KUALA LUMPUR — Putrajaya aims to table an amendment to the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (Act 736) in Parliament in the coming session to better facilitate public rallies, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said this was a reform committment the government was making in line with its Madani principles to uphold democratic principles, the freedom of speech and respect for different views.
“God-willing, the Madani Government will present the amendments to the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 in Parliament in the coming sitting of the Dewan Rakyat.
The amendment will specifically remove the need for assembly organisers to get approval to use a location for their gathering, Anwar said on Facebook today.
“Instead, the organisers only need to notify the police within five days prior to the assembly.
“This decision will facilitate any form of rally, unless the rally poses a security threat,” he said.
Parliament is currently in session but the Dewan Rakyat will adjourn on March 6. The next session of the lower house begins on June 23 and lasts for six weeks until the end of July.
Pending Parliament’s approval of the amendment, and before it comes into force, the government has imposed a moratorium the current provision which requires permission for the use of a premise from its owner for the assembly, he added.
“The moratorium allows peaceful assemblies to be held without the need of a permission letter from the premises owner.”
Anwar’s Facebook post today reiterates what he told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday during the ministers’ question time, when he stated that the government had agreed to amend the Act.
The need for owner permission from Kuala Lumpur City Hall to hold a rally at Dataran Merdeka was an issue last month for the Himpunan Rakyat Benci Rasuah demonstation that gathered outside the Sogo shopping complex to march to the historic square in the capital.
The rally proceeded without incident, but activists have panned the existing provision that requires permission from a premises owner.
Yesterday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution said the ministry would start the amendment process, first by preparing a cabinet memorandum on the matter, and then takeholder engagement sessions on changing the law. – February 14, 2025