MALAYSIA: Tear gas used to break up banned protest demanding changes to Malaysia's electoral system

Police in the Malaysian capital used water cannon and fired tear gas shells on Saturday (November 10) to break up crowds gathering for a banned opposition rally to demand changes to the country's electoral system. Hundreds of policemen, including riot police with shields and batons, guarded Kuala Lumpur's landmark Merdeka (Freedom) Square, where tens of thousands of people had planned to gather in one of Malaysia's biggest anti-government rallies since 1998. A Reuters witness who watched the incident outside a mosque guarded by about 50 riot police, while helicopters hovered overhead said police sprayed water cannons twice to disperse a crowd of about 500 protesters chanting slogans. To counter the police's tight cordon on roads leading to the palace where their leaders will hand over the petition to the palace authority, the protesters broke into several groups and managed to break through many police lines to reach their destination chanting: "Besih, bersih, pilihan rakyat" which means "Clean, clean, the people's choice". The organisers put the number of people reaching the palace to about 30,000 while the police's figure points to about 10,000 people Azlan bin Ishak a member of the peoples justice party from the southern state of Johor said along the way to Kuala Lumpur he could see 'yellow' sensitive police officer pulling out yellow clad people from cars at road blocks for questioning. He told Reuters Television he did not fear the police nor anyone but only to the god, "No matter what, we want the people's memorandum to reach the King." Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim together with Hadi Awang of the hardline Islamist Parti Islam-se Malaysia and Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party and others were allowed into the palace compound to hand over the petition to the King's messenger while the jubilant crowd continue their chant outside the palace.

ITN Source | November 10, 2007

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