The Peaceful Assembly at KLCC

An excerpt from The Malaysian Insider:

Today, Wong was told that he needed the permission from KLCC’s management to gather in the park.

But he told reporters later that they will continue to hold protests every Saturday at KLCC until the law is revoked.

The Peaceful Assembly Bill, which bans street demonstrations, was passed on November 29 on BN votes after the opposition Pakatan Rakyat bloc staged a walkout.

“We must have a parliamentary select committee before the Peaceful Assembly Bill becomes law, we want public consultation. All of us want to give our views in a real democracy,” Lim said to the crowd.

The controversial law bans all street protests, imposes far stricter requirements on rally organisers as well as higher fines for more offences and gives blanket powers to the police.

Today, Wong brushed aside any suspicion over the coincidence that the main area between KLCC and the park was closed to the public for cleaning, on both days.

“We are very heartened that for two weeks in a row they have shown their support for us with actions. That counts a lot. They are spreading the awareness of being clean,” he said cheekily.

“We are defying the law because it is unjust, it is unreasonable, it is an insult to our intelligence and common sense and we want to show how ridiculous it is when a security guard says you need to apply for permit before you can read and listen to someone reading poems.

“If the law is passed, we will do it again. We want to get the state to arrest us and charge us in court for holding balloons, for carrying flags, for singing the national anthem without permit, without notifying the police 10 days in advance. The law needs to go, kill the bill,” he said.