Is it a crime to light a candle in Dataran Merdeka?

Last Thursday, lawyer-blogger Haris Ibrahim and his friend were seated on the steps fronting the flagpole, observing a candlelight vigil for Raja Petra Kamarudin. At 8.25pm, five police officers approached them. They took Haris away to the Dang Wangi police headquarters where he was questioned for almost an hour but released without charge.

When I told a friend about the incident, he said thank God it was not a menorah (seven-branched candelabrum) that Haris had with him. I suppose if Haris had carried a menorah, he’d be seven times as guilty of Thoughtcrime.

Holding a candle in a public square is not an illegal activity according to the statute books. So why was Haris hauled away in a police car?