Clashes as Malaysians rally for clean elections

Malaysian police fire teargas and water cannon as crowds of protesters demanding electoral reforms surge into a central square in Kuala Lumpur. (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

Protesters break down the barricades as they make their way towards Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur. Police on Saturday fired teargas and water cannon as crowds of protesters demanding electoral reforms surged into the square. (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

A Malaysian protester shows solidarity with an anti-government rally in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian police fired teargas and water cannon as thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital to demand sweeping electoral reforms. (AFP Photo/Saeed Khan)

04/29/2012
By Julia Zappei
AFP

Malaysian police fired teargas and water cannon Saturday as thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital to demand sweeping electoral reforms ahead of widely expected polls.

Protesters marched to Independence Square in central Kuala Lumpur, defying a lockdown and a ban on gatherings in the area that had raised questions about a pledge by Prime Minister Najib Razak to expand civil liberties.

The otherwise peaceful rally was disrupted when hundreds of protesters angry at being denied access to the square trampled razor wire, pushed aside barricades and were met with teargas and chemical-laced water.

National police spokesman Ramli Yoosuf said at least 222 people were arrested but expected the figure to rise.

It is the second year that police have clashed with a pro-democracy rally organised by the election reform pressure group Bersih. A protest march last year was crushed by police with 1,600 people arrested.

Bersih and the political opposition are demanding far-reaching reforms by Najib to end what they say has been decades of manipulation by the ruling coalition aimed at keeping itself in power.

"The message we are sending to Najib is that we must have clean elections!" opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim shouted to a crowd just before the clashes began.

Najib denied any electoral bias.

"We do not want to be elected through cheating. We are a government chosen by the people," the official Bernama news agency quoted him as saying.

Bersih demands a thorough vetting of the voter roll following revelations of widespread phantom or duplicate voter registrations, a complete overhaul of the national Election Commission, which it accuses of bias, and other reforms.

Criticism of the harsh response to last year's rally stung Najib, who shortly afterwards implemented a series of political reform steps to shore up voter support.

But he faces fresh criticism after the government banned rallying at the square and allegations of harassment of activists in recent days.

"Despite all the talk of 'reform' over the past year, we're seeing a repeat of repressive actions by a government that does not hesitate to use force when it feels its prerogatives are challenged," Human Rights Watch said in response to the clashes at the square.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said "despite claims to the contrary, the government fully respects peoples' right to peaceful protest".

"Overall... this afternoon's protest passed off without major incident," he said in a statement.

Police estimated at least 30,000 people participated in the rally, while independent Malaysian media put the number at more than twice that.

As white teargas smoke filled the air and drifted down nearby streets, riot police quickly forced back the protesters who had entered the square and regained control.

Nearby, protesters retaliated by throwing empty water bottles at police.

An AFP reporter saw a police car that had been turned on its side and its windshield smashed, with streaks of blood visible on the pavement.

"We want peace, we want justice for our country. We don't want to make any trouble," said housewife Carmen Yap, 42, her eyes watering and bloodshot from the teargas.

The crowd had mostly dispersed by late afternoon.

Protesters, many dressed in the yellow of the Bersih clean-election movement -- Bersih means "clean" in Malay -- had marched toward the square but were thwarted by a lockdown that included about 2,000 armed police.

After last year's rally was crushed, public outrage moved Najib to set up a panel to explore electoral reforms.

He also launched the repeal of several repressive laws in a bid to create what he has called "the greatest democracy".

But Bersih and the opposition say the elections panel's eventual recommendations fell far short of what was needed, and Najib's civil liberties push has been dismissed by his critics as an election ploy.

Speculation is rife that Najib could call polls as early as June. He is under pressure to reverse a poor ruling coalition showing in 2008 elections.

The government gave the go-ahead for Saturday's rally, unlike last year when it was banned entirely.

But it had ruled out use of Independence Square, instead offering venues, but Bersih refused to budge.

Bersih said sympathy rallies also were planned in dozens of cities worldwide.

About 400 flag-waving Malaysians marched through central Hong Kong calling for electoral reforms and demanding voting rights for Malaysians abroad.