All 26 members of polls reform group Bersih who were arrested this morning for defying a police ban to gather at the Parliament have been released on police bail today.

Some, including PKR secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim, PAS election director Mustapha Ali and a teenager, were among nine people released by police as at 4pm. The remainder 17 were only allowed to go at about 10pm with the condition that they appear at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrates' Court on Dec 18.

The others freed earlier comprise six members of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), who had gone to Parliament House to hand over a memorandum to Opposition parliamentarians, to submit to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

In all, 26 members of Bersih had been arrested this morning in the vicinity of Parliament House, while attempting to deliver the memorandum on the extension of the Election Commission chief's retirement age via constitutional amendment. 

Among tha last ones to be released included  PKR information chief Tian Chua,  PAS treasurer Dr Hatta Ramli and party Women's chief Nuridah Mohd Salleh and central committee member Dr Lo'Lo' Ghazali, and Parti Socialist Malaysia pro-tem chairperson Dr Nasir Hashim, secretary-general S Arutchelvan and party central committee member S Sivarajan. 

Earlier in the day, eyewitnesses said the police had surrounded Tian Chua’s vehicle and forcibly removed him before arresting him at about 10.40am. Another person in the car was also detained.

Chua had failed to stop at the roadblock and had insisted on moving forward before nine police officers swooped in on him and hauled him away (photo).

About 10 minutes later, Arutchelvan and another identified person were arrested for trying to break the police cordon. The PAS leaders were arrested shortly after.

At about noon, Khalid arrived in Jalan Parliament where he talked briefly to the press gathered just outside the Parliament gates.

"I don't think we will be able to submit a memorandum today. Our main piority now is to help those detained,' he told journalists.

A plainclothes police officer showed him the restraining court order which the Sentul police had obtained yesterday and ordered Khalid to leave.

Subsequently Khalid went to his car. While he on his way there, Sentul district police chief ACP Ahmad Sofian Md Yassin instructed one of his men to arrest the PKR leader.

All those arrested were taken to the Kuala Lumpur contingent police headquarters.

Nazri defends action

More than 400 police surrounded the Parliament to block the electoral reform campaigners who were forced to march there on foot after all roads leading to the building were closed off.

Trees lining the streets were posted with copies of a court order obtained by police that banned the campaigners from parliament.

"The authorities should not have done this. They should have been given the right to hand over a memorandum. After all, that's all they just wanted to do," Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PKR president and opposition MP, told AFP.

Cabinet minister Mohamad Nazri Aziz however defended the police action.

"They want to come and demonstrate today's amendment to the constitution. So they want to come in big numbers. We will not allow that," he told reporters at parliament.

"We have taken action against them and we are using the court system to prosecute these people," Nazri said.

Rare restraining order

Police had also surrounded opposition party PAS headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut to stop people from leaving the building for Parliament.

According to a statement this morning by the party, five patrol cars and a Federal Reserve Unit had been positioned around the building.

The police also pasted a copy of the restraining order at the building to warn people not to participate in today's event.

Police  blocked all roads leading to Parliament this morning to prevent members of polls reform group Bersih from submitting a protest memorandum against a proposed constitutional amendment.

Yesterday, they obtained a rare restraining court order - the second of its kind following one to ban the Nov 25 Hindraf rally - prohibiting four named individuals and other Bersih supporters from attending or taking part in the gathering.

The named persons are PAS leaders Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi, Mohamad Sabu and Adenaan Saad and Malaysian Trade Union Congress chief Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud.

The order also stipulated that "other interested parties" are similarly prohibited from taking part in the gathering. It allowed the police to 'arrest on sight'  those found in the vicinity of Parliament House.

December 10 is International Human Rights Day, but it appears that the government is no mood to celebrate the event.

The authorities marked the day by clamping down on dissent, rolling out three separate legal actions against organisers of protests that have rocked the country in recent weeks.

Rights groups and opposition leaders condemned the crackdown as anti-democratic and called for the release of dozens of government critics who face trial over charges including attempted murder and sedition.

"The charges are baseless and repressive," said R Sivarasa who was among nine lawyers and their supporters arrested for mounting a human rights march in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

Sivarasa said the group had spent a night on a cement floor in police custody before eight of them were slapped with counts of illegal assembly, creating a public nuisance and disobeying a police order to disperse.

In a packed courtroom that erupted with applause for the defendants, prominent lawyer Edmund Bon was also charged with obstructing a city official who tried to remove protest banners from Malaysia's Bar Council building.

Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail, who was in court to personally oversee the case, said his actions showed "contempt for law and authority ... that is the seriousness of the matter."

