The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s last-minute clarification today of the Peaceful Assembly Bill (PAB) is testimony that the PAB is the worst and most slipshod bill ever drafted in the 54-year history of Malaysian Parliament as well as raising questions about Najib’s bona fides in political reforms and transformation.
Najib blamed Pakatan Rakyat (PR) for “confusing” the public with regard to the 30-day notification requirement.
He said:
“Actually the wording is within 30 days, it can be within five or 10 days but that word led to so much confusion so we decided that 10 days to be specific, so that there will be no doubts.” (The Malaysian Insider)
Najib said the previous 30 days’ notification did not mean a month’s notice was needed.
Najib’s ”clarification” is utterly ridiculous. In fact, Najib is presenting a sorry public spectacle of a Prime Minister who does not know what he is talking about, and even worse does not understand the content of the Bill he introduced in Parliament on Thursday though he described it as “revolutionary”.
It is a terrible reflection of the quality of leadership and governance in Malaysia that the Prime Minister can be so badly advised as to the Bill he presented in Parliament as to cause the Prime Minister to totally mislead Parliament and the country about its import and implications.
I do not believe that Najib has deliberately told a lie about the PAB, but clearly he had been told a lie by his advisers causing him to spread a lie!
I challenge Najib to explain how he could claim that under the PAB, before the proposed amendment tomorrow to reduce the 30-day notice requirement to 10 days, it would be possible to organise an assembly “within five or 10 days”?
Let us take a hypothetical case. Say an organiser wants to hold an assembly on 30th December 2011.
Clause 9 (1) of the PAB on “Notification of assembly” provides:
“An organizer shall, within thirty days before the date of an assembly, notify the Officer in Charge of the Police District (OCPD) in which the assembly is to be held”.
Can Najib explain how the organiser could comply with the PAB if he gives notice to the police “within five or 10 days”, i.e. from 20th December or 25th December?
This is clearly impossible because Clause 12 requires the OCPD concerned to inform “persons who have interests” within 48 hours of the assembly notification and who have five days to communicate to the Police their “concerns or objections to the assembly”. This would have taken up seven days – exceeding the five-day claim by Najib that a proposed assembly could be held.
Under Clause 14, the OCPD has to respond to the notification of assembly within 12 days. Clause 16 provides four days for the right of appeal of the organiser to restrictions and conditions imposed by the police to the Home Minister, who has six days to give his decision.
This means that the quickest an organiser will know about the outcome of his notification of an assembly on Dec. 30 is 12 days after submission of notification, provided the police does not impose restrictions and conditions.
If there are police restrictions and conditions followed by appeal to the Home Minister, the quickest an organiser can clear the bureaucratic notification process is 22 days.
This means that an organiser must give notification at least 22 days before the proposed assembly date or he may not be able to complete the maximum of 22-day bureaucratic notification process.
The words “within thirty days before the date of an assembly” in Clause 9(1) is utterly misleading and meaningless and is no help to Najib to explain how an assembly under the PAB could be held “within five to 10 days”.
Najib should not blame the Pakatan Rakyat for the atrocious PAB drafting but the parliamentary draftsmen, the Attorney-General and his legal officers, as well as the entire Cabinet who have proven to be sleeping on their jobs.
Najib said that under the PAB: “The Peaceful Assembly Act is divided into two categories, for designated areas, they only need to inform the police and there will be people to supervise even if it’s on a short notice.
“For non-designated areas, then it will require a 10-day period so the police can negotiate with the local community to get their views.” (Malaysiakini)
Here is further testimony of the atrocious drafting of the PAB. Where does the PAB say that the police must be informed for assemblies to be held in designated areas? The PAB is silent on the matter.
Najib is offended at the comparison with Myanmar but can he explain why Myanmar can pass a law on freedom of assembly requiring only five days’ notice but Malaysia needs 10 days’ notice?
In actual fact, if Article 10 of the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of assembly as one of the fundamental rights of Malaysians is to have real meaning, the government should not be designating permissible places of assembly, as all areas should be open to Malaysians to exercise their right to freedom of assembly – except for certain designated areas declared/gazetted “out of bounds” for security and other considerations.
The “designated areas” should be places where freedom of assembly is not allowed rather than where freedom of assembly is permitted.
Najib has only provided more grounds why there should be no indecent haste to force through the passage of PAB in Dewan Rakyat tomorrow and that it should be referred to a Parliamentary Select Committee for full, meaningful and mature consultation, consideration and consensus.
