Source: Voice TV, @Roshinee_M / Twitter

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — Swathes of people thronged the streets here and in Bangkok during the weekend as the people’s discontentment toward the governments’ apparent mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis continues to grow.

In the Thai capital city, motorists were seen gathering near the Victory Monument with flags in hand on Sunday (1 August), calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha over the rapidly growing number of new COVID-19 cases and death toll, particularly following the presence of the reportedly more contagious Delta variant in the country.

Prayut’s government has also been criticised for failing to promptly secure enough vaccine supplies.

AP reported a government official as saying on 15 July that Thailand’s production of the AstraZeneca vaccine has lagged behind its target, which could slow down the nation’s plans to secure 61 million doses by May 2022.

Other than the locally made AstraZeneca, the Thai government has reportedly been “scrambling” to procure vaccines on top of the Sinovac and Sinopharm from China, according to AP. The government has reportedly agreed to buy vaccines from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

Beyond Bangkok, similar “car mob” protests were reportedly held by thirty groups in other parts of Thailand, Khaosod English tweeted on Sunday.

The “car mob” protest, made popular by political activist Sombat Boonngamanong during the lockdown period, is a means of protesting safely during the pandemic, in line with social distancing guidelines, Khaosod English added.

Pro-democracy online television channel Voice TV tweeted photographs of the “car mob” protests, with several individuals seen making speeches as their vehicles paraded through the roads.

“If we don’t come out today, we lay at home waiting to die,” the station quoted the protesters as saying.

On top of the three-finger salute — emblematic of pro-democratic rallies not only in Thailand but in Myanmar and Hong Kong — those who participated in the procession were seen sporting placards with slogans such as “NO GOD, NO KING, ONLY HUMAN”, as seen in photographs posted by Voice TV on Twitter.

“We will expel Prayut and (push for) the government to resign. and (we will) let good people continue to manage (Thailand),” said a Twitter user, who posted a photograph of motorcyclists holding up the three-finger salute.

Thai journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk tweeted a photograph of a sticker on a taxi window that read: “No service to soldiers & police until Prayut resigns.”

Sunday’s “car mob” was the latest in a series of such protests. Previous ones of its kind were held on 3 July and 10 July, Bangkok Post reported.

Sombat’s group is among nine groups facing charges from the authorities for allegedly violating the emergency decree.

Under the decree, gatherings of five persons or more are prohibited. Authorities are also given under the order the power to arrest and detain people without charge for up to 30 days for reasons as vague as “supporting” or “concealing information” about the protests.

Despite the criticisms levelled against his administration, Prayut said on Thursday that while the daily transmission rate and deaths related to COVID-19 in the country “may seem shocking”, Thailand’s neighbours and other countries beyond the region have not successfully contained the spread of the virus.

“At present, every country in the world has more or less felt the impact. There are many top-ranking countries, as you can see, whose numbers are many times higher than ours,” CNA reported him as saying in a special interview at the Government House.

“Failed government, liar government”: Hundreds undeterred by police warnings, took to the streets to #Lawan 

A day earlier, protesters clad in black outfits and masks peacefully marched through downtown Kuala Lumpur on the last day of July, despite being warned by the police against doing so on the eve of the protest.

The participants — mostly young Malaysians — on Saturday morning held up black flags as well as banners and placards condemning Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government over the government’s poor handling of the COVID-19 situation, as seen in videos posted by The Malaysian Insight.

“KERAJAAN GAGAL” (“failed government”), “KERAJAAN PENIPU” (“liar government”), and “MISSING IN ACTION: ONLY TALKS THRU PDF” were among wordings seen on some of the placards — the last one referencing Muhyiddin’s frequent absence from the spotlight in times of crisis.

The protest, organised by Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR), is part of the ‘Lawan’ campaign, which saw a smaller-scale protest at Dataran Merdeka and convoys held prior to the street protest on Saturday.

In the smaller protest, several individuals representing SSR staged a flashmob of around 20 people at Dataran Merdeka.

14 black flags and a simulation of five “dead bodies” wrapped in white shrouds were displayed during the small protest to depict the increasing death toll as a result of COVID-19, including of suicides believed to be driven by dismal economic conditions and tight restrictions during the lockdown.

‘Lawan’ is the Malay word for ‘fight’ or ‘resist’.

Among the demands made in the campaign include Muhyiddin’s resignation and for Parliament sittings to continue, particularly after months of suspension since the start of the Emergency period in January.

Astro Awani reported that those who participated in the protest on Saturday adhered to social distancing guidelines and standard operating procedures at all times.