No double standards

Another 12 opposition figures were also rounded up over the weekend in connection with an electoral reform rally last month which drew nearly 30,000 people who police dispersed with tear gas and water cannons.

In a third case, the government was due later today to attempt to revive sedition charges against three leaders of ethnic Indian rights group Hindraf after a judge earlier allowed them to walk free.

Last week, 31 ethnic Indians were also charged with attempted murder over the wounding of a police officer during a rally at a Hindu temple on the eve of Nov 25 mass protests organised by Hindraf.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who has threatened to use draconian internal security legislation against Hindraf leaders, said Sunday that action would be taken against anyone who violated the law.

"We do not discriminate. There are no double standards in enforcing the law," he said.

Unwarranted arrests

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang, who came to the court to show his support for the lawyers, condemned the arrests at the Sunday march as "completely unwarranted and a clear reckless abuse of power".

"Yesterday, was a black Sunday for human rights. A black Sunday for the prime minister who promised four years ago to respect human rights," he said.

Human rights group Aliran urged the government to "immediately and unconditionally release all those brave Malaysians who have been unjustifiably detained."

"Aliran deplores the thoughtless and mindless reaction of the state against any democratic expression of our constitutional rights to exert our freedom," the leading human rights group said in a statement.

Eight people, including five lawyers, were charged today with participating in an illegal assembly yesterday. They also faced a further charge of disobeying the police order to disperse.

To add to this, another lawyer, Edmund Bon, was charged with obstructing Kuala Lumpur City Hall officers from performing their duties.

He was charged under section 186 of the Penal Code which carries a punishment of maximum three-months jail or a maximum fine of RM1,000, or both.

For the first batch of eight marchers, they were charged under Section 143 of the Penal Code for illegal assembly and under Section 145 of same code for failing to disperse. They also faced alternate charges under the Police Act.

For the first charge, Section 143 of the Penal Code allows for a six months jail or with fine, or both while Section 27 (5) Police Act carries a maximum of one-year jail sentence or a fine not exceeding RM10,000.

For the second charge, the Penal Code carries a two year-imprisonment sentence or fine, or both while Section 27 (4) of the Police Act which carries similar punishment as 27 (5).

All nine of those charged claimed trial at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court. The prosecution was personally led by attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail - the government's highest ranking legal officer - who objected bail for all charged today.

The AG submitted his reasons for not wanting to grant bail to the eight on grounds that he believed they would repeat the offence and alleged that some were “notorious” to have repeatedly participated in illegal assemblies.

“The authorities specifically, through the media and in accordance with law, told the public to not participate in the assembly as it was illegal but this group defied the legitimate orders and went on to march. If this is so, I believe that they are very much capable of repeating the offence.” he said.

On his submission as to why Bon should not be granted bail, Abdul Gani said that the lawyer’s act of defiance would “create the perception that it is okay to defy the authorities”.

“This will create disorder and threat to the national security,” he submitted.

However, Sessions judge Komathy Suppiah rejected Abdul Gani's arguments and allowed bail for all the accused persons.

She set bail at RM2,000 each for the eight marchers, with hearing was fixed from Jan 28 to 31 next year.

Bon, on the other hand, was granted bail at RM1,000. His case will be heard from March 3 to 5 next year.

'Pak Lah politically insecure'

The eight marchers were arrested yesterday for taking part in a march in conjunction with the International Human Rights Day, which is celebrated today.

The police had arrested them soon after giving them time to disperse.

The eight include lawyers N Surendra, Latheefa Koya, R Sivarasa, Eric Paulsen and Amer Hamzah. The remaining three were Nooraza Othman, Johny Anbu @ Abu Bakar Adnan, Ashraf Sadakathullah.

Later in the day, Bon, who is the Bar Council’ human rights committee chairperson, was arrested for blocking DBKL officials from removing human rights banners outside the Malaysian Bar building in Leboh Pasar Besar in Kuala Lumpur.

One high-profile accused person, Sivarasa told Malaysiakini in the court today that the AG’s objection to bail was “indicative of the oppressive nature of this administration”.

“This shows that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is politically insecure,” he said.

“There were more police personnel at the march yesterday morning than the marchers.” he added.

The eight marchers were represented by M Puravelan, K Ragunath and Tommy Thomas. Bon also had a big team of lawyers to represent him, including Sri Kanth Pillai, Bernard Francis, Brendan Siva, Saha Deva, Richard Wee and Chan Weng Keng.

The police today conducted simultaneous arrests in various states of two top opposition leaders and a dozen of others who took part in the Nov 10 Bersih rally.