The work is slipshod because Najib’s thinking is slipshod. The whole idea of the PSA is dumb to begin with. There has NEVER been a case of unpeaceful assembly since 1969. If there is, its been the UMNO-friendly groups like Perkasa. Hindraf was peaceful UNTIL the police got in the act. Bar Council have always been remarkably organised and so have each and every Bersih.
PSA violates the fundamental principle of law – guilty before even a trial or evidence.
Offended by comparison to Mynamar? Why is he not offended by his poor mind and poor performance of those that work for him?
When somethings can be done within few days..you have a Managing Director.. agreeing to a month to finish it….shows the said M.D. supports slow unproductive work….making workers happy to work for that kind of M.D.
When the paymasters…the CEO expose the M.D’s lazy attitude….he respond by saying the CEO is cunning and not fair.
A company is what workers is. Lazy workers…company become a lazy company.
Same goes for a country.
Corrupted CEO makes the workers all corrupted and the country is a corrupted country.
All negatives will bring nothing but bad results…and all will suffer.
A Prime Minister who neither knows how to read or who does not understand what he reads has no business to be our Prime Minister.
Hello, najib, this is not zimbabwe or any nation of illiterates.
And, don’t u dare think u can be a Mugabe. We won’t let u.
And now Mahathir pity Najib..taking a job as PM…with the lowest majority….and keep blaming Opposition parties poisoning Malaysian minds.
Then say..Malaysia has no more idiots now.
I love reading all the comments of his speech.
Yes…Malaysians are smart ones.
All the idiots are the UMNO b ministers.
Too smart…cannot be a minister.
He even said…as a PM for 22 years ..his job was easier…as plenty idiots idiotic Malaysians…easy to control.
So…we can conclude…Najib dare not declare 13th GE..date..because Malaysians are getting smarter…and should retire and let DPM take over because DPM is smarter than PM?
You listen to Mamak’s logic..you must be an idiot too.
NR: Ah doi, Y ppl no know good Queen’s English 1, not like me lah jiak angmoh sai since young in England, English top class 1 leh
///“An organizer shall, within thirty days before the date of an assembly, notify the Officer in Charge of the Police District (OCPD) in which the assembly is to be held”.///
Unless there is other restrictions, the above sentence can mean that one can notify the police for an assembly to be held immediately, and that notification is valid. But the assembly cannot be held more than 30 days after the notification.
Since approval is not needed, but notification is required, there is no need for the PAB. The government should just abolish the relevant section on assembly in the Police Act. Clearly the people should be able to inform the police once again if they took more than 30 days to organize the assembly, after the police have been watching for the 30 days period to render assistance on traffic control.
HU-WAH! LGE n Nazi lum lai lum ki, 2 bodies bcome 1, betul ke? Nanti bcome a sex video leh of 2 homo in action!
http://www.kwongwah.com.my/news/2011/11/28/10.html
How many days have the MPs been given to study the bill before the debate? Or are they expected to just rubber-stamp it.
///On Umno, Dr Mahathir said the party was progressing and “it is better than in 2008”.
“In 2008, I know lots of Umno members voted for the opposition, not because they are ‘less Umno’ but they did not like the leadership at that time,” he said. BERNAMA///–http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/11/28/nation/20111128175717&sec=nation
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, where are you? You are being insulted and yet you do nothing. Shame on you.
///“An organizer shall, within thirty days before the date of an assembly, notify the Officer in Charge of the Police District (OCPD) in which the assembly is to be held”.///
If people just assemble without an organizer, the government has no case against anybody who are in the assembly.
PAB is part of the build up to GE 13. There are more to come. Looks like BERSIH 3.0 is necessary, if PAB goes for second reading. Don’t think we have much of a choice. BERSIH 3.0 is going to be even more challenging.
We need to change the tenant at Putrajaya. GE 13 is our best chance. Failure is not an option. Let us all work very very hard.
The problem is the PM and Cabinet do not like to admit making mistakes. They try to twist and turn the words which they have spoken to justify their mistakes.
Revolutionary. Yeah indeed jib is inviting – no instigating – a revolution in the country!
so disppointed with selangor state government reforms. they terminated alam flora rubbish collector service cos alam flora with bad service to public. yes is it, MPKJ local council just took over a month the rubbish collector service. only one month today. almost 1 week plus . never see rubbish truck come to my place Bandar mahkota cheras. now the rubbish started rotting. mr. ronnie liu. what are this reform ??? whats the different with alam flora service ?
