Sunday 02 August, 2009. Worst ever protests strike Malaysia Malaysia on Saturday witnessed biggest ever protests as thousands of people too

Saturday 1 August, 2009. (Dharamvir Nagpal Paris) Worst ever protests strike Malaysia

Malaysia on Saturday witnessed biggest ever protests as thousands of people took to the streets demanding abolition of the draconian internal security law, forcing police to fire tear gas and lob water cannons to disperse them. Defying government warnings, around 15,000 protestors were on streets in response to the call by the opposition, and later a police spokesman said 430 people including 37 women and 38 children had been arrested, amidst chaotic scenes in downtown area of the city. It was under the same law, which allows authorities to detain people indefinitely, that host of ethnic Indians including the five prominent Hindu leaders of the outlawed Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) were detained during protests in 2007. The protest began in small gatherings in street corners and later swelled into a huge protest march with people heading towards the Royal Palace to register their protest. Crowds played cat-and-mouse with the police, disappearing into side streets at the first sign of heavy deployment only to re-emerge from different sides. The protest caused huge traffic snarls in the city with buses going off the roads and the trains halted half-way to their destinations wary of stone pelting. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak denounced the protest saying it was unnecessary as he had already announced to review the Internal Security Act (ISA), a hangover from colonial times. People from early morning began gathering at city's main mosque, shopping malls and a railway station and started marching towards the national palace. They chanted "Reformasi", the opposition political party's slogan for political change, and tried to submit a petition to the country's king to denounce the act. They also called for the closures of a camp in northern Perak state where detainees are held, and an inquiry into all deaths in custody and allegations of police abuse of power. Police backed by riot squad officers and helicopters scuffled with protestors and fired tear gas and chemical-laced water to disperse them. They also charged the protestors with batons. "The police are really brutal," opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told reporters at the protest. "This clearly shows (the government's) intolerance to any dissent. ... We gather here today to fight a cruel law." Some online reports claimed that around 200 people had been arrested and 75 rounds of tear gas were fired. Among the detained were several top political figures including R Sivarasa, vice-president of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's party. The sustained police offensive sent the huge crowd scattering, with many coughing and choking from the effects of the gas.(