Conditions aplenty at PJ vigil

Last Sunday, some 200 individuals took part in a candlelight

MCPX

vigil at the Petaling Jaya civic centre in support of the dismantling of the Internal Security Act (ISA).

A police permit was issued to Petaling Jaya city councillor Richard Yeoh for the event and twelve conditions were imposed as part of the permit. A full list is reproduced below:

• Organisers are responsible for the safety of the participants.

• Permission to use the venue is the responsibility of the organiser.

• Crowd must not spill onto the road and cause traffic obstruction.

• No form of political or racial speeches allowed.

• No use of fireworks or explosives, unless explicitly allowed by the police.

• No use of dangerous weapons.

• Organiser must ensure that there is no burning of candles to protest the ISA.

• Organiser must ensure that participants do not wear clothes which call for the abolishment of the ISA.

• Organiser must not hold any activities which show support for ISA detainees.

• Banners and fliers calling for the abolition of the ISA are forbidden.

• The police are free to make audio and video recordings of the event.

Yeoh had read out the police stipulations to the crowd that Sunday night. However, candles were still lit, politicians made speeches and anti-ISA t-shirts were donned by several participants.

The vigil lasted between 8pm to 9.30pm. There were no untoward incidents nor has Yeoh been called up by the police to date.

Permit Applicant Warned

When contacted today, Yeoh said he had applied for the permit on Nov 14 and was interviewed and given the green light on Nov 15, a day before the vigil.

"They said that I had to ensure the participants complied with the conditions and I could be held responsible if otherwise," he said.

However, Yeoh said the police did not specify any penalty for the breach of permit conditions.

Human rights lawyer N Surendran believes that the police should not have drawn up the conditions which does not concern public order and security matters.

"The police cannot impose further conditions preventing people from expressing their rights and views or it would be a violation of Article 10 of the Federal Constitution which guarantees freedom of speech," he said.

Surendran argued that the police should only impose conditions on areas related to logistics and safety such as conditions on the location and traffic.

"Holding a candle or wearing an anti-ISA T-shirt is not a security issue. They seem to think they can impose any conditions. For example, they cannot impose a condition that all participants must dye their hair purple," he said.

Petaling Jaya police district deputy chief and issuer of permit Mohd Shukor Sulong declined comment and said that the proper person to comment was the Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar.