The Peaceful Assembly Bill - A curtailment of rights

On 16 September 2011 after promises of reform i.e. the repeal of the ISA amongst others, was announced by our PM, we had for a moment a glimmer of hope. We were however also told that there will be two new pieces of legislation to replace the ISA, the Banishment Act and the OSA.
We waited with bated breathe.

Just last week, a new bill was tabled. One that the PM claims to be revolutionary and to improve the rights of individual freedom. Once again, talk is cheap. It's easier to make blanket statements and pray that people buy these statements as truth.

Unfortunately, upon a review of the Peaceful Assembly Bill, we know now that the contents of the bill are far from progressive, but in fact even more repressive and draconian and is a worst off than the Police Act. Already, the need to obtain a permit to assemble peacefully under the Police Act is unconstitutional as it curtails the fundamental liberties set out under our Federal Constitution i.e. Article 10 which gives us the right to assemble peacefully.
If there is a need for a permit, and one which can only be issued by the Police, then it makes the Police higher than the law of the land, the Federal Constitution.

Anyway, below are the FAQ's compiled and published by the Bar Council's Constitutional Law Committee. And perhaps, whoever you are, wherever you are, if you are Malaysian, or sympathetic to the Malaysian cause for freedom and transparency, then this is reproduced in this blog for your benefit:-

The Government is currently trying to pass the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 (PA2011) in Parliament. PA2011 seeks to restrict and regulate the freedom of assembly guaranteed under Article 10(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution. Once the Bill is passed by the Dewan Rakyat and the Senate, and it receives the assent of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, it will become law and can be enforced against all Malaysians and non-citizens. Below is an explanation of some of the key provisions in PA2011.

Q: What does PA2011 say?
A: Amongst other things, PA2011 says:
- 'Street protests' are banned.
- Notice of an assembly must be given to the police within 30 days before the assembly date.
- The police can impose restrictions and conditions on the conduct of the assembly.
- If organizers or participants do not comply with the restrictions and conditions, the police can arrest them and disperse the assembly.
- Not complying with the restrictions and conditions is an offence. On conviction, a person can be fined up to RM10,000.00
- The police have wide powers to disperse the assembly.
- A person who fails to disperse when ordered by the police commits an offence. On conviction, the person can be fined not more than RM20,000.00

Q: what is an "assembly" under PA2011?
A: Under PA2011, gatherings of the public or if it is a private venue, so long as it is for the time being open to or be used by the public. For example, a public forum held at a private venue could, for the time of the forum, be considered to be an assembly under PA2011.

Q: Are there exceptions in PA2011 to the requirement to notify the police of an assembly?
A: At the moment, the only gatherings that do not have to be notified to the police are religious assemblies, funeral processions, wedding receptions, open houses during festivities, family gatherings, family days held by employees for the benefit of employees and their families and general meetings of societies or associations.

Q: What restrictions and conditions can be imposed by the police on an assembly?
A: The police can change the date, time, duration and the place of the assembly. The police can limit what the participants can or cannot say or do. The police can impose conditions regarding payment of clean-up costs and any inherent environmental factor, cultural or religious sensitivity and historical significance of the place of assembly. Importantly, the police can impose any other restrictions which they deem necessary or expedient.

Q: Does PA2011 say that certain people cannot join an assembly?
A: Yes. Children below 15 years of age and non-citizens cannot participate in an assembly. Also people under 21 years cannot organise assemblies.

Q: Under PA2011. are there specific places where assemblies cannot be held?
A: Yes, assemblies cannot be held at or within 50 metres of dams, reservoirs. water catchment areas, water treatment plants, electricity generating stations, petrol stations, hospitals, fire stations, airports, railways, public transport terminals, ports, canals, docks, wharves, piers, bridges marinas, places of worship, kindergartens and schools. This means for example, that you do not need to notify the police of a religious assembly (see the earlier questions) but you cannot hold an assembly at a place of worship. Also, if you live within 50 metres of a kindergarten or school, you cannot hold an open house for a festival, a funeral procession or a wedding reception in your house.

