FRESH from giving their statements to the police for taking part in alleged illegal rallies, a group of civil society activists said the peaceful protests against the “back-door government” of Muhyiddin Yassin will continue.

They, however, said they need to come up with new methods to carry out the protests against the government.

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) executive director Sevan Doraisamy said civil society groups are currently fine-tuning their strategies and methods.

“Surely the protests will continue. They will not stop but we need to rearrange our strategies and methods. Civil rights groups will hold a discussion on this matter,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The veteran activist said peaceful street protests are enshrined in the federal constitution, adding that the police should assist the protesters and not to clamp them down.

Police have so far recorded a statement from lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri over her tweet on a rally last Saturday condemning the political turmoil that saw Bersatu’s Muhyiddin named as the eighth prime minister.

Fadiah urged people to join the Turun ke jalan, demokrasi mati (Go to the streets, democracy is dead) rally last Saturday.

Police also summoned four other activists – Nik Azura Nik Narson, Liew Liang Hong, Wong Yan Ke and A. Sivarajan – for taking part in the rally at Dataran Merdeka.

Sevan urged the Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador to review the standard operating procedure when dealing with peaceful street demonstrations.

It was unnecessary for police to haul up the activists as the rally was peaceful, he said.

“The IGP needs to review the SOP. During the protest, police officers were everywhere and they even had it on camera.

“They can see for themselves that the rally was peaceful. The police themselves are credible witnesses. There is no need to call us to have our statements recorded.

“And we, as activists, whenever we are questioned, the most we can say to the police is: ‘I will answer in court’,” Sevan said.

Former Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah urged police to stop intimidating civil rights activists and called on the new government to abolish the Sedition Act.

“The action taken by the police is a form of intimidation. I condemn the investigation against civil rights activists. The rally on Saturday was peaceful with no racial or hate speeches.

“The police must immediately stop the probe into Fadiah. The draconian Sedition Act must be abolished and all laws that suppress the people must be reviewed,” said the Petaling Jaya MP, who was once detained under Security Offence (Special Measures) Act.

Meanwhile, Asia programme officer for Article 19 Nalini Elumalai said the peaceful protests have to continue and the masses have every right to express their dissatisfaction.

“The rakyat have every right to protest and it is our responsibility to express our views. The protest must continue and this is guaranteed under the federal constitution.

“The cops’ responsibilities are to respect our rights and they must not be biased. They must stay neutral and ensure the safety of the rally goers,” she said.

Amanah assemblyman Faiz Fadzil who gave a speech during the rally last week shared Nalini’s sentiments.

The Permatang Pasir rep, however, said there are many other ways to hold a protest.

“One way is to take it to the streets. It, however, must be peaceful. But we can also hold dialogues and ceramah to create awareness.

“I must say that the protests have to continue because it is a protected right under our federal constitution,” said the son of former PAS president, the late Fadzil Noor.

The activists are protesting over the manner Bersatu, Umno and PAS formed a federal government last week.

Pakatan Harapan was toppled after former coalition partner, Bersatu, left the ruling pact. – March 5, 2020.