Opposition supporters wear masks during a rally in Kuala Lumpur on June 22, 2013 to protest against the results of the country’s 13th general election of May 5. — AFP picKUALA LUMPUR, July 17 — DAP MP Anthony Loke will be hauled to court next week to face a charge of violating the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 in organising last month’s “Black505” protest at Padang Merbok.
The lawmaker joins a growing list of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders to face court action for allegedly failing to adhere to conditions in the assembly law that was enacted last year to regulate public protests.
The Seremban MP confirmed with The Malay Mail Online that he was slapped with a court summon today at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters after he was called in to give a statement about the June 22 event.
“After I completed my statement, I was issued a summon to attend court next Thursday. I will be charged under section 15(3) of the PAA2012 for failing to get the consent of the landowners before organising the rally,” he said when contacted here.
Section 15(3) which covers restrictions and conditions in the organisation of mass public gatherings stipulates that, “any person who fails to comply with any restrictions and conditions under this section commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit”.
A conviction under this section could possibly see Loke stripped from his MP post in Parliament as local election laws state that any lawmaker who is fined RM2,000 and above for any offence would be automatically disqualified.
The Malay Mail Online understands that apart from Loke, two other PR leaders will be hauled to court for the same offence — PKR’s Rafizi Ramli and PAS’s Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi. All three men were listed as party representatives in their rally notice to the police last month.
“This is another case of selective prosecution,” Loke said when contacted here.
“This defeats the whole purpose of the Act itself... the talk about more openness, being more liberal under the Najib administration... all empty talk.
“The government has clearly returned to their authoritarian-style rule,” he added.
Anthony Loke will be charged under section 15(3) of the PAA2012 for failing to get the consent of the landowners before organising the rally. — Picture by Choo Choy May
Asked if he planned to attend court next week, the DAP central executive committee member confirmed that he will turn up to answer to the charge.
Post Election 2013, PR lawmakers have filed court petitions and hosted a series of mammoth rallies under the “Black505” brand to protest the results of the tumultuous polls and push their agenda for electoral reform.
According to the federal opposition pact and its supporters, the May 5 polls resulted in a Barisan Nasional (BN) victory because of widespread fraud, electoral irregularities and unfair gerrymandering.
“Black505” was created as a movement of protest against these allegations of fraud and in the weeks following the general election, more than 10 such events were held nationwide, each drawing mammoth crowds of tens of thousands of people.
But the rallies also triggered the widespread crackdown on PR leaders and their supporters, with scores of politicians and activists being hauled in for investigation, some even being detained overnight in police lock-ups.
PKR communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad was the first to face charges under the PAA2012. On May 17, he claimed trial to charges accusing him of failure to give sufficient notification for the Kelana Jaya stadium protest on May 8.
In the following weeks, six others faced similar charges for gatherings in Perak, Johor, Pahang and Negri Sembilan.
The Malay Mail Online believes that Loke is the first to be charged for the Padang Merbok rally, which was the grand finale to PR’s “Black505” series.
- malaymail
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