Prominent PAS leader Mohamad Sabu was arrested in Perak while PKR information chief Tian Chua was arrested in Johor.

When contacted at 4.45pm, Mohamad Sabu’s wife told Malaysiakini that her husband was in the midst of being taken away by the police from Ipoh where he was attending his daughter’s wedding.

Meanwhile, Tian Chua was arrested outside human rights organisation Suaram’s office in Johor Baru at 5.15pm by a police team from Kuala Lumpur.

PAS leader Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi confirmed the arrests of the other Bersih supporters in different states.

The 14 have been arrested under the Police Act for participating in an illegal assembly. Ten of them have been earlier arrested following the rally and released on police bail.

Their bail is to expire on Monday and all those arrested today are expected to be charged at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court tomorrow.

It is understood that majority of those detained are members of the marshals unit in opposition party PAS, who had been tasked with traffic control and maintaining crowd discipline during the massive rally.

Today's crackdown came ahead of another planned gathering on Tuesday where Bersih seeks to hand over a protest memorandum to Parliament.

The polls reform coalition wants the government to withdraw the Constitutional Amendment Bill scheduled to be tabled on that day which, if passed, will see the current Election Commission chairperson’s tenure being extended by a year, to the new age limit of 66.

Ban on rallies

About 40,000 people took to the streets in the Nov 10 Bersih rally to demand for fair and clean elections.

The protesters massed outside the national palace in defiance of a government ban and despite that thousands of police personnel were deployed in and around Kuala Lumpur, bringing traffic to a standstill.

A memorandum was handed to a palace official by a delegation led by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim before the crowd dispersed peacefully.

Although the rally was generally incident-free, the police fired tear gas and chemical-laced water into a crowd near the Masjid Jamek LRT station in the bid to disperse them.

According to reports, 29 were detained at the rally, of whom 24 were released the same day.

The Bersih rally was followed by another mass rally three weeks later where 30,000 supporters of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) poured into the streets of Kuala Lumpur to draw attention to allegations of racial and religious discrimination.

Last week, 31 Hindraf protesters were charged with attempted murder at the Nov 25 rally, while 16 of them were also slapped with an additional charge of taking part in an illegal assembly.

The police action against street protesters continued today with the arrest of eight people, including five lawyers, for taking part in a human rights march in Kuala Lumpur.

In addition, it is also learnt that PKR leader N Gobalakrishnan would be made the 32nd person to be charged with attempted murder at the Shah Alam Sessions Court tomorrow in regards to the Hindraf rally.

The police have arrested eight people, including five lawyers, for proceeding with a march to mark International Human Rights Day from the Sogo department store to Central Market in Kuala Lumpur early this morning.

The arrests came after a failed attempt by the organisers of the march to negotiate with the police to allow them to finish their march at their intended spot.

The 100-odd crowd was already halfway to their destination when the 500-strong police force gave the marchers a 10-minute warning to disperse.

The organisers, who believed that they could complete their march within the time limit, wanted to press on. According to an eyewitness, the police however cordoned off the area, moved in and made the arrests even before the stipulated deadline expired. 

Those arrested included five lawyers - N Surendran (right), Latheefa Koya, R Sivarasa, Eric Paulsen and Amer Hamzah. Others were Anthony Andu, Noor Aza Othman and a bystander identified only as Ashraf Ali Raja.

They were arrested near the Jalan Tun Perak LRT station and were immediately taken to the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters.

The eight were arrested under the Police Act for illegal assembly, said Dang Wangi's acting superintendent Che Hamzah Che Ismail.

"Firstly, the demonstrators did not have a permit to be here," he said. "And because the lawyers and demonstrators failed to leave after repeated warnings to disperse, we had to take action."

 The remainder of the marchers dispersed following the arrests and there was a heavy police presence in the area for a few hours.

"Authorities seem to be upset by any visible signs of protest and I think this is a problem with the country," said Sivarasa, who is also a leader of PKR.

"They don't seem to be able to deal with peaceful dissent," he told AFP before he was arrested.

Organiser Latheefa said that Malaysians needed to continue to exercise their constitutional right to public assembly.

Willing to cooperate

Earlier today, at about 8am, the small group of about 100 gathered at the Sogo departmental store under the watchful eyes of the police. There were however no signs of the dreaded Federal Reserve Unit and their water cannon trucks.

The marchers had carried banners that read "Lawyers for the freedom of assembly" and "Government that abuses human rights is terrorist."

Eyewitnesses said that one of the persons arrested was dragged into the waiting police truck and the arrests were done despite the marchers’ willingness to cooperate with the police.

