Legal and human rights activists said although foreigners should have the right to express themselves through such gatherings, they cannot break the law by resorting to violence.
The event on Wednesday, held outside the Myanmar Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, was organised by the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (Mapim) and PAS’ Humanitarian Affairs and Relief Centre (PasRelief).
It began peacefully enough with the handing over of a memorandum protesting against the abuse and killing of the minority ethnic group in Myanmar.
It ended however with police having to arrest 44 individuals for behaving aggressively and refusing to disperse after the memorandum was submitted.
Lawyer Syahredzan Johan said the right to freedom of assembly under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution applied strictly to Malaysian citizens.
“What this means is that for non-citizens, freedom of assembly is not a guaranteed constitutional right,” he said.
“The Peaceful Assembly Act too specifically excludes non-citizens from the right to assembly,” he told FMT.
Syahredzan added however that the right to peaceful assembly was a fundamental human right, which was universal and unalienable, regardless of what domestic laws provided.
He said there should therefore be no distinction between citizens and non-citizens in the matter, as long as an assembly was peaceful and held without arms.
Meanwhile, Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen said human rights were applicable universally to Malaysians and foreigners, whether documented or undocumented.
He said however that acts such as scaling the embassy’s wall, throwing stones and dousing oneself with petrol were considered criminal offences, and the police were entitled to take action on the perpetrators.
Paulsen also said there should be no double standards in how the authorities treated rallies organised by either the state or private groups.
He cited the occasion when the government organised a gathering to air the problems faced by the Rohingyas at Stadium Mini Titiwangsa. It was attended by Prime Minister Najib Razak and PAS president Hadi Awang in December last year.
“That wasn’t an issue (with the authorities). The very idea that a foreigner can’t demonstrate in another country is wrong,” he said.
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Jerald Joseph said that in principle people should be able to assemble freely as long as they participated peacefully.
“The Rohingyas were merely expressing their fear and worry about what is happening back home. They were certainly not protesting against the Malaysian government but expressing their concerns to the right authority (the embassy),” he said.
He said the person who doused himself with petrol in an attempt to set himself on fire had done it out of desperation, but stressed that such acts were not allowed by the law.
“An act by one person does not disqualify the others who have a very legitimate concern to conduct a peaceful rally,” Jerald said.