SHOWING solidarity with the people of Palestine was the main objective of last week’s rally and any prohibition set by the organisers did not reflect the government’s stance, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The Home Minister said the dos and don’ts for the rally were set by the organisers, meant to foster solidarity among rally participants from various racial and religious backgrounds.
“Solidarity with the Palestinians should be the focus, not the prohibitions at the event.
“The lives of two million Palestinians are at stake, with Israeli armies already at Palestine borders,” he told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Saifuddin Nasution said rallies to show support for Palestine were encouraged.
“The question of whether the takbir is allowed or whether there are any other dos and don’ts are not the issue,” he said.
Saifuddin Nasution was responding to a supplementary question by Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang) who asked if there were new directives governing what could or could not be said during peaceful demonstrations.
This comes in light of allegations by social media users that placards featuring images of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu were prevented from being displayed.
There were also claims that participants were asked not to chant “takbir” at the rally held at Dataran Merdeka, organised by non-governmental organisations Viva Palestina Malaysia and Humanitarian Care Malaysia.
To this, Saifuddin Nasution reiterated this was not the government’s position in supporting the Palestinian people.
“Nobody can question the government’s stand on Palestine. Our stance is clear.
“If the rally organisers put dos and don’ts in place, it is a matter how they use their discretion,” he added.
Responding to a question by Jimmy Puah Tse Wee (PH-Tebrau), Saifuddin Nasution said guidelines in facilitating public rallies were enshrined in the Peaceful Assembly Act and Federal Constitution.
He said the police would use their discretion to evaluate whether peaceful assemblies could be conducted despite organisers not abiding by the five-day notice period, but this would be on case-by-case basis.
“I believe the police will facilitate rather than stop it,” he said.
Puah had asked whether the five-day period to notify the police of peaceful assemblies was suitable and whether there was consideration to reduce it to 48 hours.
