(Petaling
Jaya, Saturday): DAP will return to the Pandamaran new village and Klang tomorrow at 10 a.m.
to continue with the interrupted “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957”
People’s Awareness Campaign. I
will accompany other DAP leaders and activists in tomorrow’s campaign.
The campaign in Pandamaran and Klang was
interrupted twice by the police, on August 18 and 25, with 12 persons arrested
in both episodes.
We hope the Police will not continue to harass and criminalise the peaceful and legitimate political and
constitutional “No to 929” campaign to defend and uphold the 1957 Merdeka
Constitution, the social contract and the 1963 Malaysia Agreement that Malaysia
is a democratic, secular and multi-religious nation with Islam as the official
religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic state, whether UMNO Islamic State or PAS
Islamic State.
There had been five unlawful police arrests, involving 32 victims, in
connection with the “No to 929” campaign in the past four months, all under
the Sedition Act 1948, but no one has been charged in court to date –
including the disgraceful episode yesterday at the
Klang Magistrate Court when the six DAP officials arrested in Pandamaran
on August 25 and the six bailors had to release themselves when the police did
not turn up in court as required by the RM1,000 police bond.
Section 5 of the Sedition Act is very specific that no person shall be
prosecuted for an offence under Section 4 of the Sedition Act without the
written consent of the Public Prosecutor and I call on the Inspector-General of
Police, Tan Sri Norian Mai to make sure that the police stop effecting any more
arrests in connection with the “No to 939” campaign under the Sedition Act
when the Attorney-General has refused to give his consent for the charging of
the 32 persons arrested in five police arrests under the Sedition Act.
Suhakam Chairman Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman should send Suhakam Commissioners to Pandamaran and Klang tomorrow morning to monitor as to whether the police continues to violate human rights by harassing and criminalizing the DAP’s peaceful and legitimate “No to 929” campaign.
(7/8/2002)