Event Summary
On 8 August 2025, former Muda secretary-general and current Mandiri executive director Amir Hariri Abd Hadi was acquitted of a charge under Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA) for allegedly failing to notify authorities before organising the “#ManaKapalLCS” rally on 14 August 2022. Magistrate Farah Nabihah Muhamad Dan granted the acquittal after the prosecution confirmed it had no intention to re-charge Amir. The court also ordered the return of his bail in full.
Amir had been charged on 26 August 2022, a week after the rally outside Sogo shopping complex in Kuala Lumpur, which called for government accountability in the littoral combat ship (LCS) procurement scandal. He pleaded not guilty and was released on RM4,000 bail.
The acquittal followed the Federal Court’s July 2025 decision declaring Section 9(5) unconstitutional for criminalising peaceful assembly organisers who fail to give five days’ notice to the police. The Court found the provision inconsistent with the constitutional right to peaceful assembly under Article 10(2)(b) of the Federal Constitution (FC) read together with Article 8(1) of the FC. In striking down Section 9(5) as unconstitutional, the Federal Court found the provision to be disproportionate, discriminatory, and tantamount to a prohibition rather than a restriction. It remitted Amir’s case to the High Court for expeditious disposal in line with its judgment, paving the way for the charge to be dropped.