Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) condemns the threats to stop people from attending peaceful assemblies.

Suaram would like to clarify that the right to assembly is guaranteed under Article 10 of the federal constitution. Everyone has the right to assemble and the right to express their views and people must not be stopped from practising these rights.

Therefore, we urge the Malaysian government and the police to take immediate action against Perkasa and Umno members who threaten the people of Malaysia by calling for a demonstration on Penang Bridge on July 8.

The purpose of this demonstration/assembly is simply to threaten and intimidate ordinary people, which is a major and disgraceful violation of their basic rights. The willful obstruction of traffic on a major thoroughfare is clearly a criminal activity. The police must respond.

We need to highlight the demonstrations against the Penang government led by Mohd Ghani Jiman, Umno members and Perkasa in George Town that day. There was a lack of organisation, deliberate attempts at walking and stopping haphazardly, as well as sitting on Penang Road, blocking the traffic.

After the group reached Komtar, they did not disperse in an orderly fashion but instead began walking around without direction. It has also been reported that they harassed road users by hitting car windows and windshields.

The police have a duty to maintain the smooth flowing of traffic but instead allowed the protest group to take more than an hour to walk the 3km distance. Instead of directing traffic or directing the way the protest group were moving, the police chose to wait at Komtar while the protest was allowed to disturb public order.

Suaram also criticises the double standards practised by the police. When Bersih 2.0 called for a peaceful march this July 9, police have taken every effort - including arrests and manufacturing ridiculous allegations of reviving communism - to stop people from exercising their constitutional right. However, it is evident, from the performance by the police in the Penang demonstrations, they have failed to act in a consistent manner.

Worse, the protesters in Penang were allowed to threaten three journalists violently.

The fundamental purpose of Bersih 2.0 is to lobby for electoral reform, in connection with a hope that Malaysia can have free and fair elections. This is a perfectly legitimate and fair request. It is being conducted without any threat of violence or intimidation from Bersih 2.0 supporters.

Contrast this with the words and actions of Perkasa who threatens violence, propagates racism and in word and deed shows disdain for the basic rights guaranteed by our constitution for all Malaysians.

We would therefore like to challenge all the political parties, including component parties of Barisan National and Pakatan Rakyat, and other political parties such as PSM, KITA, Parti Cinta Malaysia, Human Rights Party etc, to state their stand on the actions proposed by Perkasa. They need to be condemned. We will assume that silence means that they are supporting the actions taken by Perkasa and Umno.