Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian police on Saturday fired teargas and chemical-laced water at about 25,000 protesters gathered here demanding thorough electoral reforms.
The activists gathering under the umbrella of NGO Bersih 3.0 have been banned by authorities from demonstrating at the Independence square. But the organisers refused to look at other venues.
Police resorted to firing tear gas and spraying water cannon after a group of demonstrators broke through a barrier at the barricaded Independence Square defying a ban to hold the rally at the venue. At least 25,000 demonstrators gathered to take part in the opposition backed rally.
Some online news portals said there were at least 80,000 to 100,000 people present.
The scene was similar to a demonstration by the same group with the same demands last July, when police sprayed water cannon and opened tear gas.
Activists, including lawyers, academics, opposition supporters, have alleged the Election Commission is biased and claimed that voter lists had fraudulent voters.
Bersih (meaning clean in Malay language) demonstrators began gathering at designated locations in the city early this morning with police monitoring the situation. Bersih chairman S Ambiga, a prominent ethnic Indian lawyer, met with Bersih supporters at the nearby Central Market, a popular tourist haunt. Volunteers were selling yellow “Angry Birds” balloons to the public, with slogans such as “clean elections”, “stop Lynas”, “Bersih 428” and “save our children” written on the balloons.
Lynas is a rare earth plant which is being proposed to be set up by an Australian miner and opposed by many in the country.
Malaysian officials on Friday sealed off parts of the square where activists wanted to hold the rally.
Police got a magistrate court’s order forbidding people from assembling at the square. An estimated 20,000 people marched last July to make similar demands on electoral reforms.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to break up the crowds and briefly arrested about 1,600 demonstrators.
The organisers also want changes to ensure that citizens living abroad can cast ballots, international observers for the polls and fairer access for all political parties to the government-linked media, reports said. Prime Minister Najib Razak has said Malaysia’s current laws are sufficient to prevent electoral irregularities.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has said the government was willing to allow a rally at an “appropriate and lawful venue” to maintain security and public order. Officials had proposed several stadiums for the rally, but organisers said it was too late to switch locations.
The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights urged Malaysia’s government to allow the rally and to “respect and protect the right to freedom of assembly and expression.”
The coalition Barsan Nasional, which has governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957, fared dismally in the 2008 general elections, when it lost more than a third of Parliament’s seats amid public discontent over problems such as corruption and alleged discrimination.
Analysts and opposition politicians say Najib must tread carefully as his handling of Bersih 3.0 will be even more closely scrutinised than the previous rally for free and fair elections on July 9 last year, online news portals reported. This is Bersih’s third attempt demanding electoral reforms.
After last years demonstration, authorities set up a panel to study electoral regulations and agreed to use indelible ink on voters while casting ballots to curb fraud and multiple voting. (PTI)