Q: Does PA2011 ban street protest?
A: Under PA2011, "street protests" are banned and this has been confirmed by the Government in the media. However under PA2011. processions (i.e. group gathering in one place and moving towards another) still seems to be permitted under the meaning of "assemblies". Therefore PA2011 appears to allow the police to decide what is a "Street Protest" and what is a "procession". If the police say that an assembly being organized by Group A to gather at one place and move to another is a "street protest", it will be banned . If the police say that an assembly being organized by Group B to gather at one place and move to another is a "procession", it will not be banned and the police will allow Group B to proceed.

Q: Does PA2011 allow the police to use tear gas, water cannons and batons on participants at an assembly?
A: PA2011 does not prevent the police from using tear gas, water cannons and batons on participants at an assembly. Under PA2011, the police can use "all reasonable force" to disperse an assembly in certain circumstances but PA2011 does not say what " all reasonable force" means.

Q: Under PA2011, do the police have to give warning before using "all reasonable force" to disperse an assembly?
A: PA2011 does not say that the police must give warning to the organisers or participants to disperse before they can use all reasonable force to disperse an assembly.

Q: When does PA2011 become law?
A: PA 2011 is currently (25.11.11) a proposed law before the Dewan Rakyat. Once passed by the Dewan Rakyat, it will go before the Dewan Negara. Once it is passed in the Dewan Negara and the Royal Assent is obtained, the Minister of Home Affairs will fix date for PA2011 to take effect.



Understand the above. We all need to oppose legislation such as these. This in it's simplest meaning or reading, shows no signs of progression of fundamental liberties and rights. You can read this in the BC Constitutional Law Comm website as well here.

What can you do?
Support the Bar Council's initiatives to have the PA2011 amended -
http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/notices_for_members/walk_for_freedom_2011_peaceful_assembly_bill_cannot_and_must_not_become_law.html
IT MUST NOT BECOME LAW!

A Night to Remember - KL Bar Charity Night 2011

The Annual KL Bar Charity Night came and went. 30 September 2011 to be exact.

After weeks of practice, The Skelchys finally got their 10 minute opportunity to act like superstars.
:) Was the performance good? Judging from the crowd, I hope so. But the energy from the crowd was there, and I suppose The Skelchys fed on that energy. If The Skelchys managed to entertain, then it was all that mattered. Whether they were good, bad, terrible, that wouldn't have mattered anymore :)

So who are the Skelchys? Ah Bob, Schnausser, Kitty Kat, Sunny Moon, Musico and Captain Cheese McSkelch thats who.

Actually the Skelchys are:-

Ahmad Fadzly :- Vocals, guitar
Sasha :- Vocals, looking pretty
Abdullah Khubayb:- Bass
Joshua Tong:- Lead guitar
Jacklyn See:- Keyboards
Yours Truly:- Drums


Anyway, The Skelchys managed to belt out 3 songs within the 10 mins time frame. No, actually they exceeded it, but then again at that point, whose counting?

3 Songs - U2's Beautiful Day, Katy Perry's Teenage Dream and one of my personal favourite headbangers, Blur's Song 2.

Below are the videos:-

Beautiful Day




Song 2


Hey, at least we tried :) hahaha. Oh yeah, I think Guy Fawkes was also spotted somewhere behind the drum set.
Then again, it was a good run :)

Anyway, the Charity Night was quite a good one. Many good performances especially the dance number from Lee Hishamuddin, when Raph and co did the Gee dance. It had me in stitches and we accompanied that dance at the encore!
Black Asphalt was good too. I liked their number cause it has a climatic end and well, quite thematic to say the least.
Aga was excellent in his acoustic set. Too bad it the crowd was kinda loud, so I suppose a jazz setting would have perhaps suited his performance. But beyond the crowd noise, his rendition of Tracy Chapman's Cars was good.
The dance number by OIT was also good, very well done and I suppose it captured the essence of Lady Gaga. Too bad I dont fancy her :)
Barcode was terrific too and See Xian brought the house down with the Consti Comm theme song.
Unfortunately we missed some performances like Iylia's and also Fourplay's. Would have wanted to be there much earlier, had we not been stuck in the Friday Night KL jam. Still horrible.

Well, there were many good looking people. Girls aplenty :) Hahaha. And ok, guys too I must say. IT was good catching up too with many people I know. After all the legal profession is a small one and one of solidarity. So, we know people who know people who know other people.

SO it was a memorable night, and I'm putting this down in writing so I could one day look at this post and reminiscent :) Until the next event, The Skelchys will be back :)

Also, thanks to the Members of the Skelchys, i.e. Fadzly, Sasha, Abdullah, Josh and Jacklyn. The people behind The Skelchys.

