Aniza Damis speaks to Tun Musa HitamSome of the excerpts below.....
Aniza Damis(AD): Is the right to peaceful assembly an absolute right?
Musa Hitam(MH): No. Nothing is an absolute right in this world.
AD: Why is it that we have never experimented with peaceful assembly?
MH: During the time I was with Suhakam, I tried my very best to get organised demonstrations accepted, organised in the sense that all parties assume responsibility together.People must apply for permits, but the application is not for the purpose of restricting demonstrations.Once approved, you need to comply with certain very strict procedures. You must be responsible for orderliness by appointing a list of marshals to be identified and identifiable. You must ensure cleanliness. Certain sites or routes must be determined. All this is so that there is accountability and responsibility. Traffic and regular police will be there to ensure orderliness. At the same time, they must also make known that there will be riot police at hand, in case anything goes wrong.
AD: The system right now is, if you want to assemble, you have to apply for a police permit.
MH: And almost automatically it’s refused. So, you stop there.
AD: So, if it’s refused, the assembly is illegal?
MH: Yes, it’s illegal.
AD: Some people feel there is a biased allocation of permits.
MH: There are biased allocations, in so far as the applicants are concerned. In so far as the government is concerned, they say they are not biased.But therein lies the problem.Again, we’re back to where we started. If you have a focused examination of the situation, the ways and means, and formed a methodology or systematic approach, maybe it might work.
AD: Is the use of force justified in dispersing peaceful people?
MH: If you had rules and regulations which include an investigation into a situation where violence takes place, immediately Suhakam, or whoever, must start an inquiry. Then the blame game can go there. Not here, in the newspapers or the blogs.
AD: In an illegal rally, is it justified to use force?
MH: No, not by anybody.The police will tell me, in many cases it is true, that they are provoked. But, like in the Maldives, they (anarchists) love to see the police. They have a target because, as the police, you represent the government.So, you take action, and then there’s a reaction.
AD: Is Malaysia ready for peaceful assemblies?
MH: Yes! Come on, we have been independent for 50 years.In the old days, after the demonstrations by the Indians, there would have been retaliation immediately.
AD: Do you think the concept of the right to freedom of expression in Malaysia is a middle class idea?
MH: No. What about those people in Baling? They were not middle class. They were poor smallholders.You cannot dismiss people. We should not recognise them in order to arrest them. That’s negative.The right to peaceful assembly is enshrined in our democratic institution. That right also gives the right to the government to refuse.
Read the full text from NST, here.
I think its time that Pat Lah take some cue from Musa.......
cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment