Deputy IGP: Sedition gatherings are still against the law

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KUALA LUMPUR: Any gathering which is seditious in nature is against the law and firm action will be taken against the organisers of such gatherings, reminded Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim.

He said police would facilitate peaceful gatherings and allow them to express whatever views and actions, subject to a limit.

“If they gather for illegal intentions, such as to force and threaten the government to do something, it is wrong,” he told a media conference after opening the Department of Integrity and Standard Compliance (JIPS) carnival at Bukit Aman Police Headquarters here yesterday.

He was commenting on the aspiration of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) which wanted to hold a gathering ‘Kemuncak #KitaLawan’ on Saturday (March 7) purportedly to express support for opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Noor Rashid said gatherings which were against the law could be defined under Section 141, 142 and 143 of the Penal Code.

He said gatherings could be considered as contravening the law when all speeches and actions were seditious in nature, and would flout existing laws.

“We will monitor…we facilitate their business to hold a gathering, at the same time, police will act firmly if the opposite happens,” he said.

On Feb 27, Dang Wangi District Police chief ACP Zainol Samah said no application was received, in accordance with the law, to organise the gathering (from PKR).

Zainol also proposed Padang Merbok and several other areas as venues for the gathering and was prepared to facilitate them in terms of security and traffic.

On Feb 10, the Federal Court rejected Anwar’s appeal and upheld his conviction and five-year jail sentence for sodomising his former personal assistant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan on June 26, 2008.

Anwar is now serving his sentence at Sungai Buloh Prison, Selangor. — Bernama