The pictures are as below. Well, its an older camera. So bear with it :)

The way of a Warrior

I took a day off just to take a break from work.
Nope. I hardly take day offs for traveling. No travel itenary beyond the horizons. Just a day of rest.
But also managed to perhaps catch a really awesome movie. A sleeper of a good movie, something that has perhaps gone beneath the radar of blockbuster movies.

Well, actually, my life group members watched it on Wednesday. I was told by Colin and Joo Na that the movie was awesome. I was perhaps more convinced when even Joo Na said that she loved it. Haha...hey, it sounded like another Kung Fu movie (those were my first thoughts) and when Colin told me it was a movie about the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), 2 brothers and an estranged father and it's a drama, I thought of the other fighting movie with 2 brothers. Yes, you guessed it, Mark Warlberg and Christian Bale's The Fighter. Also another one of the movies up there on my list of greats.

So, with the premise, it seemed like it was too good not to be missed. So, on my day off, I watched it with Desmond and Wyzek.

It was awesome. It had drama. It had action. It had the makings of an Academy Award winner. Although the premise is almost similar to The Fighter (which had a Rotten Tomatoes "fresh rating" of 91%), Warrior did not fare far, with a healthy rating of 84%.

The movie brings sibling rivalry to new heights. Where the pain is not just physical, but emotional as well. It's a tale about two brothers who joined the Sparta tournament, kinda like a Super Bowl for UFC. at least thats what the commentators mentioned in the movie itself. The brothers are played by Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. Both played their characters well. Tom Hardy plays the younger brother who is an ex-marine but with a vengeance and turmoil. Joel Edgerton plays the older brother who has his own problems of facing foreclosure on his home. And then you have Nick Nolte who plays the estranged father who is also a recovering alcoholic who tries to reconcile with his sons but to no avail. The premise already sounds like a modern day drama on dysfunctional families. As intense as the drama was, the action scenes were intense and brutal as well.

There is no good or bad in this movie. Just a matter of sides. But even, then by the end of the movie, you just couldn't take sides because you would root for them both. It's a feel good movie that has it's sad and depressing moments. And even the ending, I swore I would have shed a tear, if i did see someone else doing it.

I suppose, the bottomline is, its one of the movies to watch this year. Better than a lot of fluff in the summer. This ain't a summer movie, but it is an intelligent one no less. Like the Fighter, only more intense and brutal.

So, I leave you here with the trailer. If you think it's interesting, have a go :) I know I loved it :)

A Malaysia Day like no other

There was never Malaysia Day. Only until recently, Malaysia Day would seen to be more important than 31 August 1957, the independence day of Malaysia.

Malaysia Day however marks an even more important event. That the two Borneo states, Sabah and Sarawak are now a part of Peninsular Malaysia. On 16 September 1963, Malaysia was truly formed.

But a day before this historical day, there was even more news to rejoice in. The PM of Malaysia, perhaps under extreme pressure, has finally repealed the the Internal Security Act, the Emergency Declarations, the Banishment Act and perhaps more freedom under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 without the annual review of the licences for printing presses. Good news. But long overdue.

After past events of Ops Lalang back in 1987 when press licences of mainstream newspapers were revoked and these presses returned without independence anymore, the extensive use of ISA during these times, during the events of Hindraf in 2008, the use of the Emergency Ordinance not too long back in the events pre Bersih 2.0, and many more which I may not be privy of, It's time these draconian laws were to be abolished.

At least for now, the repeal of ISA seems imminent. Long overdue indeed. Not only has the opposition been fighting for its repeal, NGO's alike and even the Malaysian Bar saw the need to reform arbitrary laws such as these.

Of course, the question would begging to be answered would be, why now? Because the PM fears that he will lose the next and upcoming elections and these laws would then be detrimental to him? Or does he finally see the need for reform (seriously....you don't just open your eyes all of a sudden when things were always blatantly in your face). We won't know the reasons in truth, but at least for now the move is a welcomed one.

Of course, laws on internal security would be enacted. Two new laws in fact as pronounced by our de facto law minister, Nazri Aziz will be tabled, drawing ideas from laws enacted in UK and the US, eg, the Patriot Act post Sept 11. Lets just hope these laws will no longer be used according to the whims and fancies of the government. We place that hope for better and fair legislation. But we, as the Rakyat should always be on guard and to voice our grievances whenever injustice is seen to happen. It will happen at some point, but I take comfort in the fact that the Rakyat is more vocal about social justice in an exciting era such as this.

