Cops have the right to check Mykads
Published on: Saturday, June 28, 2025
Published on: Sat, Jun 28, 2025
By: Sherell Jeffrey Text Size: ACP Kasim pointed out that police are there to help and protect people during rallies, not stop them. 'Under the Peaceful Assembly Act, we need to protect them. Kota Kinabalu: Police defended checking people's identity cards (Mykads) during the last weekend's Suara Mahasiswa Gempur Rasuah 2.0 rally, saying they were just doing their job. A video clip showing police asking for ICs during the peaceful assembly went viral on social media, with some netizens questioning whether officers had the right to do so. Kota Kinabalu Police chief ACP Kasim Muda said the checks were perfectly legal and necessary. 'That is the police's right. Police can check ICs. There is no problem. Under the law, the Police Act states we can check. Anyone we suspect, we can check,' he said. He said that only Malaysian citizens can take part in peaceful assemblies, so police need to verify people's identity to make sure they qualify. He was apparently referring to a similar rally over the water shortage in UMS last year where several of the protesters had no identification documents. Additionally, he said police are still investigating what happened during the rally. 'We are not taking no action. We are taking monitoring action. We are conducting investigations,' he said. He said the rally organisers were given 15 conditions they had to follow when they notified authorities about the assembly. 'We provided 15 conditions that we established according to the laws that exist in Malaysia,' said Kasim. These rules came from various laws including the Sedition Act, Peaceful Assembly Act, Police Act and Road Transport Act. Under Malaysian law, people wanting to hold a peaceful assembly must give police seven days' notice. Police then have three days to respond with any conditions. He pointed out that police are there to help and protect people during rallies, not stop them. 'Under the Peaceful Assembly Act, we need to protect them. Facilitate and protect, provide protection for them so that they are safe and the public is not affected,' he said. However, he noted that some rules were broken during this particular assembly. 'We have already given the conditions. What violations that might happen. Do not violate these, but they still did it anyway,' he said. On the second day of the rally, the protestors set fire to an image of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at Lintasan Deasoka at Jalan Gaya. He said police told the rally organisers they could not touch on sensitive topics about race, religion and royalty (3R issues), target political leaders, break traffic rules or bring dangerous items. 'You bring petrol that is already an offence. Even if you do not pour the petrol into oil or anything, if you bring it without permission, it is definitely an offence. It is just that people do not understand this,' he said. It also emerged that in the statement issued to the media the day before the incident, the students had included the Sabah TYT position as one of their grievances. It was not known if this was made known to the police. A day before the rally, police had issued a media statement warning the public about potential violations during the assembly. The statement listed 12 offences that could be committed during peaceful assemblies, with penalties ranging from fines to life imprisonment for the most serious charges. Among the offenses highlighted were sedition (3-7 years jail), defamation (up to 2 years jail or fine), obstructing police duties (up to 2 years jail or RM10,000 fine), and bringing dangerous weapons (5-10 years jail with possible caning). The police statement also warned that non-citizens who participate in assemblies could face fines up to RM20, 000, while involving minors in rallies could result in RM10, 000 fines. Police said they do not prevent any party from speaking out or gathering peacefully, as long as it is done legally, orderly and in compliance with the applicable laws. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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