist arrest.

5. Take note of what is happening around you.

6. Remain calm

What to do and not do if arrested

1. Ask the arresting officer for the reasons for your arrest

2. When you arrive at the police station, request to exercise your right to make a phone call. if given the right, please use it wisely. Call the person who can best arrange for assistance.

3. Decline to give any statement until you have legal representation.

5. Take note of what is happening around you.

6. Remain calm