Assembly bill changes cut appeal period to 48 hours
By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider
Amendments to the Peaceful Assembly Bill will give organisers just 48 hours instead of four days to appeal against restrictions set by police.
A notice of six changes to four clauses laid on MPs’ tables this morning said that this was a consequence of a change to “shorten the period required for the organiser to submit the notification of assembly to the Officer in Charge of the Police District.”
Clause 15 of the Bill allows police to impose restrictions on various aspects of an assembly including time and venue “for the purpose of security or public order, including the protection of the rights and freedoms of other persons.”
Clause 16 previously stated that “any organiser aggrieved by the imposition of restrictions and conditions … may within four days … appeal to the Minister.”
The changes to the Bill will also compel the minister in charge to respond to the appeal within 48 hours instead of six days.
The amendments to the Bill came after widespread condemnation of clause 9(1) which requires that “an organiser shall, within 30 days before the date of an assembly, notify the Officer in Charge of the Police District in which the assembly is to be held.”
The Bill will now see the period of “within 30 days” shortened to 10 days.
