Protest crackdown taints Malaysia’s image
By Channelnewsasia.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police may have crushed a weekend protest, but analysts say the crackdown has tainted the country’s democratic credentials and could embolden the opposition ahead of elections.
A massive security lockdown on Saturday in the capital Kuala Lumpur crippled a plan by Bersih, a broad coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups, to muster 100,000 people for a rally demanding electoral reforms.
Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds in the biggest anti-government protests to hit the nation since 2007, when similar demands for reform also ended in chaos on the streets.
More than 1,600 people were arrested, including 16 children as well as prominent lawmakers, and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was hospitalised after being knocked down in the pandemonium.
Analysts and campaigners said the stern police action was likely to backfire on the country’s image as one of Southeast Asia’s more democratic countries.
Prime Minister Najib Razak has been cultivating an image of an emerging nation with a strong economy and an open political environment.
“I think it has tarnished Malaysia’s image and its membership in the UN Human Rights Council,” said political analyst Khoo Kay Peng.
Describing the police action as “completely overdone,” Khoo said, “It is a killer to our image as a progressive democratic country.”
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned the crackdown and the arrests and chided Malaysia for flouting international standards.
“As a current member of the UN Human Rights Council, the Malaysian government should be setting an example to other nations and promoting human rights,” said Amnesty International’s Donna Guest.
“Instead they appear to be suppressing them in the worst campaign of repression we’ve seen in the country for years.”
