Malaysian police fired tear gas and rounded up protest leaders as thousands of opposition-backed activists defied a government ban to march on Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka Stadium today, chanting “reformasi” and demanding fair elections.
Some 672 people were arrested around the city by 3:20 p.m. local time, a police spokesman said. Protest leader Ambiga Sreenevasan, chairman of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, was among those detained, while opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim suffered a head injury when tear gas was fired, his daughter Nurul Izzah told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
The showdown comes amid rising pressure for political change in Southeast Asia. Thai voters this week elected to throw out a party that used soldiers to disperse opposition protests last year that led to more than 90 deaths, while Singapore’s ruling party suffered its narrowest election victory since independence in May.
“I’m not a very brave man, I ran when they shot tear gases at me,” Wong Chin Huat, a member of the coalition’s steering committee, said in an interview. “I believe in the constitution. I believe that I have the right to walk in any part of the city. I believe I have the right to demand clean and fair elections.”
Barbed Wire
Major roads into Malaysia’s capital city were sealed with road blocks and barbed wire, train stations were closed and buses diverted, leaving some parts of Kuala Lumpur largely deserted. Even so, thousands of people managed to march in the rain toward Merdeka Stadium, according to Bloomberg reporters at the scene. Another group was seen headed towards a royal palace while a third marched by the Petronas Twin Towers. Police gave no official estimate of the crowd sizes.
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Cabinet had ordered that Ambiga’s coalition, which says it represents 60 non-governmental organizations, couldn’t hold a rally in a stadium inside the city. Helicopters hovered overhead as riot police with water cannons stood by, Bloomberg reporters witnessed.
“Anything that is under and within the powers of the police will be used depending on the circumstances,” Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. This includes potentially using the Internal Security Act or Emergency Ordinance that allow for detention without trial, he said.
Court Orders
The lobby group, also known as Bersih, wanted to hold its rally in Merdeka Stadium as it has historical significance, having been erected for Malaysia’s declaration of independence in 1957.
Police obtained court orders on July 7 barring 91 people, including leaders of three separate planned protests, from entering the capital today, according to notices published in the New Straits Times Newspaper. The people named in the court order included Bersih’s chairman as well as the heads of two Malay rights groups opposed to Bersih which have threatened to hold rival rallies.
Ambiga and some other Bersih leaders defied the ban to hold a media briefing at a Kuala Lumpur hotel, also attended by People’s Justice Party leader Anwar. A Bloomberg reporter saw the leaders’ way blocked by police and tear gas fired as they then tried to join a crowd trying to march toward the stadium.
“We can’t wait to get to the people,” Ambiga told reporters.
Elections Loom
Tian Chua, vice president of Anwar’s party, was among those a Bloomberg reporter saw detained by police. People’s Justice Party deputy president Azmin Ali was also arrested, along with three leaders of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party.
Bersih wants electoral changes, such as lengthening campaign periods to at least 21 days and using indelible ink on fingers to prevent people from voting more than once.
Najib needs to call elections within two years. The Election Commission is looking into extending the campaign period and plans to use biometric fingerprinting instead of indelible ink, Election Commission Chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said in a television interview with TV3 and Bernama, the official news service, on July 2. International observers may also be invited, he said.
Water cannons were used to disperse crowds in 2007 when similar protests by Bersih, seeking changes to the electoral system, drew 40,000 people in Kuala Lumpur.
Rival Rallies
The U.S. Embassy issued an advisory yesterday urging its citizens to stay away. “Even demonstrations that are meant to be peaceful can become violent and unpredictable,” it said. “You should avoid them if at all possible.”
Two Malay rights groups, Perkasa and UMNO Youth, which is an arm of Najib’s ruling party, the United Malays Nasional Organisation, threatened to hold rival rallies today should Bersih go ahead with street protests. UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin was also detained, the Star said.
The authorities rejected applications to use stadiums within Kuala Lumpur by all three groups, Hishamuddin said. If there are people who want to hold illegal rallies, there are even more who are against them, Prime Minister Najib was cited as saying today by Bernama.
Some 672 people were arrested around the city by 3:20 p.m. local time, a police spokesman said. Protest leader Ambiga Sreenevasan, chairman of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, was among those detained, while opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim suffered a head injury when tear gas was fired, his daughter Nurul Izzah told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
The showdown comes amid rising pressure for political change in Southeast Asia. Thai voters this week elected to throw out a party that used soldiers to disperse opposition protests last year that led to more than 90 deaths, while Singapore’s ruling party suffered its narrowest election victory since independence in May.
“I’m not a very brave man, I ran when they shot tear gases at me,” Wong Chin Huat, a member of the coalition’s steering committee, said in an interview. “I believe in the constitution. I believe that I have the right to walk in any part of the city. I believe I have the right to demand clean and fair elections.”
Barbed Wire
Major roads into Malaysia’s capital city were sealed with road blocks and barbed wire, train stations were closed and buses diverted, leaving some parts of Kuala Lumpur largely deserted. Even so, thousands of people managed to march in the rain toward Merdeka Stadium, according to Bloomberg reporters at the scene. Another group was seen headed towards a royal palace while a third marched by the Petronas Twin Towers. Police gave no official estimate of the crowd sizes.
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Cabinet had ordered that Ambiga’s coalition, which says it represents 60 non-governmental organizations, couldn’t hold a rally in a stadium inside the city. Helicopters hovered overhead as riot police with water cannons stood by, Bloomberg reporters witnessed.
Court Orders
The lobby group, also known as Bersih, wanted to hold its rally in Merdeka Stadium as it has historical significance, having been erected for Malaysia’s declaration of independence in 1957.
Police obtained court orders on July 7 barring 91 people, including leaders of three separate planned protests, from entering the capital today, according to notices published in the New Straits Times Newspaper. The people named in the court order included Bersih’s chairman as well as the heads of two Malay rights groups opposed to Bersih which have threatened to hold rival rallies.
Ambiga and some other Bersih leaders defied the ban to hold a media briefing at a Kuala Lumpur hotel, also attended by People’s Justice Party leader Anwar. A Bloomberg reporter saw the leaders’ way blocked by police and tear gas fired as they then tried to join a crowd trying to march toward the stadium.
“We can’t wait to get to the people,” Ambiga told reporters.
Elections Loom
Tian Chua, vice president of Anwar’s party, was among those a Bloomberg reporter saw detained by police. People’s Justice Party deputy president Azmin Ali was also arrested, along with three leaders of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party.
Bersih wants electoral changes, such as lengthening campaign periods to at least 21 days and using indelible ink on fingers to prevent people from voting more than once.
Najib needs to call elections within two years. The Election Commission is looking into extending the campaign period and plans to use biometric fingerprinting instead of indelible ink, Election Commission Chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said in a television interview with TV3 and Bernama, the official news service, on July 2. International observers may also be invited, he said.
Water cannons were used to disperse crowds in 2007 when similar protests by Bersih, seeking changes to the electoral system, drew 40,000 people in Kuala Lumpur.
Rival Rallies
The U.S. Embassy issued an advisory yesterday urging its citizens to stay away. “Even demonstrations that are meant to be peaceful can become violent and unpredictable,” it said. “You should avoid them if at all possible.”
Two Malay rights groups, Perkasa and UMNO Youth, which is an arm of Najib’s ruling party, the United Malays Nasional Organisation, threatened to hold rival rallies today should Bersih go ahead with street protests. UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin was also detained, the Star said.
The authorities rejected applications to use stadiums within Kuala Lumpur by all three groups, Hishamuddin said. If there are people who want to hold illegal rallies, there are even more who are against them, Prime Minister Najib was cited as saying today by Bernama.
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