UMS students to go on with water protest despite no greenlight from KK cops

KOTA KINABALU: Universiti Malaysia Sabah students are set to proceed with their peaceful protest over water shortages on campus despite not having received a permit from the police.

Dubbed #KamiMahuAir, the protest is scheduled for Friday (June 14). Participants plan to rally from the university campus to the Sabah State Administrative Complex, also known as Menara Kinabalu, after Friday prayers.

Quoting the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain from a statement published by an online portal on March 4 this year, the secretariat noted that organisers of peaceful protests need to follow the rules and issue a five-day notice ahead of the event.

“The #KamiMahuAir (#WeWantWater) secretariat sent our notice on June 6, in accordance with the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (Amendment 2019).

“This rally will be organised in the spirit of Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, which affirms that every Malaysian citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression, provided it does not address sensitive issues,” the statement read.

The statement also said that secretariat representatives were called in by the police on June 10, but no updates on the rally were provided.

“We find the statement by the Kota Kinabalu police chief, claiming they could not contact us, very confusing. They only contacted one of the two numbers included in our notice.

“In fact, his statement contradicts the IGP’s remarks on the permit issue. As such, we will proceed with our plan to hold the peaceful rally,” the statement concluded.