Malaysian police used ‘excessive force’ in KL rally
By Teo Cheng Wee, Straits Times (Singapore)
Police used excessive and unnecessary force against Bersih rally participants while arrests were made randomly and arbitrarily, according to the Malaysian Bar Council.
The Bar Council’s comments – detailed in a report by a team of 100 people who openly monitored the rally last Saturday – add to the flak that the authorities have received from the United Nations, human rights groups and international news editorials over their handling of the demonstration for electoral reforms.
More than 1,600 people were arrested and one man died in Malaysia’s biggest street protest in years, as police fired tear gas and sprayed chemical-laced water at tens of thousands of protesters.
The police’s response was indiscriminate and made without audible warning to the demonstrators, said Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee, who signed off on the report.
With the exception of an unruly few, most of the participants had behaved in a peaceful and calm manner, he said.
The report also noted that police were seen beating, hitting and kicking some of the protest participants, contradicting earlier remarks by Prime Minister Najib Razak that there was “no physical contact” between police and protesters.
It reserved praise, however, for “a significant number” of police officers who were polite towards protest leaders and participants.
The report ended with the Bar Council calling for the government to “uphold the constitutional rights of Malaysians to assemble without a need for police permits”, and to investigate the claims of aggression by the police.
“The outcome of the monitoring exercise demonstrates that people in Malaysia are mature and peace-loving when championing a cause they believe in,” said Lim.
“This is contrary to the fear of possible racial disharmony or riots, expressed by irresponsible public figures.”
Days after the Bersih rally, reports such as the Bar Council’s have kept public pressure on the government of Prime Minister Najib.
Already a Facebook petition for Datuk Seri Najib to resign has picked up speed, with close to 180,000 ‘likes’, five days after it was posted. The PM is out of the country, on an official visit to Britain.
Prominent online news websites have also been regularly publishing first-hand accounts from protesters, many of whom hit out at the authorities and their heavy- handed response.
“Was there violence? Yes – tear gas, water cannon… but well, if you want to call making lots of noise and chants, and singing (national anthem) Negara Ku and shouting ‘Daulat Tuanku’ (Long live the King) several times violence, I guess we were pretty violent,” one protester wrote in a column yesterday.
Pro-Umno blogs, however, have attempted to deflect the criticism by highlighting the buffet spread that Bersih detainees were treated to by the authorities, at a cost of 25 ringgit (US$8) per person.
They also referred to standby medical treatment and makeshift prayer tents that were provided during the rally, claiming that these showed that the police treated Bersih protesters well.
Parts of the mainstream media also continued to hit out at Bersih organisers and opposition leaders for holding the illegal rally.
In an editorial yesterday, Umno-owned newspaper Utusan Malaysia accused Selangor Pakatan Rakyat leaders of disobeying the Malaysian King and the Selangor Sultan.
The King had called for restraint and urged the government and Bersih organisers to hold consultations over the issue of elections. The Selangor Sultan had warned the public to stay away from street protests.
“Is it wrong to call them treasonous and liars out to damage the institution of the monarchs?” said Utusan’s editorial. “This group lied to the King when they still brought their supporters to the streets.”
