Malaysia - Malaysia's peaceful assembly bill sparks debate

Petaling Jaya (The Star/ANN) - The entire opposition bench walked out midway through the debate on the Peaceful Assembly Bill, claiming it imposes too many conditions, such as the outright banning of street protests in Malaysia.

Led by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, more than 70 MPs (Members of Parliament) left the House at about 3 pm, a few hours after a protest march organised by the Bar Council.

Anwar and colleagues Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng had, during the policy debate, demanded that the Government retract the Bill.

They wanted the House to suspend the debate and refer the bill to a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) for an in-depth study before any amendment.

Anwar urged the government to consider the Bar Council's version of the bill.

He added that the matter should also be referred to PSC for a re- view.

"If not, it will be difficult for us (Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers) to support the Bill," he said, adding that the Bar Council had taken into consideration the views of both the Government and the people.

Anwar said the bill was restrictive, drawing references to Turkey, the Arab Spring and Wall Street protests where people spoke up against leaders who enriched themselves and to lobby for greater freedom.

Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had, after the break, allocated 10 minutes each for eight MPs-four from Barisan Nasional, three from Pakatan and an independent-to debate the Bill.

In parliamentary practice, a bill goes through three readings and is debated at policy and committee levels before it is put up to a vote.

The News Desk in Petaling Jaya/The Star | ANN

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