This small group of marchers have undertaken this march after the Bar Council had dropped its annual march in conjunction with the International Human Rights Day celebration - which falls on Dec 10 - due to pressure to obtain a police permit.

Yesterday the police had warned the public not to participate in the march given that no permit had been issued for the gathering.

"As no permit has been issued for the gathering, those who take part in it can be charged under Section 27(5) of the Police Act 1967 for participating in an illegal assembly," warned Che Hamzah in a Bernama report.

Upon the decision of the Bar Council to call off the march, at least 15 lawyers decided to proceed with the walk to make a statement that citizens have a right to assemble peacefully and without prior requirement of a police permit.

Venue changed

Two days ago, Surendran had said that the march was purely initiated by a group of concerned lawyers, adding that the organisers will not be applying for a police permit.

“We think that applying for a permit is a negation of our fundamental right to freedom of assembly as enshrined in Article 10 of the Federal Constitution,” he had explained.

“We feel the (Bar Council) march was called of due to undue pressure from the authorities. We want to send a message that the people of Malaysia have the right to a peaceful assembly,” Surendran said.

Bar Council chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan meanwhile had explained that the decision to call off the march was made after “anxious consideration to the present circumstances that surround the event, particularly the interests of the public and the Malaysian Bar."

The Bar Council also moved its “Festival of Rights” event today to its own building located near Central Market after police insisted that organisers apply for a permit to hold the event at Central Market.

In a related development, Ambiga today expressed disappointed over not being allowed to see the arrested people.

Ambiga said that the march was peaceful and slammed the arrests as "totally unnecessary and unfortunate."

"The Bar holds the view that requirement of police permit is unconstitutional," she told reporters.

Later when contacted, Ambiga said that it was likely that the eight marchers would be charged tomorrow at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court.

The police have also not decided if they want to release the eight or keep them detained overnight, she said.

“I don’t understand why they are being held. After all they have all given their statement,” she said after meeting the arrested marchers at the KL police headquarters.

She said that it was also a disgrace for the police to arrest these people, especially on the eve of the World Human Rights Day.

Meanwhile the police continued to exert pressure on the Bar Council over their ‘Festival of Rights’ by arresting the council’s human rights committee chairperson Edmund Bon, allegedly for preventing the authorities from performing their duty.

Eyewitnesses said that Edmund was arrested at about 12.45pm for blocking Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officials from removing human rights banners outside the Malaysian Bar building in Leboh Pasar Besar in Kuala Lumpur.

Immediate response

In an immediate response, PKR de facto leader and ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim lambasted the authorities for using the law "to subvert freedom and to suppress the people's fundamental democratic right to peaceful assembly".

"In the absence of any evidence that they planned to jeopardise the public's safety, their arrest represents nothing more than scare tactics we have seen used in the past by the Malaysian government as it prepares to unleash the draconian measures of the Internal Security Act," said Anwar in a statement this afternoon.

"The individuals who have been detained today are among the most patriotic Malaysian citizens and many have dedicated their life's work to upholding the rule of law."

Meanwhile, Penang-based social movement Aliran said it deplored the "thoughtless and mindless reaction" of the government in cracking down on the march.

"We are appalled that even a small gathering of marchers to a nearby destination in an orderly manner without obstructing the traffic or causing any chaos to the public cannot be allowed or tolerated by this oppressive regime," said Aliran president P Ramakrishnan.
 
"If this little act of a democratic principle cannot be exercised in a responsible manner, can we pretend to be a democratic country any longer? This state abuse of our fundamental rights shames the country and condemns the leaders as hypocrites."

Ramakrishnan called on the government to release those arrested, whom he described as "brave Malaysians who have been unjustifiably detained".

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has reportedly warned that ethnic Indian activists accused of having links with Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers could be held under internal security laws.

Ethnic rights group Hindraf, which organised mass anti-discrimination protests in November that were broken up with tear gas and water cannon, has been accused of seeking support from the Tigers.

Abdullah said he had ordered police to monitor Hindraf leaders and followers on suspicion of association with terrorists, and that they could be dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows detention without trial.

"ISA is an option," the premier said according to the New Straits Times. "I will decide when the time is right."

"If they are deemed (as a threat to national security) we will know what to do."

Cabinet minister Nazri Abdul Aziz reportedly said Hindraf would be banned if it was found to be supported by groups like the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Hindu paramilitary group Rashtriya Swayamesevak Sangh (RSS).

"If it is true that Hindraf leaders have links with them, Hindraf is also a terrorist group," the de facto law minister said according to the Star daily.

