I am sure the authorities have their reasons why a police permit was denied to the venue owners of Mid Valley Exhibition Hall to hold a public anti-rape awareness rally, (Anti-rape rally postponed after venue owners withdraw permission) or why police demanded the gathering at Bangsar Complex to disperse.

It is true that an anti-rape rally is not an anti government rally. Indeed it is a laudable public awareness programme.

The first problem is that it is not in a controlled environment as was the case of the larger Malaysian peace rally organised by the 'powers that be' at the Bukit Jalil Stadium on February 23, 2003.

The police will use public security as an excuse, despite no suggestion that the rally will not be peaceful or there will be those opposing such rallies.

Permit is denied because authorities are not in favour of Malaysians demonstrating any public stand by rallies or demonstration, and the nature of that public stand - whether anti or pro-establishment and whether for a good cause or otherwise - is not relevant.

It is the method and procedure of demonstrations that is eschewed.

It is this culture of public protest, this particular brand of so called 'western' democracy, and this kind of exercise of free speech and assembly, that is suspicious and considered radical by the authorities and their political masters in the context of our docile political cultural milieu.

They fear things can get out of hand. A small rally can grow into a bigger demonstration. One can never be sure of the kinds of banners and placards demonstrators bring, and what they say may be tangentially related to the main message of the rally.

Hence a rally against rape may contain abuses against the police force for incompetence or the government for allocating scarce resources to areas other than crime prevention.

Persons generally rebellious against the authorities can join the rally spoiling for an opportunity to hurl insults at police present for crowd control.

When a crowd gets bigger, more boisterous in the presence of a police force, the ingredients are potentially there for provocation to happen, stones to be hurled and heads to crack.

Whilst organisers and protestors of a rape rally may consider the rally as empowering to send a clear public message across to stop violence against women, authorities on the other hand will be wondering what such rally will exactly accomplish - as if any potential rapists will be likely deterred, or changed by it.

The whole idea is nothing but self-indulgence on the part of protestors and organisers to make a big public show of one's concern.

Today the subject of the rally is anti-rape. What about tomorrow? Anti-Mahathir? It is not the subject of the rally that may turn into a bigger demonstration. It is the way of making public protests - whatever the issue - that is unnerving to the authorities when they recall the heady days immediately following Anwar Ibrahim's sacking when crowds of up to 50,000 or more gathered to demonstrate.

Such demonstrations toppled the Suharto government in Indonesia and the Marcos and Estrada administrations in the Philippines. This is what makes the authorities paranoid.

They believe that public demonstrations and rallies are not part of our political tradition or culture and as proven in many cases - even in Western nations - many of such demonstrations did result in clashes between the police and demonstrators.

From the authorities' viewpoint, there is no necessity to set a precedent of allowing public assembly and rally, whatever the issue.