Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) welcomes the prime minister’s affirmation that the public has the right to peacefully assemble in front of Parliament.
This clear stance underscores that peaceful assembly is a constitutional right –not a logistical inconvenience – and reinforces the importance of public access to institutions of power.
We, nevertheless, are concerned by the emphasis on traffic and coordination as conditions for exercising this constitutional right. Both the 22 July and 13 August peaceful assemblies saw police deploy restrictive measures such as chains and physical obstruction, as protesters attempted to challenge the blanket preventive restriction in place since the pandemic.
Under this restriction, groups have only been allowed to assemble at the base of the hill with the gates of Parliament kept off-limits – effectively denying them the visibility and proximity needed to make their voices heard by MPs.
Traffic disruption is recognised internationally as a normal, even inevitable, consequence of assemblies near political institutions. The threshold for restricting an assembly because of traffic is therefore high: only where congestion creates a clear risk to public safety, or where disruption is disproportionate to the purpose of the protest, can restrictions be justified.
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Blocking access to Parliament’s gates or diverting all protests to the base of the hill clearly fails this test. The state’s responsibility is to actively facilitate and enable assemblies in meaningful proximity to their target – not to subordinate the right to assemble to traffic convenience or bureaucratic coordination.
Suaram urges the police and the Ministry of Home Affairs to immediately review and realign enforcement protocols to reflect the prime minister’s position. It should ensure that assemblies are facilitated through proportionate measures – such as negotiated traffic diversions or staggered access – rather than blanket restrictions.
Such an approach would complement the government’s stated efforts to amend the Peaceful Assembly Act, ensuring that reform is not only legislative but also reflected in enforcement practices that uphold constitutional rights and strengthen democratic accountability. – Suaram
Azura Nasron is the executive director of Suaram.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