A Bill with so many amendments is a rushed Bill..for political reasons.
If the said Bill is sincerely to protect Malaysians…it will be a Bill…discussed by all BN ministers…and any objections…should halt the passing of the Bill and conduct debates.
UMNO b treat Oppositions like not elected by Malaysians…or treat voters that elected the Oppositions…like traitors …..with totally..no respect to these voters..at all.
It is an UMNO b Bill…to do as they like…with extra power to police to protect them.
The so call many backdoor BN ministers have no say….and it is time for Chua Soi Lek to shut up and stop talking big….when UMNO b is bullying Malaysians and all the time…they dare not go against Najib.
MCA is just for show…depending on the generosity of Najib.
A sincere Bill need not be rushed….amended and passed with lighting speed.
It is a Bill to protect UMNO b party and not Malaysians.
Obama regrets not having Peaceful Assembly Bill as advised by Jibby
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/28/occupy-la-protesters-defy-deadline
Najib is betraying his true intention by pushing for this bill when things are still very noisy about it. The Bar Council has not submitted their version, even ABIM is not happy with some parts of it. Why the rush?
Its clear the whole thing was intended for him to gain political mileage with the likes of Perkasa and Mahathir at the expense of our freedom and the most critical moment is the UMNO GA. He is simply trying to pull a fast one and hence the slipshod work is just evidence of it.
All that pretension about ideas and intellectualism and it boils down to scam-artistry as his main modus operandi of his administration. How deluded are UMNO/BN?
It was not Pm did not understand the bill he introduced. It was simply that was the norm for these people to bull through it when they refused to admit their mistake. They will get the best mind to make any justification hopefully they believe they can fool the people.
Same issue how you can justify cash purchase rebate as an income? This kind of justification can only come from somebody who know the best of creative accounting. They are not as stupid as what we may think.
The same thing happening now even the PM try try to fool the people. In legal term when you say within 30 days it simply mean you can give notice less then that 30days period. You give notice today only then you can assembly on the 30th days after you have given notice as simple as that.
I think NR meant “revolutionary” as in the possibility of starting a revolution.
Reminds me of a joke concerning the French Revolution. One of King Louis XVI’s man came running to the King exclaiming, “Your Highness, the peasants are revolting.” The King replied: “Yes they are repugnant and they smelled like sh1t.”
No 2/3 majority in d parliament, yet NR n UmnoB/BN CONFIDENT can get PAB passed
IMAGINE after d next GE when UmnoB/BN has more than 2/3 majority in d parliament, WHAT WILL they DO? More COWgates, more repressive n draconian rules against rakyat
//“Actually the wording is within 30 days, it can be within five or 10 days but that word led to so much confusion so we decided that 10 days to be specific, so that there will be no doubts.” //
Suppose you owe Mr Ah Long RM30,000. Following Jib’s great saying above, you say to Mr Ah Long–
“Actually the wording is within RM30,000, it can be within RM5,000 or RM10,000 but that word led to so much confusion so we decided that RM10,000 to be specific, so that there will be no doubts.”
In short, you need only pay RM10,000 of the RM30,000 you owe.
//“Actually the wording is within 30 days, it can be within five or 10 days but that word led to so much confusion so we decided that 10 days to be specific, so that there will be no doubts.” //
A village schoolboy named Um bin No gives the answer ’10’ to the question ‘5×6= ___’.
He fails the maths test, so he goes up to his teacher and quotes the great malay leader jib ben lasak–“Actually the wording is within 30, it can be within five or 10 but that word led to so much confusion so we decided that 10 to be specific, so that there will be no doubts.”
The Police have discretion (previously) but in this new Act, the right of citizens to gather peacefully is guaranteed, so this is important,” said Najib.
So please tell us, Najib, if the police have discretion to decide and people have rights, which of these two principles takes precedence? In a direct showdown, who wins?
Is the precedence of the right to assemble peacefully over the exercise of police discretion now guaranteed, absolutely?
If not, we are back where we were before under the old Act: in a world where police discretion – exercised arbitrarily and without need for justification or right of appeal – holds sway.
So this, dear PM, is an improvement? How stupid are we expected to be? Is this the level of argument and analysis in the cabinet?
Perhaps so. Perhaps this also explains why the government stumbles from mistake to mistake – and is always surprised.
You have said that you only “researched 12 different Acts worldwide”, given there are 196 countries in the world. Either you’re terribly lazy, Najib, or you are lying through your teeth again.
