PUTRAJAYA, July 1 — The Federal Court's five-member bench has ruled that a provision under Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (Act 736), which penalised an organiser who failed to provide the police with a five-day prior notice before holding an assembly, is unconstitutional.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who chaired the panel, said that Section 9(5) of the PAA is unconstitutional because it is inconsistent with Article 10(2)(b) read in conjunction with Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution.
“We find that subsection 9(5) is not validly enacted under Article 10(2)(b) and it cannot be deemed as validly restricting the right guaranteed to all citizens by Article 10(2)(b).
“Subsection 9(5), therefore, violates the right to peaceful assembly under Article 10(1)(b) and must be struck down as null and void under Article 4(1),” she said.
The ruling followed a constitutional challenge on punishment under Section 9(5) of Act 736 by former Muda secretary-general Amir Hariri Abd Hadi, who was charged in 2022 for failing to notify the Dang Wangi district police five days prior to holding a rally in front of the Sogo Shopping Complex in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur, over the littoral combat ship (LCS) project acquisition.
The other judges on the bench were Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Federal Court judges Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, and Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.
The court then ordered that Amir's case be remitted to the High Court for just and expeditious disposal.
In August last year, it allowed his application to refer two constitutional questions to the Federal Court regarding the charge against him for organising the 2022 rally.
The questions addressed whether Section 9(5) of the PAA 2012 contravenes the right to freedom of assembly enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
On August 26, 2022, Amir pleaded not guilty at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court. He was charged, as the organiser of the rally, with failing to notify the Dang Wangi District Police at least five days before holding the event on August 14, 2022.
He was charged under Section 9(1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, which is punishable under Section 9(5) of the same Act. A maximum fine of RM10,000 is imposed upon conviction.
— Bernama
