Organisers and participants of the #Lawan protest in Kuala Lumpur yesterday can exercise their freedom of speech but must be prepared to face any consequences under the law, according to Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa.
“To me, what happened yesterday, they want to exercise their rights to freedom of speech, so go ahead. We are now in the Year 2021.
“But that doesn’t mean they are exempted from the law,” said Annuar during a press conference after attending a vaccination programme for Ketereh residents at Kompleks Yayasan Kemiskinan (YKK) in Padang Kala, Kota Bharu, today.
He said this was as Act 342 (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988) clearly gazetted things that could and could not be done under current times of the pandemic.
He said this when asked for comments on the #Lawan protest, which saw hundreds of participants calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Among the group include youths who raised placards on behalf of their family members who are serving as contract doctors and fighting injustices within the health system.
Annuar added that the right to protest must also be respected.
“In terms of their intention to protest, to me that is their right and we respect that, no problem.
“But from a legal perspective, they must each take the responsibility,” he said.
“If they did something wrong then they have to accept it (consequences).
“Just like me when I had lunch at a former premier’s house, because I was happy I felt an ‘itch’ to post on Twitter, I got lambasted by netizens.
“So I just paid (the compound), no issue of double standards,” he said.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) earlier today revealed findings from its team of seven observers that the #Lawan protest had gone on peacefully and without any untoward incidents.
Suhakam estimated participation of around 1,000 people, while police had capped the figure at 400.
Organisers, meanwhile, claimed some 2,000 people had participated in the protest along a 3km stretch from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) junction towards Masjid Jamek LRT, where supporters started to gather about 10.30am.
The three main demands from the protest were calling for Prime Minister Muhyiddin’s resignation, for Parliament to continue sitting, and for an automatic loan moratorium for all Malaysians.
Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani confirmed that police have identified 29 individuals as part of their investigations into the rally. - Mkini
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