PUTRAJAYA: The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has withdrawn its application to review a Federal Court decision declaring Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA) as unconstitutional.
The provision penalises an organiser who fails to give police five days’ notice before holding an assembly.
In a three-page notice signed by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Seri Saiful Edris Zainuddin, the AGC stated that it was discontinuing the review application filed on Dec 12, 2025, Bernama reported.
In July 2025, the Federal Court bench led by former chief justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, unanimously struck down Section 9(5) of the PAA, which allows for a fine of up to RM10,000 to be imposed on organisers who failed to notify the police five days before a planned assembly.
In delivering the judgment, Tengku Maimun ruled, among other things, that Section 9(5) violated the right to peaceful assembly guaranteed under Article 10(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution.
The ruling arose from a constitutional challenge brought by former Muda secretary-general Amir Hariri Abd Hadi, who was charged in 2022 for failing to notify the Dang Wangi police five days before organising a rally in Kuala Lumpur protesting the littoral combat ship project.
Amir Hariri claimed trial in 2022 and was acquitted in 2025 following the Federal Court’s decision.
Meanwhile, one of Amir Hariri’s lawyers confirmed that the AGC had discontinued its review application.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said on Wednesday that the Cabinet had agreed in principle to proceed with amendments to the PAA and that the government would convey its position to the AGC.
