Thread by @syahredzan

I think la, I think, if you cannot see the obvious difference between how the BN government handled peaceful assemblies and how the current government does it, I think you are either biased, OR before this you have no sense of peaceful assemblies in Malaysia.

https://twitter.com/wanagyl/status/1071619032246153216

Sit tight, @WanAgyl, I am schooling you on peaceful assemblies in Msia over the past 10 years. And I can only do past 10 years because I have personally been involved over the past 10 years, and tracked the evolution of peaceful assemblies.

My first direct involvement in peaceful assemblies is in 2009 with the anti-ISA rally. I was one of the urgent arrest lawyers who represented rally goers who were arrested. It was a peaceful rally, but 526 people were arrested.

Then came the Bersih 2.0 rally in 2011. 150 people were arrested even before the rally. Days before the rally, police placed a lockdown of KL, causing massive traffic jams. 30 PSM members arrested, and SIX were placed under the Emergency Ordinance.

This was before any rally. So your bullshit claim about 'different set of people' - the Government tried to STOP the rally even before it happened, including arresting people. Btw, PAS was also part of the rally.

On the day, I was part of the Bar Council monitoring team. We saw teargas and watercannon being used, as a way to STOP the rally from happening. Compare that with how the Government today allowed and facilitated the rally. 1,667 arrests were made of rally goers.

Bersih 2.0, there were no overturned cars. No damage. The rally goers were peaceful. But even before the rally, the BN government actively tried to stop people from attending it. You tell me that's the same as PH's response to ICERD?

SUHAKAM, after inquiry, found that cops had violated rights of the protesters. "Shooting of tear gas by the police at opposite directions at KL Sentral could possibly have caused injury or death to the participants of the rally who were in the vicinity." thestar.com.my/news/nation/20…

Then came Bersih 3.0 in 2012. I was one of the lawyers on duty:
Leading up to Bersih 3.0, again Government sought to STOP the rally:
1. Barricades surrounding Dataran Merdeka area
2. Court order obtained to stop entry of any persons into DM area.
3. Roadblocks all over KL.

Then, this is what happened:
1) Rally went on, by 2.40pm it ended, organizers asked to disperse.
2) Then some people broke thru the barrier, and the police reacted by firing teargas and watercannons. Nearly 1000 teargas canisters/grenandes fired INTO the crowd.

512 people were arrested, and they were all brought to Pulapol. At Pulapol, lawyers converged (including me), and we sought access to detainees. We were denied.

SUHAKAM, after inquiry, found that: "Police used disproportionate force and there were incidents of misconduct against participants of the Bersih 3.0 rally":

thestar.com.my/news/nation/20…

Then, the Government used the newly enacted Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 to sue the organisers of Bersih 3.0 for 'damage' caused to government property. But, despite bringing it all the way to Federal Court, the Government failed.

The HC judge, in his judgment, found this that it cannot be proven that the damage was caused by 'rally goers or independent agents'.

Again, for context, PAS was a part of this rally

So, the Court actually DID NOT FIND any evidence that Bersih 3.0 rally goers were the ones who caused the damage.

Which goes back to this: how can you not see the difference between how BN handled Bersih 3.0 and how PH handled the anti ICERD rally?

Let's go to Bersih 4. I'm skipping the smaller rallies. The response by Government to Bersih 4 was markedly different. There were only 20 odd arrests pre-rally, and no teargas / watercannons fired during rally. I was a rally goer at the time.

But, the Government did ban yellow tshirts with 'Bersih 4'. Which the Court later found to be 'unseasonable'. Again, government actively tried to place restrictions on the rights of rally goers.

thestar.com.my/news/nation/20…

Bersih 4 went on peacefully without any incidents. For the record, by this time PAS no longer participated.

Then we go to Bersih 5. Again, authorities let the rally go on. No arrests of participants were made, BUT the government targetted several 'key' individuals including @mariachin @mandeepkarpall @kuasasiswa and others, BEFORE and DURING the assembly.

Bersih 5 was in 2016, and unless you have short term memory loss, you would recall how @mariachin was placed under SOSMA for being a 'security threat'. She was placed in solitary confinement for around 10 days.

malaysiakini.com/news/364446

So, to recap, the previous government's approach to major rallies have been:
1) Bersih 2.0 - arrests, roadblocks, teargas/water canon
2) Bersih 3.0 - court order, barriers, arrests, teargas/water canon
3) Bersih 4 - ban yellow tshirts
4) Bersih 5 - arrests, SOSMA

We can see the evolution of how the Government and the authorities handled major rallies from Bersih 2.0 to Bersih 5, but there were always restrictions. Compare that with how the Government allowed and facilitated the rally yesterday, and you will see the point of my article.

Which is this - Malaysia Baharu must be a Malaysia in which not only the victors can rally peacefully without restrictions, but a Malaysia in which dissenters and opposition members, too, be allowed to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights.

Malaysia Baharu cannot be a Malaysia like it was under your UMNO, @WanAgyl, in which peaceful rallies are seen as security threats, inconvenience, and where the law is used to scupper legitimate rights of rally goers, as can be seen in the past decade, and even longer!