Amnesty International Malaysia is alarmed by the continuing arbitrary arrests of politicians, activists, lawyers and other members of the public by the police. We are concerned that these arrests have been made on arbitrary and discriminatory grounds despite recommendations that have been made by both the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police in 2005 and the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) in its public inquiry into police violence at KLCC on May 28, 2006.

In 2005, the royal commission on the police proposed an amendment to Section 27 of the Police Act 1967 that imposes the requirement of a permit and absolute discretion by the police to grant approval to public assemblies. This important recommendation was also echoed by Suhakam in its 2006 report. We regret that this recommendation has yet to be implemented by the government.

We also regret that public assemblies continue to be clamped down with excessive force as witnessed on Nov 10 and 25 and Dec 9. We condemn the fact that in addition to this clampdown on public assemblies, the police are now embarking on a campaign of arbitrary arrests under Section 27 of the Police Act. We emphasise that the authorities must respect the right to not be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention, and must not arrest or detain anyone for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Amnesty International views that the police have the responsibility to abide by international standards for law enforcement officials as set out in the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. These principles stipulate that law enforcement officials must maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons in the performance of their duties.

Amnesty International reiterates its call on the Malaysian government to respect the findings and recommendations made the police royal commission and to amend Section 27 of the Police Act. The government must immediately implement the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission as well as all the recommendations made in chapter 10 of the royal commission's report.

Amnesty International Malaysia also demands the police to respect and protect the rights of the people to peaceful assembly and their personal liberties. December 10 is International Human Rights Day - a day during when both global leaders and citizens alike reflect on how we can make human rights a reality in people's lives.

We believe that it would be a good start for the Malaysian government to uphold universal human rights and the Federal Constitution by immediately stopping the use of Section 27 of the Police Act 1967 to suppress freedom of expression.

The writer is executive director, Amnesty International Malaysia.