I attended the “Walk For Judicial Independence” organised by the Bar Council this morning. We gathered at Padang Merbok. I met some opposition MPs such as Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, M. Kulasegaran, Nga Kor Ming, Hannah Yeoh, LIM LIP ENG 林立迎, Tony Pua, Maria Chin Abdullah and activists like Ivy Josiah, Zainah Anwar, Marina Mahathir, Ho Yoke Ling etc.
The organisers are supposed to walk to Parliament to present the memorandum on the violation of the judicial independence to the Deputy Minister of Law YB Mas Ermieyati, but the police blocked the Bar Council leaders from doing so.
In the end, the Deputy Minister of Law, YB Mas Ermieyati has to come to Padang Merbok to receive the memorandum from the chairperson of Bar Council Karen Cheah.
The act of the police had made the government look bad. This is a peaceful assembly. It is only a short distance from Padang Merbok to Parliament House. Jalan Parlimen is not a busy road, so the walk will not cause traffic obstruction.
Since Mas Ermieyati is supposed to receive the memorandum from the Bar Council in Parliament today, the Minister of Home Affairs Hamzah Zainuddin from her party Bersatu, should have instructed the police to allow the lawyers to walk to the parliament, to show that the government listens to the plight of the legal fraternity over the MACC investigation on Judge Nazlan.