Enacted by the National Operations Council that was led by Tun Abdul Razak following the May 13 race riots, the Emergency Ordinance has never been revoked to the present day even though we are no longer in any state of emergency.
As expected, the EO has been regularly used to detain those deemed to be subversive by the government. The harsh reality is that it is actually used far more frequently than the Internal Security Act. The latest was on six of the 31 Parti Sosialis Malaysia (“PSM”) activists who were arrested near Kepala Batas while they were travelling by bus from Kedah to attend a BERSIH 2.0 (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections) programme in Penang on June 25th this year.
The six, now known as "EO6" were released on July 2nd but re-arrested immediately under the EO which allows the police to detain a person for up to 60 days. At the end of that period, the Minister for Home Affairs has the power to issue the detainee with either a detention or restriction order for a period of two years 'without trial' to 'protect public order'.
Recent crackdowns seem to indicate that we are moving in the direction of a police state. Now is the time for you to learn more about the EO and the arrest of the six activists.
Come, learn and more importantly, show your support as we gather in solidarity and take umbrage against this repressive legislation at this event.
Date: 27 July 2011 (Wednesday)
Time: 8:30 pm - 10pm
Venue: Caring Society Complex, Penang
0 comments:
Post a Comment