Najib’s Promises Are Off to a Poor Start A Bill to Regulate Protests is Stricter Than Current Law.

The Wall Street Journal

When Prime Minister Najib Razak promised in September to abolish several repressive laws, many opposition politicians withheld their applause. They said they would wait to see what the government proposed as replacement laws. They were right to be skeptical.

The Peaceful Assembly Bill, put forward by the National Front government last Tuesday to amend the 1967 Police Act, is the first in the series of laws that Mr. Najib pledged would honor the promises in the Malaysian constitution and bring its human rights “in line with international norms.” It is certainly good news that the bill would free protest organizers from the obligation to get a government permit. But its other provisions are more restrictive than the existing law.

For instance, the bill would prohibit moving assemblies such as street protests altogether. It prohibits Malaysians under the age of 21 from organizing gatherings and those under 15 from participating in them. And it prohibits assemblies near hospitals, schools or places of worship. Non-citizens lose all rights to participate. The bill also requires that organizers give police 30 days’ notice of any assembly. Since the definition of an assembly is broad, the bill could be read as outlawing school field trips.

The bill’s greatest threat to civil liberties is the arbitrary power it gives authorities to disallow or restrict gatherings. The police would also get absolute power to direct the organizers of an assembly once it is underway, as well as wide discretion on when and how to disperse it. The bill establishes no positive obligation for the police to uphold the right to freedom of assembly.

The Malaysian Bar condemned the bill as unconstitutional and criticized the government for having introduced it without public consultation. In response to the furor, Law Minister Nazri Aziz pledged to amend the bill to reduce the notice period assembly organizers must give to 10 days, the Star newspaper reported. But the government still wants to pass the bill in the lower house of parliament today.

The government deserves credit for lifting the decades-old emergency declarations and repealing the Banishment Act and Restricted Residence Act. Mr. Najib is taking the country in the direction of more political freedom, in large part because this is a popular measure and elections are expected early next year.

But the Peaceful Assembly Bill raises new doubts about whether the prime minister will follow international norms when it comes time to replace the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial. Withdrawing the bill and reconsidering how to protect the right to assembly would reassure every Malaysian who cares about his rights.

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