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KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 — The Bar Council warned the Najib administration today it will “continue knocking on the doors of Parliament” if the Peaceful Assembly Bill is passed without public consultation. Malaysian Bar President Lim Chee Wee urged the government to consider the council’s proposed alternative to the government’s original Bill, which he described as an “unjust law made in haste ... which will impose unreasonable and disproportionate fetters on freedom of assembly”.

“The Bar will continue knocking on the doors of Parliament if the Bill makes it to the statute books in its current form. We will not give up hope,” he vowed during a brief press conference in Parliament here. Lim was addressing reporters just moments after he led hundreds of lawyers in the council’s “Walk for Freedom” march to Parliament as a sign of their open defiance of a law they claim infringes on Malaysians’ constitutional rights. When asked if the council would continue holding more protests if today’s Bill is approved, Lim declined to comment, saying, “Let me finish today first and let’s see how things turn out.”

He acknowledged that any marches held after the Bill is gazetted into law would be against the law but added, “History is full of civil disobedience and events, which have led to changes for the better in the country.” “But I am a cautious and eternal optimist in that our 222 MPs will uphold the rule of law and the Constitution (when they vote today).” The prominent lawyer, along with nine other representatives from the council, were earlier allowed through Parliament gates and into the lobby to hand over a copy of its alternative Bill to deputy minister Datuk V. K. Liew and a letter of appeal urging MPs to vote wisely. “We are not anti-government or pro-opposition. We are anti-injustice and anti-unconstitutionality ... We are pro-justice and pro-rule of law. We have always worked closely with the government,” Lim told Liew when handing over the documents.

“We, the members of the Bar are hopeful and will certainly pray that the wakil rakyat will read what we have to say, deliberate, and vote according to conscience and not according to party whip. “We urge the prime minister, who has made good announcements on Malaysia Day, not to be influenced by others, but to return to the path of transformation that he had promised the rakyat,” he added. Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced a raft of reforms during his Malaysia Day message in September, including the repeal of the Internal Security Act and amendments to other security laws, and promised to increase civil liberties. Lim also told reporters today that “our country was founded on procession”, pointing to the historic 15,000-strong pre-Merdeka procession led by Datuk Onn Jaafar to protest the formation of the Malayan Union by the British on February 27, 1946.

“Processions or assemblies in motion are very much deep in the history of Malaysia ... which is why we urge the government — do not, with the stroke of the pen, strike back against the very foundation of this nation,” he said. Liew accepted the council’s alternative Bill from Lim and promised to go through the document. “I will do the best I can,” he promised Lim. ~themalaysianinsider.com~

PKR Youth dared Umno today to amend the federal constitution to state that the prime minister must be Malay. Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Akin said in his policy speech at the wing’s national congress here that this was because “history shows Umno is willing to sell out everything.” “To ensure that the last Malay stronghold, that is political power, is not traded away by Umno, we challenge Umno to amend the federal constitution to insert conditions and guarantees that the prime minister must be Malay. “The excuse that the post is held by a Malay because Umno is in power cannot be accepted. To cover up their evil, those who question them are accused of betraying Malays,” he told over 800 delegates.

He accused Umno of “endangering the interests and position of Malays... for their own gains.” Umno has repeatedly accused Pakatan Rakyat (PR) of selling out the Malays to Chinese and foreign interests, insisting that the Malays can only be protected if Barisan Nasional (BN) remains in power. Since the landmark Election 2008 where PR denied BN its customary two-thirds majority of Parliament and five state governments, the Malays have swung back towards the ruling coalition even as Chinese support for the federal opposition has increased. Racial tension has also heightened over the past few years especially with repeated allegations that Muslims are being proselytised.

Umno’s Utusan Malaysia accused the DAP earlier this year of conspiring with the church to turn Malaysia into a Christian state and install a Christian prime minister. A coalition of Muslim NGOs known as Himpunan Sejuta Umat (Gathering of a Million Faithful) has also organised several gatherings around the country to “rise up to the challenge of Christianisation.” Article 153 of the constitution grants the Agong di-Pertuan Agong responsibility to “safeguard the special position of the Malays” and has been interpreted by Malay rights groups to justify special privileges in the economy, religion and education.

~themalaysianinsider.com~

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The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party or the Islamic Party of Malaysia (Malay: Parti Islam Se-Malaysia), commonly known as PAS or Pas, is an Islamist political party in Malaysia and is currently headed by Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang. PAS positions itself as a political party that aims to establish Malaysia as a country based on Islamic legal theory derived from the primary sources of Islam, the Quran, Sunnah as well as Hadiths, as opposed to Barisan Nasional's Islam Hadhari, which PAS sees as based on a watered-down understanding of Islam.

The party enjoys strong support from the northern rural and conservative states such as Kelantan and Terengganu. It is also the first opposition party in independent Malaysia's history to defeat the Barisan Nasional coalition in a Malay dominated state. PAS, together with Parti KeADILan Rakyat (known as PKR), and Democratic Action Party (known as DAP) formed part of a coalition called Pakatan Rakyat following the 2008 election. Together, Pakatan Rakyat now controls five states in Malaysia which is Kelantan, Kedah, Selangor, Perak and Penang.