Malaysian police breaks up protests over Internal Security Act.
HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!
If you like this article, please consider a small donation to help theonlinecitizen.com stay alive. Please note that we can only accept donations from Singaporeans. Thank you for your assistance.Do you have a flair for writing? Volunteer with us. Email us your full name and contact details to theonlinecitizen@gmail.com
POLICE BREAK UP MASSIVE MALAYSIAN PROTEST
KUALA LUMPUR, 01 August 2009 – Police broke up Malaysia’s biggest street protest in nearly two years on Saturday, firing tear gas and chemical-laced water at thousands of opposition supporters demanding an end to a law that allows detention without trial.
Witnesses estimated as many as 20,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur in defiance of government warnings for people to shun the rally against the Internal Security Act, which allows the indefinite imprisonment of people regarded as security threats.
The clampdown on the protest could damage support for Prime Minister Najib Razak, who took power in April and has been battling efforts by opposition parties to portray him as a leader who disregards public opinion on issues such as human rights and freedom of expression.
Kuala Lumpur police Chief Muhammad Sabtu Osman said authorities arrested 438 people after about six hours of mayhem in which riot police wielding batons chased protesters down the city’s streets, scuffled with them and dragged many into detention trucks.
The protesters, some wearing opposition T-shirts and headbands, began massing at Kuala Lumpur’s main mosque, a shopping mall and a train station Saturday morning.
Police repeatedly fired volleys of tear gas and water laced with stinging chemicals to disperse the crowds after they began marching toward the national palace. The protesters – who chanted “Reformasi,” the opposition’s slogan for political change – wanted to submit a petition to the country’s constitutional monarch denouncing the security act.
“The police are really brutal,” opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told reporters at the protest. “This clearly shows Najib’s intolerance to any dissent. … We gather here today to fight a cruel law.”
Government authorities had warned they would not permit the protest, saying it could undermine public peace.
Human rights activists have held numerous smaller protests over the years against the security act, but Saturday’s event received a boost after opposition parties urged their supporters to come out in force.
Nazri Aziz, the Cabinet minister in charge of legal affairs, insisted the government would not bow to the protesters’ demands, stressing that the security act was vital to safeguard national security.
Opposition activists “are only dreaming in the daytime, because the ISA will be not be abolished,” the national news agency Bernama quoted Nazri as saying.
Najib reiterated Saturday that the government would only consider technical amendments to the decades-old security act, which was instituted during the British colonial era.
Human rights groups say at least 17 people are being held under the act, mainly for alleged links to militants and document forgery. Activists have long decried the act, saying it has been used in the past to jail hundreds of government critics and dampen dissent.
Restaurants and stores were shuttered on several streets ahead of the rally, the biggest in Kuala Lumpur since November 2007 when tens of thousands of ethnic minority Indians demanded racial equality.
Those arrested could be charged with illegal assembly, which is punishable by a year in prison and a fine.
2/8/09
This must never happen in our Modern Singapore and to me the Internal Security Act (ISA) is still very relevant and must be fined tune and focus on all forms of terrorists acts (Islamic in particular now and inview of recent bombings in Jakarta by the Islamic terrorists-JI).
Our Singapore government unlike the Malaysia government, did not abuse the Internal Security Act (ISA) on the oppositions which we saw how the ruling Barisan-UMNO government abused it and using it as a Blank Cheque on oppostion parties and their leaders, to remain on power (also the newly created Malaysia Anti Corruption Commision where we say one Teoh Ean Hock waskilled while in detention and body so called thrown outside from MACC’s window).
Regards
Andrew
ISA is not a cruel law, it is those in power who abuse it. This is probably what Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia really means.
Now let’s recall the abuse of our ISA on Chia Thye Poh, “Marxist Conspirators”, Francis Seow, etc . Because of its secrecy there is a possibility it had been used as surveillance on political opponents instead of potential terrorists. Of course we must bear in mind those in power will interprete political threat as threat to state security. It is based on trusting a group of stooges.
Finally we should ask ourselves whether we can trust the ISA will not be abused when we have a Chimp who threatened to send in the army in the event of a freak elections result that is not in his favour.
The Chimp’s actions and words over the years all adds up.
The opposition this time has gone too far? The Malaysian government is currently reviewing the ISA. What does the opposition wants this time? Let the government do the job.