KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court yesterday allowed six Bersih 2.0 steering committee members to be interveners in a suit filed by the government against Bersih 3.0 co-chairman Datuk S Ambiga and eight others over the Bersih 3.0 rally.
Judge Datuk John Louis O’Hara allowed their applications after the government, represented by Senior Federal Counsel Azizan Md Arshad, withdrew its preliminary objection to the their applications to be interveners.
With this, the six also become defendants in the suit.
Justice O’Hara fixed Oct 30 for case management for the parties to regularise their court papers.
The government filed the suit on May 15 against 10 defendants, namely Ambiga, Maria Chin Abdullah, Zaid Kamarudin, K Arumugam, S Arul Prakkash, Wong Chin Huat, Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa, Toh Kin Woon, Andrew Khoo and Haris Fathillah Mohamed.
However, on Aug 10, it removed the name of Haris Fathillah Mohamed on the grounds that he was not on the Bersih 2.0 steering committee.
The government is claiming special compensation amounting to RM122,000 as cost to repair the damaged police vehicles, other costs, interests and other relief deemed fit by the court.
It is also seeking a declaration that the defendants, as the organisers of the Bersih 3.0 rally, had violated Section 6 (2)(g) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, whereas they had the responsibility, among others, of ensuring that the gathering would not cause damage to public property.
In the statement of claim, the government also stated that the gathering around Dataran Merdeka turned unruly when the participants broke through the police barricades.
It said that on that day, the police were stationed around the area to ensure that the rally participants did not violate the order issued by the Magistrate’s Court on April 26, which prohibited a gathering from being held at Dataran Merdeka and for the public not to be present there or to take part in any protest rally between April 28 and May 1 this year. — Bernama