SHAH ALAM, 7 Jan: The decision by the Court of Appeal in rejecting the ban on Bersih 3.0 clearly shows that the people never rebelled against the sovereignty and laws of the country.
The President of the Malay Empowerment Core (TERAS), Azmi Abdul Hamid, said hopefully the decision will give a message to the central government to not continue to restrict the people’s voice, which is guaranteed by the constitution.
He said that BN, as a mature government for over half a century governing, should not be quick to judge the gathering of people, especially if it is done peacefully and in a controlled manner.
“Hopefully, after this, the central government should not act recklessly. Instead, the people should be left to assembly to state their objections, suggestions and criticisms because it is not against the laws of the country.
“The central government is often seen as trying to create a situation where rallies to voice the views of the people is wrong and harmful to the country.
“The matters raised by the people are important issues, such as the election and the rising cost of living,” he told Selangor Kini today.
He said this in response to the Court of Appeal’s decision yesterday, which unanimously set aside the orders of the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate, Zaki Asyraf, to ban the BERSIH 3.0 assembly in 2012 under Section 98 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The three-member panel, led by Justice Datuk Linton Albert, considered the order flawed, following the appeal by the PKR Deputy President, Azmin Ali and the Rembau PKR Chief, Badrul Hisham Shaharin, or better known as Chegu Bard.
Azmi also said that BN politicians suffer from chronic political phobia when they often associate the movement of the people as being the political agenda of the opposition.
“They always have a narrow thinking that all who do not share their aspirations are driven by the political agenda of the opposition, when the matter is the voice of ordinary people, and sometimes include BN members too.
“If the leadership of a government is so afraid that they are willing to use their power to prevent the right of expression, criticism or protests, they should not be qualified to be called the government,” he said.
