‘New campaigning permit ruling will prevent clashes between parties’
PONTIAN: The new election campaigning rules aim to prevent clashes between political parties.
Johor police chief Datuk Mohd Kamaruddin Md Din said police discussed the matter with the Election Commission (EC) and maintained that the need for a permit for door-to-door campaigning was stipulated under Section 24(B) of the Election Offences Act 1954.
“Any form of campaigning must obtain a permit from the district police chief to ease monitoring and ensure safety.
“The application of permits is necessary so that security personnel are informed of the venue and time of the campaigning to avoid clashes between parties and prevent provocation and fights,” he said yesterday.
Kamaruddin said police had issued 562 permits since Nov 2.
Of the total, Barisan Nasional obtained 304 permits, followed by Pakatan Harapan (124), Gerakan (115) and Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (eight).
Independent candidates Faridah Aryani Abdul Ghaffar had been issued with seven and four permits respectively.
In response, Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he hoped district police would be more considerate with permits as long as there were no fights.
“I have managed many elections and there have never been such strict conditions.
“Political parties must be given the space (to campaign) like before and parties should not be prevented from meeting voters,” he said at a press conference.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri had reportedly said the opposition was considering a legal challenge against EC’s new campaign rules.
He described the ruling as unfair and said representatives, who were stakeholders, were not consulted before it was implemented.
Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid reportedly said the new ruling was “extreme” and “illogical”.
Meanwhile, Bersih 2.0 urged the police to withdraw the permit requirement for door-to-door campaigning.
The election watchdog proposed that provisions on the need for police permits for political talks under the Election Offences Act 1954 be abolished in accordance with the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.
“Given that there is no need for police permits to assemble under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, it is very unreasonable to propose a police permit to campaign from door to door.
“We call on the EC as the highest body for electoral management to reject the proposed condition set by the police as they are not based on the law and restrict the freedom to campaign.
“There has never been such restriction in the history of elections in Malaysia.”