All in all, as was earlier said, the move is a good one and perhaps makes this Malaysia Day even more significant than the rest as the fight to abolish ISA has finally crystallize. Indeed the word 'repeal' is so much better sounding than 'review' under these circumstances.

So, its a good day for changes, when changes are long overdue.

Happy Malaysia Day people. Let the good times roll and keep up the good fight!

my only other beef is...what of the Emergency Ordinance?

Love

Love is something I seldom blog about. Not because I think love is for sissies or that I do not respect the idea of love, but often times love involves emotions. :)

But to say that, would be selfish of me, cause that is my perception of love. But love in all it's forms transcends everything else. :)
It transcends prejudice, it transcends hate, it transcends pride. And how beautiful then Love is.
From the love of two young lovers, two elderly couples, the love of a father and a mother towards their children, and the innocent love of children towards all things pure, to the love of a brother to another brother and a sister to another sister or vice versa, uncorrupted feelings towards one another and the love of friends towards one another.
How wonderful love is.
And here is where I quote 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 from NKJV (New King James Version, my personal favourite), love is all these :-

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself and is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails..."(there is more actually, but I shall stop at this point)

and yet it is said in 1 Corinthians 13:13 :- "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love."

:) Sounds easy? No. Love is never easy. But if you take away its biblical context and see the verses as they are, as though they were some circular message, then you will see that this is the love that is perfect :). As men we are fallen, but it does not, in any way, deny us the fact that we should aim towards perfect love. Be it friends, family, special ones, animals. :)

The greatest of these is Love :)

A Birthday Wish to Mom

Wow, first and foremost, I must say I'm not impressed with the new Blogger interface. Maybe I'm just nostalgic or just to lazy to adapt to something new. Maybe I should adapt. Oh well, Doesn't really matter which interface I use. If change is imminent, then change it will be. But not today.

Today, my mom celebrates her 63rd birthday. This is one way of wishing her I suppose. An elaborate post. Well, we only have one mothers in our lifetimes and that's why we treasure them most. My mom, has been a constant reminder of what patience, sacrifice and grace is to me. To me and my sis. And above all, love, which probably embodies the above traits that I just mentioned.

If I were to be given a chance to choose any mother in the world, I wouldn't want that because I'm blessed enough to have a mom such as mine. She has been, and I'm being literal here, been by my side a lot, especially so much so when I was younger. You see I was quite a sickly kid and asthma attacks were very much part of my annual calendar. And this asthma attacks often lead me to the hospital for daily occupancy. That bad huh. But, you see, even in her busy working schedule, my mom would be there to look after me. Day and night. At least when she does not have to work, she will be there to look after me, and these are the memories that I'm most fond of. I mean not the fact that I'm in the hospital, but that my mom was always there for me. And every time I was discharged from the hospital, toys I did not get, but my mom would get me those picture cards I'm so fond of. (You see, I was quite and imaginative an artsy freak when i was a kid).

And as we were growing up, I remembered my mom trying to give us tuition. Yeah. She actually read the Alam dan Manusia textbooks and tried to teach us. I mean it worked. So i was proud to say that in my primary education, I wasn't as privileged as those who attended tuition, simply because I didn't need to. My mom taught us and it saved us a hell lot of money. HAHaahaha! And plus, I was quite a bright kid then. Back then at least.

Anyway, as we were growing up, Mom say the need for finances for education of both my sis and I. I suppose it was a difficult decision for both my parents but she decided to ply her trade in Singapore because of the superior currency exchange compared to our RM. That is perhaps one of the biggest sacrifices any parent can do for their kids. Of course, it also gave us a chance to go to Singapore to visit her and well, do some shopping on the sidelines, ahaha. But that's a different tale altogether. She was a nurse in Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore and that's also where we hear stories of how Singaporeans are not too fond of Malaysians. Well, not all I suppose but in the working world, perhaps its always harder. But even so, my Mom went against the odds and came out strong :)

Well, the bottomline is if I can sum up what my mom is, i would say that she is a superwoman. It's not easy juggling work and having to take care of her children but she did just that.

