Kuala lumpur: The Federal Court’s five-member bench has ruled that a provision under Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA), which penalized organizers for not providing a five-day prior notice to the police before holding an assembly, is unconstitutional. Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who chaired the panel, stated that Section 9(5) is inconsistent with Article 10(2)(b) read with Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Chief Justice elaborated that the subsection is not validly enacted under Article 10(2)(b) and cannot be deemed as a valid restriction on the right guaranteed to all citizens. As a result, it violates the right to peaceful assembly under Article 10(1)(b) and must be declared null and void under Article 4(1). This decision comes in the wake of a constitutional challenge posed by former MUDA secretary-general Amir Hariri Abd Hadi, who faced charges in 2022 for not notifying the Dang Wangi District Police five days ahead of a rally at Sogo Shopping Complex in Kuala Lumpur regarding the littoral combat ship (LCS) project acquisition.

The court’s bench also included 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 ruling compels Amir Hariri’s case to be sent back to the High Court for a fair and swift resolution.

In August of the previous year, the High Court permitted Amir’s application to direct two constitutional questions to the Federal Court concerning his charge for organizing the 2022 rally. These questions focused on whether Section 9(5) of the PAA 2012 infringes upon the right to freedom of assembly outlined in the Federal Constitution. On August 26, 2022, Amir Hariri pleaded not guilty at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court for failing to notify the police five days before the event held 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, carrying a maximum fine of RM10,000 upon conviction.