In addition to the demand for Muhyiddin to step down from the PM post, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah was also chastised for allegedly being a “puppet” of the government, according to a placard held by a protester.

Dr Noor Hisham, who is frequently lauded for his leadership in Malaysia’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic, drew flak from members of the public for discouraging contract doctors from participating in a nationwide strike against the system.

Contract doctors across Malaysia’s public hospitals orchestrated a massive walkout on 26 July after Muhyiddin’s “half-baked” proposal to lengthen their contracts failed to placate their demands regarding their security of tenure.

Hours prior to the protest, roads leading up to Dataran Merdeka — where the protesters were originally slated to march from the Masjid Jamek LRT station — were shut off by the police.

During the protest itself, demonstrators were prevented by police from making their way to Dataran Merdeka, despite the organisers’ attempt to negotiate with the authorities.

Following that, demonstrators held a sit-in protest, where they were seen singing Negaraku — Malaysia’s national anthem — as well as making speeches and chanting their demands.

The protest reportedly ended around 1.30 pm after police instructed the protesters to disperse.

While the organisers estimated a turnout of around 1,000 people at the protest on Saturday, police said that the number of people who turned up was estimated to be only around 400.

In a joint statement on Saturday, several civil society organisations said — in the wake of the police’s handling of the protest — that the pandemic “cannot be used as a pretext” to prevent people from exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and expression.

“In recent weeks, Malaysia has experienced a soaring COVID-19 case load, overwhelmed hospitals and many deaths, while livelihoods have been threatened and lost. The government declared an emergency, imposed draconian laws and suspended Parliament.

“In a functioning democracy, and even during a pandemic, the people must be allowed to demand accountability from the government, including through peaceful protests adopting appropriate public health measures,” they said.

The statement was issued by Amnesty International Malaysia, ARTICLE 19, Centre for Independent Journalism, Freedom Film Network (FFN), Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm), Justice for Sisters, KRYSS Network, Sisters in Islam, and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM).

The organisations criticised the police’s obstruction of the protest via its roadblocks and barricades and its prior threats to pursue legal action against the organisers and the participants.

“Barring access to a public square constitutes a breach of the right to peaceful assembly.

“To uphold the fundamental right of peaceful assembly while appreciating the gravity of the current pandemic, the police should have worked with the organisers to facilitate the protest.

“By barricading access to Dataran Merdeka, the police in fact made it more difficult to comply with COVID-19 SOPs by forcing protesters onto the road,” they said.

They expressed concern about the “excessive police presence in vehicles and on foot, including several armed police officers, the presence of a Black Maria vehicle and a low-flying helicopter”.

“Police officers in uniform and in plain clothes were also taking photographs and videos of protesters. These constitute intimidatory tactics that inhibit protesters’ right to peacefully assemble and, again, serve to obstruct rather than facilitate their peaceful protest. Surveillance of protesters impacts their freedom of expression and may also deter others from exercising this right,” the group said.

The groups also lambasted the police’s move to investigate and arrest the protest organisers prior to the event.

The societies urged the authorities to drop all investigations and charges against the organisers who were subject to those actions prior to the protest, and to refrain from initiating any criminal investigations, arrests or harassment against organisers and protesters who attended the protest on Saturday.

Police, however, said in a statement on Sunday that it has commenced investigations against the organisers and participants of Saturday’s rally.

Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said that 29 individuals have been identified and will be called to complete its investigation papers, while several others are in the process of being identified via video footage and photographs.

The police chief also condemned the “stubborn” move of the organisers and participants to proceed with the demonstration despite being advised against doing so to protect public health and safety in the midst of the raging pandemic.

“Through its observation during the assembly, the Royal Malaysian Police has detected incidents in which the organisers and the participants have violated SOPs as well as regulations issued under Malaysia’s Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act,” said Acryl.

In their joint statement on Saturday, the civil society groups called on the police chief to ensure that the police force is “independent in carrying out its service to the people”.

The police force, they said, should “take proactive initiatives to support and facilitate the right to freedom of assembly and offer protection”.

Heavy-handed tactics such as targeting peaceful protesters and government critics through investigations, arrests and detentions, said the groups, “will have long-term detrimental impacts on democratic progress and civic space”.

“Malaysian authorities should instead take concrete steps to respect, protect, and fulfill Malaysia’s international obligations by providing rallygoers space to assemble peacefully and to facilitate gatherings that are safe, while observing social-distancing rules, as endorsed by the WHO (World Health Organisation),” they said.

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