Peaceful struggle will go on

Malaysia's ethnic Indians, who make up eight percent of the population, are mostly Tamils - the descendents of indentured labourers brought here by the British colonial rulers in the 1800s.

Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy, who is overseas lobbying international support for the group, claimed the government was conspiring against them.

"This is a state conspiracy to divert from the real issue of the oppression, marginalisation and suppression of the minority Indian community," he said in a statement.

"Hindraf will continue its peaceful struggle both locally and internationally."

On Friday, the government also sought to overturn a decision that allowed three Hindraf leaders including Waythamoorthy to walk free from sedition charges related to speeches they made last month.

The speeches criticised Malaysia's system of preferential treatment for Malays, who make up 60 percent of the population. The court has adjourned the hearing until Monday.

About 30,000 protesters demonstrated under the shadows of Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Twin Towers after their efforts to petition the British High Commission was thwarted by the police with tear gas and chemical-laced water cannon.

The protesters had attempted to gather outside the high commission early this morning but thousands were pushed back by the riot police to outside a two-kilometre radius of the venue.

Crowds quickly grew at various points in the city, and were blocked by police and Federal Reserve Unit officers.

At its height, there is an estimated 30,000 people scattered over a number of areas in the vicinty of the high commission.

An estimated 10,000 gathered along Jalan Ampang, near Hotel Maya, with a further 5,000 on Jalan P Ramlee just before Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC).

Another 10,000 demonstraters were at the Jalan Tun Razak-Jalan Ampang interchange.

About 5,000 people were stopped at the Jalan Ampang and Middle-Ring-Road intersection.

The protesters – a mix of young and old Indian Malaysians - seemed to have come from all over the country.

At about 10am, the crowd along Jalan Ampang, near Hotel Maya, were addressed with loudhailers by Hindraf leaders, including P Uthayakumar. PKR information chief Tian Chua and DAP leader Ronnie Liu also addressed the rally.

At 10.30am, the Hindraf leaders ended their speeches. But thousands of protesters continue to mill around the KLCC areas playing a cat-and-mouse game with the police water cannon.

However at 11am, the crowd has moved from KLCC to edge closer to the British High Commission. Thousands faced off riot police at the key Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak intersection near Ampang Park. 

At 1pm, after negotiations with the police, Uthayakumar arrived to give a short speech and urged the crowd to disperse peacefully. The crowd was seen walking back down towards Jalan Sultan Ismail, away from the British High Commission. 

'This is outrageous'

Hindraf leader A Sivanesan condemned the police for turning Kuala Lumpur into a war zone.

"Things are getting out of hand. We blame the police. They have beaten women and children. This is outrageous," he told Malaysiakini.

Lawyer Haris Ibrahim, a member of the Bar Council monitoring team, was stunned by the heavy-handed police action against the protesters.

"I'm not happy with the way the police are handling the crowd,' he said. 

DAP member of parliament M Kulasegaran was also upset with the crackdown.

"Over the last 50 years Indian have been marginalised in this country. And we now want the same rights as enjoyed by other communities," he told AFP.

"They have no right to stop us from protesting today. This is the will of the people," he added.

Petition to Queen Elizabeth II

The planned protest is to support a US$4-trillion (RM14-trillion) lawsuit by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) against Malaysia's former colonial power for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years.

Furthermore, the suit sought a declaration that the Reid Commission Report 1957 failed to incorporate the rights of the Indian community when independence was granted, resulting in discrimination and marginalisation to this day.

The quantum being sought is about US$2 million for every Indian currently residing in Malaysia.

Following the filing of the suit, Hindraf held nationwide roadshows explaining to grassroots about the case.

Coupled with their work to prevent rampant state-sanctioned demolition of Hindu temples, Hindraf won over a wave of support for their cause.

Today's memorandum was to petition Queen Elizabeth II to appoint a Queen's counsel to argue the case on their behalf.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has vowed to crack down on a planned mass rally in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow and gave his support to the police to break up the protest and arrest participants.

“The police have said no, yet they still want to proceed. In that case, surely something bad is going to happen,” said Abdullah during his presidential winding-up speech at the end of the Umno general assembly today.

Abdullah said the rally organisers have shown that they were stubborn and defiant against the country’s laws.

“They are challenging the patience of the rakyat who want this country to be peaceful and stable. That is what they are challenging, not me.

“Tapi saya mesti kata saya pantang dicabar (But I have to say that don't you dare challenge me),” said Abdullah to roars of approval from the delegates.

Abdullah was referring to the mass rally tomorrow organised by elections reform coalition Bersih which would take place at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.

Nothing wrong with EC

Abdullah said the Election Commission (EC) has already given in to several of Bersih’s request and that street demonstrations were not the way to bring about change.

