Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
PUTRAJAYA: It is good to have freedom of assembly, but there must be some limits because a good government should not only be responsible to a minority group but also to the majority.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said all freedoms are limited, simply because that freedom one had might encroach or negate the freedom of others.
“So, we have to accept these limits.We cannot go beyond that and do certain things as others are also entitled to freedom,” he said in his talk, ‘Peaceful Assembly
Act 2012 – Future and Challenges’ here yesterday.
“Freedom of assembly also cannot be used as a weapon to pressure the government because when the government is under pressure all the time, it cannot make good decisions.”
Dr Mahathir said although Malaysia was not a country with liberal democracy, it was still democracy in the sense that the people could change the government merely by voting it out, so that was no need for an uprising or revolution.
“But they (opposition) seem to believe that when you give people the freedom of assembly, there is no limit for those who assemble; that they can just do anything and you cannot do anything to them.” — Bernama