KUALA LUMPUR – Five individuals behind the peaceful #Lawan protest near Dataran Merdeka here this morning will be summoned for questioning by police.
The organisers are believed to be Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR) activists Mohammad Alshatri Abdullah, Mohd Asraf Sharafi Mohd Azhar and Tharma Pillai, as well as Undi18 co-founder Qyira Yusri and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) executive director Sevan Doraisamy.
All five are required to provide their statement to the authorities at 10am tomorrow.
SSR in a statement today expressed disappointment at not being able to march towards Dataran Merdeka, despite police agreeing that the protest is peaceful.
“We chose Dataran Merdeka as the location would better facilitate standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance, especially social distancing.
“Nevertheless, we were able to ensure SOPs were complied with, as all participants wore face masks and maintained their distance.”
SSR estimated some 2,000 participants took part in the rally, with the crowd lining up along a 3km stretch due to social distancing.
On social media, the hashtag #Lawan was mentioned 270,000 times, with 30,000 tweets urging the authorities to open up Dataran Merdeka.
“This is proof that the people, particularly youth, are fed up with Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s failure to steer the nation away from the pandemic,” said the statement.
Civil society organisations in a joint statement also expressed solidarity with the protestors for managing a peaceful and organised rally.
They slammed the obstruction of the protest by authorities, who had set up roadblocks.
“Freedom of assembly and expression are fundamental rights, and essential in ensuring government efficacy and accountability.
“These rights must be protected and upheld, and the pandemic cannot be used as a pretext to prevent people from exercising these important rights.”
The statement is endorsed by Article 19, Amnesty International Malaysia, Freedom Film Network, Gerakan Media Merdeka, Independent Journalism Centre, KRYSS Network, Justice for Sisters, Sisters in Islam and Suaram.
This morning, a 2,000-strong crowd marched from the Masjid Jamek LRT station towards Dataran Merdeka, calling for Muhyiddin’s resignation.
Although the protest was peaceful according to police, authorities said probes will take place as any gathering is prohibited under current SOPs. – The Vibes, July 31, 2021
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