“They wanted a transparent ballot box and the use of indelible ink to prevent multiple voting. The EC has agreed to that. Other than that, they can negotiate with the commission,” he said.

Abdullah blamed the opposition for finding faults with the EC despite the commission being the same body since independence.

“Does that mean that in this country the opposition cannot win? Of course they can. In Kelantan, PAS has formed the government numerous times. Then they won in Terengganu.

“They can win. If we control everything, there is no way they can win. But that is not our way. We want the public to sincerely tell us what they want and we will respect the results of an election,” he added.

Causing inconvenience

Citing recent by-elections as examples, Abdullah said the opposition boycotted the Batu Talam by-election because they could not win.

“But their reason was that the by-election was a sham. Instead, they placed an independent candidate and silently campaigned for him because they wanted us to lose.

“But in Machap and Ijok, they thought they could win. At that time, they forget about the Election Commission. They just think of winning,” said Abdullah.

The prime minister added that the planned march would be an inconvenience to the public as well as shop owners in the city.

Despite warnings from the police and Internal Security Ministry, Bersih has planned to proceed with the rally.

At a press conference later, Abdullah stressed that the rally is banned "because there have never been peaceful gatherings.” 

When told that the right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed under the Federal Constitution, Abdullah argued that the people's right to peace must also be respected.

Asked whether suppressing the rally will result in Malaysian leaders being unfavourably compared with the military junta in Myanmar (Burma), he replied: “Malaysia is not Myanmar... I don’t think what happened in Myanmar will happen here.”

He also argued the move to crack down on the rally would not make a 'mockery' of his repeated pledge to listen to the truth from the people.

“They have the chance to say all sort of things about me - the bloggers, so many mosquito newspapers, publications, bulletins and books - they know that they have never had it so good.”
Pressed on whether the crackdown would result in clashes and possible violence, the prime minister say the government would leave it to the police to do their job.

"The police will know what to do, they are well trained,” he added.

M'sia to become laughing stock

In a statement today, Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said Malaysia would become the laughing stock in the international arena if citizens are not even allowed the right to gather peacefully to submit a petition to the King.

He said that the protesters are not advocating any "violence or even for an overthrow of the government, but for electoral reforms to ensure that the next general election is clean, free and fair and the election results are not marred by electoral abuses, fraud and other malpractices".

Lim, who will be among the top guns at the rally, said he can personally "vouch for the bona fide of the peaceful gathering tomorrow and that there is no intention whatsoever by anyone to create any untoward incident".

"Let tomorrow be a day where all Malaysians can hold their heads high that democracy in Malaysia is observed in practice and not just in words."

Despite an almost complete lockdown of the city by police and with the rally venue Dataran Merdeka sealed off, thousands of protesters are congregating in Sogo department store, Masjid Jamek, Masjid Negara and Pasar Seni. [See map]

4.30pm: Most of the protesters are seen walking back to Masjid Negara and the traffic is at a standstill. About 20 people have been arrested earlier today and they are being held at Pudu police station. When they arrive at Masjid Negara, they were told to go home. Some of them are going to the Pudu police station to support those who were detained

4pm: The Bersih delegation led by Anwar Ibrahim handed the memorandum to the King's representative at the gate of the Istana Negara. Anwar is accompanied by PAS' Hadi Awang and Nasharuddin Mat Isa and DAP's Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng. The organisers are asking the 40,000-strong crowd to disperse. Nasharuddin describes the event as a resounding success.

3.55pm: Anwar Ibrahim arrives on a motorbike to join Lim Kit Siang and Hadi Awang near Istana Negara. He and Hadi Awang give a short speech and are getting ready to move to the palace gate.

3.40pm: Another few thousand of protesters, mostly from Masjid Jamek, are marching to join the main crowd in Istana Negara. They are currently in Jalan Maharajalela, near the old KL train station.

3.30pm: Seven members of Bersih will be allowed to go to the gate of Istana Negara to hand in the memorandum calling for the King's intervention in instituting poll reforms. The delegation is waiting for ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim to arrive. He was caught in the traffic jam and will now travel by motorbike.

3.20pm: A Bersih delegation, which include Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang from DAP and PAS president Hadi Awang, is waiting about 100 metres outside the Istana Negara. The 40,000 protesters are on the highway and are being held back by riot police 200 metres from the palace. 

3.15pm: About 5,000 protesters are marching from Sogo department store towards Istana Negara. They are currently in Jalan Raja Laut near Pertama Complex. The 500 from Pasir Seni have broken away from the stand-off with riot police near Dataran Merdeka, leaving the square completely quiet.

