Malaysia gets Speakers' Corner but approval needed

5 June, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A northern state in Malaysia will have its own version of London's famous Speakers' Corner but with at least one key difference — speakers have to seek permission before they can rave or rant.

The Speakers' Corner will start this month in Kota Baru, the capital of Kelantan state, allowing people, especially teenagers, to release their tension, said Anual Bakri Haron, an official in the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, which runs the state.

"It's a platform for them to express their views or their anger or hope," Anual told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The corner will be open on Fridays and Saturdays.

But to prevent speeches from getting out of hand, speakers will have to ask municipal council authorities for approval before they take the stand.

"Somehow, they will have to be guided. When people are too excited over things, their emotion takes over so we would like them to submit their topics," he said.

He said people could not breach the country's strict sedition and other security laws or touch on sensitive topics, such as race relations.

Some 60 percent of the country's 27 million people are Muslim Malay. The biggest minority groups are ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indians.

In the most famous Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park, almost no subject is taboo, with religious sermons and political commentary being commonplace.

A similar public speaking area in tightly controlled Singapore, Malaysia's southern neighbor, has attracted little interest. It also comes with strings attached — speakers have to register with police, use no amplification equipment and avoid race, religion and inciting hostility toward the government.