Remember 1 this 1 that, but everything get worse than before
Najib can keep flip flopping as much as he likes.
Lawyers are protesting…right now….without permit.
It is a repeat before …12th GE.
Defying the Bill…it is…loud and clear message to Najib.
Najib always like to prove he speaks excellent English and his sons are all educated with English language…like English is their mother tongue language.
All those crooks sent their children overseas for educations in the English and other languages and some came back…actually speak poor Bahasa.
Yet…these hypocrites do not allow the English language to be taught in Maths and English.
In 10 years time..if UMNO b still govern the country…they cam speak English…and other foreign languages fluently…making them look extraordinary smart…and so…become multi millionaires with stolen money…acceptable by their members…with backward education and brains.
Do that first.with no titles.
Get filthy rich…..ready to go overseas…titles to brag and enjoy stolen money.
The point is…how many idiots are there in Malaysia that can be fooled by these people decades after decades.
NR actually NOT SO STUPID 1 lah, UmnoB too NOT SO STUPID 1
But do they care/worry abt “PAB is d worst n most slipshod bill ever drafted”? Of cos, NO
NR n UmnoB/BN CONFIDENT they will WIN in ANY GE, cos d entire system has been manipulated 4 UmnoB/BN 2 WIN a GE
D proof is here http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/182546
” it would only require 15.4 percent of d total votes 2 form a majority in Parliament”
Last lawyers walk was around 800.
Today…more than 1000.
Can Najib read signs?
Najib accuses the Oppositions confuses the public…on the said Bill.
Now International Human Rights from USA.. advising Najib to listen to the people and question him…why in such a hurry to pass a Bill within 1 week?
You can be sure there will be a People Power march…so huge..,if Najib keep on pushing unjust
Laws and Bills the throats of Malaysians…to tie their arms and legs…for selfish political reason.
If Najib’s reasons are valid…why are there so many against the Bill?
Rushing it to be passed within 1 week….sounds like Najib is desperate to fight all against him.
It looks like more Malaysians are traitors than patriots…under his leadership.
So did all the dictators think like that in the past….in foreign countries.
Why other excuses these corrupted racists…can come out with?
Now USA Human Rights organization is advising Najib to withdraw the Bill…ruched within 1 week to be passed.
It looks like there are more Malaysian traitors than patriots under his leadership.
What we have is an old fashion gun fight. Today, the lawyers basically sent a warning to Najib & Co to walk away. If they pass the law, what we have is an unavoidable showdown at noon likely Bersih 3.0 – there can only be one person standing at the end of that showdown. Then, it will end one way or other..
If your friends, family get hurt of worst at Bersih 3.0. Jot down the list of MP and their home address who passed the law and go find them..
Umno is in such a rush to push the bill through parliament. I can think of only one reason. They want to use it against pakatan during the coming GE13. They want to make sure that only umno can have ceramahs and no one else can have them.
In the first place, Najib himself is busy gallivanting all over the globe with his Fat Mama and left this task to his equally dumb and lazy subordinates.
These UMNO dumbos, just like those they have appointed into positions of power, have never developed that culture of “thinking through” an issue before taking action. For too long they have morphed into that comfort zone that the rakyat wil swallow any crap they dish out.
This PAB is actually part of a series of populist tactics lined out to prepare for GE13. First they promised a review of the election rules and regulations . But they hid from the rakyat the fact that this review procedurally cannot be implemented BEFORE GE13. When they were caught out on this and Bersih 3 was threatened, they had to take drastic damage control action to prevent Bersih 3 hence rushing this PAB quickly through Parliament . The intention of this PAB is too naked for all to see. It was primarily to prevent Bersih 3 from taking place when GE13 is announced BEFORE any election review can take place. But in their obscene haste to push PAB through, they betrayed their evil intentions and was caught out yet again.
The reason why they are caught out time and again is mainly through their own stupidity. But it is also the deep seated distrust of UMNO and this flip flop king who has time and again been renegading on his words that everything he does now is put under a microscope. If he still doesn’t realise this, he is dumber than we thought.
Ya lor, fr election rules 2 erection rules, cos d kaki2 got distracted by obedient wives mah
With or without the act it will be business as usual for the rest of us. Rallies, assemblies, street protests segala-gala nya akan diadakan seperti biasa sehingga kerajaan umno diruntuhkan sama sekali.
Or it can start a revolution – a revolutionary Bill indeed!!!