3.12pm: There is a stand-off between the 40,000 crowd and 150 riot police -backed by water cannon trucks - about 200 meters from Istana Negara. Three  police helicopters are hovering above.

3pm: The crowd, now grown to about 40,000, reached about 300 metres from Istana Negara. PAS president Hadi Awang is leading them. Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim is due to arrive. There are people stretching over half a kilometre along the highway.

2.50pm: 10,000 who are at the Masjid Negara have begun marching to Istana Negara. They split into two groups using two different routes. Rain stops.

2.45pm: The police have taken over the road outside Masjid Jamek after firing about a dozen rounds of tear gas. Many of the protesters move away from the area. Most of them have linked up with the crowd in Sogo department store.

2.40pm: The 500 Pasar Seni marchers are met by 100 riot police about 50 metres from Dataran Merdeka. There are minor clashes but police have formed two lines of barricades, resulting in a stand-off.

2.39pm: The police in Masjid Jamek area begin firing several canisters of tear gas at the crowd in addition to discharging chemical-laced water. At least, four rounds of tear gas have been fired.

2.35pm: About 500 protesters to march from Pasar Seni towards Dataran Merdeka in heavy rain followed by 100 riot police. The group is led by Bersih leader Tian Chua, accompanied with shouts of Daulat Tuanku (Long live the King). 

2.25pm: Crowd has increased to 2,000 in Masjid Jamek area. Water cannon fired several times. Crowd inside Masjid India and a bank opposite the mosque were hit. Protesters are seeking refuge inside the mosque and Masjid Jamek LRT station.

2.10pm: The police fire chemical laced water cannons at 1,000 protesters in Masjid Jamek, near the LRT station. The attempt by the police to disperse the crowd was without any prior warning. Riot police are in formation outside the mosque. Another 500 protesters are inside Masjid India nearby. It begins raining.


PHOTO GALLERY

4-min video - Anwar Ibrahim and 40,000 crowd at Istana

Seventeen people, including three opposition leaders, were today charged with illegal assembly at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court in connection with the Nov 10 mass rally organised by polls reform group Bersih.

The trio - PKR’s Tian Chua, N Gobalakrishnan and PAS vice-chief Mohamad Sabu - were charged a day ahead of another mass rally planned by Bersih outside the Parliament tomorrow.

The rally has since been banned by the government in the latest series of crackdown on public rallies.

In addition to the unlawful assembly charge under Section 143 of the Penal Code, all of the 17 - except for Chua and Mohamad - also faced a second charge of disobeying a police order to disperse under Section 145 of the same code.

They also faced two alternative charges under the Police Act.

All of the 17 pleaded not guilty before Sessions Judge Rozana Ali Yusoff.

The judge granted bail between RM1,000 and RM5,000 to the accused persons despite fierce objection from attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail who personally led the prosecution. Hearing dates were fixed from Feb 11 to 13 next year.

Chua and Mohamad, who were arrested yesterday in Johor Baru and Ipoh respectively, were given bail at RM5,000 with one surety each while Gobalakrishnan was given bail at RM3,000.

Apart from the three politicians, the rest who were charged were mostly PAS’ marshal unit members who were tasked to control traffic during the rally. They turned up in court today in their uniform - a beret and a red t-shirt.

‘Highly speculative’ argument

In a lengthy argument on bail, AG Abdul Gani among others cited a news published by PAS’ organ Harakahdaily on Bersih’s planned rally tomorrow to support his argument as to why the group should not be granted bail.

“This shows the rally by Bersih will continue on, so the offence will continue. There is no question about it,” the country’s top prosecutor told a packed court, adding that he “strongly object” to bail for the 17.

Justice Rozana however sought several clarifications on this point raised by Abdul Gani such as how the latter was certain that the rally was to proceed and the accused will participate in it.

To this, Abdul Gani said his team obtained the information from Harakahdaily together with reports from the police.

Lawyer Ranjit Singh, from the defence team, however criticised the AG’s argument as “highly speculative” as there was no evidence to substantiate the point.

“This is also the first time that the AG relies on a report from Harakahdaily. Is he suggesting that everything in Harakah is true?” said Ranjit in jest.

Ranjit also lambasted the prosecution’s objection to bail as amounting to invoking the notorious Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for detention without trial, in a different from.

“If bail is not granted, it will tantamount to preventive detention. This is the ISA through the backdoor. They will be incarcerated for years just to prevent them from carrying on further rally,” argued the defence lawyer.

