LoyarBurok 2 – 0 Attorney General’s Chamber of Malaysia
9 December 2007 was World Human Rights Day. In celebration of this occasion, the Malaysian government arrested and charged a few lawyers and politicians for being a member of an unlawfully assembly and for continuing to participate in an unlawful assembly despite knowing of a command to disperse. On this occasion the police and prosecution made one fatal mistake. They also arrested and charged founding LoyarBurokker, Amer Hamzah Arshad. So of course, the Attorney General lost the case.
On 9 December 2007, a group of people gathered outside a restaurant called Siddique Restaurant along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur opposite Sogo Mall. Amer Hamzah Arshad, a founding member of LoyarBurok, along with 6 others (Eric Paulsen, Noraza binti Othman, Johny bin Andu @ Abu Bakar Adnan, Sivarasa a/l K. Rasiah, Latheefa Beebi Koya, N. Surendran a/l Nagarajan) happened to be a part of that group while perhaps they waited for a table to free up so they could feast on some roti canai that morning.
At about 8.00a.m. perhaps after feeling the weight of the roti canai and feeling guilty about the lack of exercise, Latheefa, Surendran, and Selvam, approached Superintendent Hamzah to request that they could all walk together to the Bar Council building using the footpath, which was a short distance a way. As Superintendent Hamzah readily understood the benefits of group exercise, he granted them permission to do so.
Since physicians recommend adding weight to one’s walk to increase its aerobic benefits, a few of them unfurled a long banner with a tangential phrase which had nothing to do with the occasion: “Lawyers for freedom of assembly bersama rakyat!” At this point the author notes the flagrant criminal act of mixing languages in one’s banner.
After walking some distance, Superintendent Hamzah had doubts about the benefits of group exercise and informed the group that he withdrew his permission and ordered them to disperse in 10 minutes. The group understandably did not want to lose the calorie burning momentum proceeded to walk on. When they reached the CIMB bank on Jalan Tun Perak, the police closed in an arrested the 7 mentioned earlier, even though the 10 minutes was not yet up.
Being law abiding citizens and crap at exercise, they did not protest the arrest but waved to their various supporters and enjoyed the ride to the balai.
