Protests on May 1

Sabah Bersih to hold May Day Rally at Padang Merdeka Published on: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 Email to a friend Printer Friendly Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Bersih is hoping Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) will join its May Day Rally from 3pm to 5pm on May 1 at Padang Merdeka here. Spokesperson Jannie Lasimbang said a total of 33 CSOs from Sabah have confirmed participation in the event and also pledged to mobilise their members and network so as to achieve the target of 10,000 people. She assured that the event would be peaceful and orderly in line with the Peaceful Assembly Act. "The main theme of the May Day Rally is to call on the State and Federal governments to hasten action in resolving issues that are related to illegal immigrants in Sabah," she said in a statement. Sabah Bersih, she said, has submitted its recommendations to Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Chairman of the Technical Committee of Foreign Migrant Management. Among the key recommendations are: i. the introduction of Sabah identity cards for Sabah natives and those who have settled in Sabah legally. Thus, citizenship granted to illegal immigrants by either the Federal Government or their agents must be cancelled ii. to clean the Voters List by deleting voters who have gained citizenship illegally to make amendments to Section 9A of the Election Act 1958 so that names on the Voters List who have been gazetted can be deleted based on strong reasons such as provision of citizenship through illegal means. The process of cleaning the Voters List should be conducted by independent, accredited and berpengalan, and not the Election Commission (EC) iii. to take appropriate actions to resolve the status of illegal immigrants who are currently in Sabah iv. to release the "notes of proceedings" of the public hearings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry to address the issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah and make it accessible to the public. Meanwhile, Lasimbang said the organisers of the rally have not received any reply from City Hall to its Apr 9 letter on its request to use the Padang Merdeka for the May Day rally. "We have also not heard anything from the Kota Kinabalu police chief on our request for the police to ensure the orderly conduct of the rally," she said. She said the organisers would all the necessary requirements to ensure that it complies with the law. Under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, permits are not required, she said, for peaceful assemblies. To this end, she expressed hope that the relevant authorities would not impose unnecessary restrictions on the event since it will be a peaceful rally.