Still room for amending or repealing PAA
PUCHONG: In welcoming the amendments to the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) that legalizes street protest, National Human Rights Society (Hakam) said there were still provisions that the government should consider for a repeal or amendment.
Among the provisions Hakam has urged to repeal or amend are the criminal offence for people under 21-years-old to organise an assembly, and the criminal offence for children to attend an assembly.
Hakam secretary general Lim Wei Jiet said the criminal offence for people under 21 years old to organise an assembly was inconsistent with the government’s recent attempts to lower the voting age to 18 and to empower youths to make important decisions.
He added that children have a right to have their voices heard as seen in the protest against child marriage which was participated by girl guides and the climate change protest that was participated by Tamil school children in Penang.
He called for a repeal or amendment on Section 9(1) and (5) that criminalises an organiser’s failure to notify 10 days before hand even though the government is seeking to shorten it to seven days.
He pointed out that failure to notify has already been declared unconstitutional as seen in the case of Nik Nazmi vs Public Prosecutor.
“There is no provision in the Act which stipulated that an assembly held without the giving of the requisite prior notice was per se unlawful – hence, it is wholly disproportionate to criminalise such mere administrative failure or omission,” he said in a statement today.
He also urged the government to collaborate more with the civil society to ensure comprehensive change for the society.
By: K Pragalath