Another defence lawyer, GK Ganesan, argued the AG should not use tomorrow’s rally and the ‘public interest’ as the grounds in objecting bail.

“There is no need for the court to punish (the accused) for something that will happen tomorrow. If they break the law, the court will act accordingly,” he noted.

On public interest, Ganesan drew chuckles from court by saying: “If there are 10,000 people going to Parliament tomorrow, I don’t think KLCC’s business will be affected or any international flight will be cancelled. The inconvenience will be because there were police roadblocks everywhere.”

Judge’s reminder

After considering the arguments from both parties, Justice Rozana eventually upheld the defence’s argument but advised the group not to commit the same alleged offence in future.

“I use my discretionary power to grant bail since most of the accused are first-time offenders, except for one or two persons. But you are reminded that if you are arrested again, the bail may be revoked,” she said.

Abdul Gani interjected at this juncture and said he will make application to revoke the bail given to the 17, should they be arrested for illegal assembly again.

The court was finally adjourned at about 7pm after a two-and-a-half hour proceeding.

As soon as the court adjourned, the 100-odd Bersih leaders and supporters - majority of whom were from PAS - which filled the courtroom chanted ‘Allahuakhbar’ (God is great) a few times.

Among those who were present at the hearing included PAS leaders Kamaruddin Jaffar, Salahuddin Ayub, Dr Hatta Ramli, Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi, DAP’s M Kula Segaran, Chong Chieng Jen, Ronnie Liu and PKR’s William Leong.

The accused were represented by a large team of defence lawyers that also included Hanipa Maidin and Rajpal Singh. Abdul Gani was assisted by DPPs Ishak Yusoff and Allan Suman Pillai.

The court’s decision to release the 17 accused on bail came as a second blow for Abdul Gani today after a similar decision was made by another Sessions Court earlier in the case that involved nine people - including five lawyers - arrested at the Human Rights Day Festival yesterday.

The Kuala Lumpur court complex was abuzz since this morning when about 200 politicians, lawyers and supporters for the two groups charged today turned up to support them as early as 7.30am.

Malaysiakini compares the key news and views in major newspapers. What is today's agenda for the English, Bahasa, Tamil and Chinese papers?

Front Page

English newspapers

New Straits Times, the Star and The Sun front-paged 26 people charged yesterday; 17 for participating in the Nov 10 Bersih rally, 8 for the human rights walk on Sunday and lawyer Edmund Bon for obstructing officers from doing their duty.

They also led with the prime minister’s assertion that the government prioritises public safety over public freedom and will not hesitate to take stern action against those who threaten peace including the use of the Internal Security Act if necessary.

The Star also front-paged a photo of Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil surveying a flooded village in Segamat, Johor yesterday.

Malay newspapers

Utusan Malaysia reported the charges against three opposition leaders; PAS vice president Mohamad Sabu, PKR information chief Tian Chua and PKR national integration chief N Gobalakrishnan for their participation in the Bersih rally on Nov 10. It also reported charges of illegal assembly against eight participants of the human rights march on Sunday.

Utusan Malaysia also front-paged Malaysia’s nine gold medals at the South East Asian games and the Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan’s warnings that more Hindraf leaders and supporters will be arrested as police have finished investigations.

Berita Harian led with the prime minister’s assertion that the government will not compromise public safety for freedom. It also reported the 27 people charged for participating in the Bersih and Hindraf illegal rallies and news of a projected 70 percent increase in government-linked companies profit from RM10.2 billion last year to RM17.4 billion.

Tamil newspapers

All Tamil dailies - Tamil Nesan, Malaysia Nanban and Makkal Osai - led with the Bersih protesters who were charged yesterday. Also in the main page was the news on the reinstatement of the sedition charge against three Hindraf leaders.

The dailies also said the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak would be getting an explanation from PPP president M Kayveas for blaming MIC for the woes of the Indian community.

Editorial

New Straits Times criticised the lawyers who proceeded with the human rights walk and the Bar Council for defending their right to march. It said that persons who disagree with a law should try to change it rather than break it.

The Sun urged more sensible, cheaper and rudimentary ways of alleviating floods including designating catchment zones and green areas, instead of investing RM21 billion in building dams and deepening rivers.

Utusan Malaysia also slammed the lawyers who continued their human rights march without a permit and lauded the government’s stern actions against street protestors.

Berita Harian called on people living in flood-prone regions to make preparations in case of rising water levels. It also urged the government to study the cause of floods and take the necessary steps to solve the problem.

Tamil Nesan said preventive measures must be taken to stop floods.

Makkal Osai criticised MIC President S Samy Vellu’s action in barring a journalist from the daily from covering a function on Sunday.