Led by PKR President and opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, they walked for about 1km to the Bukit Aman, carrying placards calling for the protection of MPs rights, and the end to the use of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).
Also in the group were former deputy prime minister and Pagoh MP Muhyiddin Yassin and DAP’s Lim Kit Siang. Several PAS MPs including Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar also joined them.
“We are demanding the release of Maria Chin. I feel that her detention is an abuse of power under Sosma, as the law was only meant to deter terrorism activities that could undermine national security,” Muhyiddin said, adding that Maria’s arrest is a violation of the constitution.
“Maria is a mother and an activist. The Bersih 5 rally on Saturday also proved that it was a peaceful assembly and its activists did not cause any trouble.”
He added that Maria was being kept in solitary confinement, calling the treatment by police “inhumane”.
This was the second time opposition MPs held a march to Bukit Aman. In April this year, some 50 MPs marched there to protest Rafizi’s arrest.
Four MPs were among those arrested before and after the Bersih 5 rally held in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
DAP’s Anthony Loke (Seremban) and Jimmy Wong (Kota Kinabalu) were arrested on Friday, while PKR duo Zuraida Kamaruddin (Ampang) and Tian Chua (Batu) were detained on Saturday night.
The police nabbed Rafizi earlier this year for revealing documents from the Auditor-General’s report on 1MDB, which was classified under the OSA. The documents had linked 1MDB to the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT).
Last week, the Pandan MP was found guilty over two charges of leaking a page from the classified 1MDB audit report and was sentenced to 18 months’ jail.
The court, however, has granted Rafizi’s application for a stay of execution pending his appeal.