Govt sues Ambiga, Bersih over rally

The former Bar Council president says the government is seeking general and special damages amounting to RM122,000 with regard to the rally.

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PETALING JAYA: The government is suing Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga and the electoral watchdog’s steering committee members over the damages suffered during the April 28 rally.

Speaking to FMT, the former Bar Council president said she was served with the writ of summons at 3.25pm this afternoon.

“The government of Malaysia which is the plaintiff is suing me and other Bersih steering committee members in the civil court for what appears to be damages they suffered as a result of the rally.

“The government is seeking general and special damages amounting to RM122,000 and also a declaration that we have violated the Peaceful Assembly Act,” she added.

Ambiga said she would let her lawyers study the matter and since it was the first time a civil claim had been filed under the new Act, there would be many legal issues to iron out.

She added that the mention date for the suit had been set for June 13 before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Justice Prasad Sandosham Abraham.

Police vehicles damaged

The writ of summons recounted that the defendants, as the organisers of Bersih 3.0, were offered an alternative location such as Stadium Merdeka to hold the rally.

Furthermore, it added that the magistrate’s court issued an order dated May 4 barring a gathering at Dataran Merdeka and on the day of the rally, the police were deployed to enforce the order.

“On April 28, the organisers gathered in the surrounding areas of Dataran Merdeka where barriers were set up by the police. The rally turned violent because the participants breached the barricades and caused damage to properties.

“The plaintiff [government] states that according to Section 6 (2)(g) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, the defendants had the responsibility of, among others, ensuring that the rally did not result in the damage of properties,” the writ stated.

The plaintiff also stated that the defendants failed to discharge their statutory duties to prevent the rally from spiralling out of control and resulting in the damage of vehicles belonging to the police.

Among the vehicles mentioned were a Nissan X-Trail, which was kicked and pelted with stones, mineral water bottles and bricks by protesters in front of Pertama Complex at around 4.20pm.

Some 10 minutes later at the same location, the writ stated that a Honda CBX 750 high-powered police motorcycle was attacked, causing the vehicle to fall and sustain damage.

“At about 4.45pm, a Nissan Urvan was attacked, kicked, punched and pelted with objects by protesters near the Jalan Raja Chulan-Jalan Tun Perak intersection.

“Around 5.30pm, five Bukit Aman strike force unit vehicles passed through Jalan Tun Perak facing Masjid Jamek and hard objects were thrown at them by protesters resulting in a Honda Accord, Proton Perdana, Proton Waja, Sangyong Rexton and two Nissan X-Trails being damaged,” it read.

Also on the list of damaged police vehicles were two water cannon trucks that were pelted with hard objects during the rally.

The writ also highlighted the negligence on the part of the defendants as follows:

• Bringing a huge number of participants but failing to provide adequate protection.
• Failing to employ adequate steps to ensure that the rally proceeded peacefully.
• Failing to appoint sufficient people to ensure that the rally took place in an orderly manner.

The Bersih 3.0 rally was held to call for free and fair elections. However, it took a violent twist when the barricades at Dataran Merdeka were breached, resulting in the police firing tear gas and water cannons.

For several hours, the city centre was enveloped in chaos as protesters clashed with the police, resulting in many, including policemen and media representatives, being injured.