There are no perfect mothers in this world. But a mother's love is no less perfect :)

"Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children" ~William Makepeace Thackeray. This was quoted in the Crow. And what a message it brought. :)

I wanted to wait for Mother's Day to write this post. But alas, mother's day is a tad too far and it's my mom's special day. So, special blogpost for her in that regard :)

So, to my mom on her special day. Happy birthday mom! We love you a lot, back then, now and for the days to come :)

Happy Merdeka Raya

Perhaps for the first time in say, my 10 years in KL, I'm spending Hari Raya (or in this case Merdeka Raya in conjunction with 2 festive events, i.e. Hari Raya Aidilfitri or Eid ul-Fitr in Arabic and our own Independence Day aka Hari Merdeka) in KL.

With the hope of clear roads, as it has been on Monday and I must say it was a joy to go to work on clear roads, I was quite wrong when it came to shopping malls. Yes, the crowd in shopping malls, especially Mid Valley and Sunway Pyramid, both of which I went on the first day of Hari Raya, was simply, crowded. But in a good way. You see people simply hanging out or getting bargains out of the Hari Raya sale period and I suppose I got myself some work clothes too. Much needed I must say ever since I lost that much weight.

Well, anyway, it has been a almost 2 months since BERSIH 2.0.
And for once, my Merdeka celebrations didn't seem hollow. In fact, I had tea with a friend of mine, Aaron and today, we reminiscent once more 7th September 2011, when the physical show of unity was resounding. And through that, I have met many new faces as well, and people who share the same vision for Malaysia and for the future of it.
It's a beautiful vision, where race and religious barriers are broken. I have learnt as much as well. And it was a beautiful lesson. And today, hearing more stories on the accounts of BERSIH 2.0, on how the Malays have sacrificed their safety by letting us Chinese, walk through the back alleys of Tung Shin Hospital first before the Police came arresting. I didn't see it happening, but those stories encouraged me a great deal.

For all the talk about how the Malay race would 'lose' their privileges by joining hands in unison for a walk that impacted the nation, they had so much to lose and yet, they gave an example of how much change they desired a change for a better Malaysia, one that is free from corrupt practices and for good governance. For that, we, as the other races joined in the march as well knowing well that our vision was a shared one. But that was in September.

Well, we shared some views on movies and comedy skits as well. It's always nice too, to know that your friends are going to be proud parents as well and I would like to congratulate Aaron and Shin Yee for that. :)

And also after dinner, the discussions with a good friend of mine, Daren on what 1Malaysia is about. I disagree with his views and vice versa, but the discussions were good and opened up our views towards things.

Today, as I update Facebook statuses and observe others, people are more vocal about change. This is good. Whether they agree or not, at least discussions are more proactive. Thanks to platforms like Facebook and Twitter, information and views are easily shared. Yes, we all have different views on things, but it doesn't mean that we don't respect the views of others. :)
And looking at this, it encourages me even further, and hence this year round, my Merdeka celebrations seemed more meaningful.

Perhaps the adverts that have been shown on TV (minus of course the NTV 7 Ad, which perhaps we took it all too seriously) the most meaningful one, without so much as a show of 'unity' of races so often portrayed in our tv adverts during these times, would be the DIGI advert.
It doesn't speak of unity, but it speaks of us as individuals and also Malaysian. And it speaks on forgiveness, which is always thematic with Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

And so it is here that I also seek forgiveness for all the things that I have done, the wrongs and the hurts I have caused people.
You may have been offended by my views and actions and I'm truly sorry.

So to you, whovever you may be, or if you know that it is you:-

I'm sorry for being a loser.
I'm sorry for being an arrogant SOB.
I'm sorry for being impatient
I'm sorry for not being a better boyfriend
I'm sorry for not being a better son
I'm sorry for not being a better employee at work
I'm sorry for being arrogant on my views
I'm sorry for not being a better friend.....

Forgiveness is indeed something given through grace. I don't suppose you can earn it. I know I can't. Be it on religious grounds or forgiveness from other people.
But to forgive is often more rewarding than to be forgiven.



As the ending quotes in the advert states "forgiveness does not change the past, but it brightens the future". That, like it or not, rings true in life.

To all my muslim friends, be it Malay, Chinese, Indian, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir dan Batin. And Happy Merdeka 2011!

May the best years of our country be ahead of us and for days to come :)