KUALA LUMPUR — Police arrested almost 1,000 people and fired tear gas on protesters in Malaysia’s capital on Saturday in an attempt to prevent an afternoon rally by election reform advocates.
Officials said they had arrested 924 people for “various offenses” by late afternoon, including senior protest leaders.
Demonstrators were seen scattering throughout Saturday afternoon as police fired tear gas. In one late-afternoon skirmish, police volleyed tear gas on thousands of protesters near the city’s Central Market. The Associated Press reported that police had also used chemical-laced water to disperse some demonstrators. Roads leading into the capital and some streets in the city remained close late Saturday afternoon, as helicopters hovered over the city center.
Saturday’s confrontation between police and protesters culminated after weeks of growing tension as activists have called on Prime Minister Najib Razak to reform the way elections are conducted. The next election must be held by mid-2013, but there is speculation it could be held as early as this year.
Saturday’s rally was organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, also known as Bersih, or “clean” in Malay. The coalition is made up of 62 nongovernmental organizations.
Key leaders of the Bersih movement, most of them dressed in the group’s distinctive yellow T-shirts, and some opposition party leaders were arrested after they tried to walk from the Kuala Lumpur Central Station to Merdeka Stadium, where they had planned to hold a rally.
After forcing their way past security and into the city’s main train station, the Bersih leaders tried to leave from the other side of the station, where they were met by riot police who fired tear gas.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and one of his bodyguards were injured as they tried to flee, and were being treated in a hospital Saturday afternoon, said Latheefa Koya, head of the opposition People’s Justice Party legal bureau.
Speaking at a news conference before she was arrested on Saturday, Ambiga Sreenevasan, chairwoman of Bersih, said the arrests and firing of tear gas by police had “stirred a sense of outrage against the exhibition of raw power by our government.”
“What is the necessity for this show of might against right? No matter what, right will always prevail,” she said. Ms. Ambiga said she had “no idea” how long she may be detained if arrested.
Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy and democracy with regular national elections, but Bersih organizers say that elections are vulnerable to manipulation.
They have issued a list of eight demands, including marking voters with indelible ink to prevent them from voting more than once, purging electoral rolls of “phantom voters” and ensuring that opposition parties have equal access to the mainstream news media. The group is also calling for a royal commission to investigate how elections are conducted.
Last Saturday, the government declared Bersih illegal, because it had not registered as an organization and was causing unrest among the public. Bersih countered that it was not a new organization, but rather an alliance of existing groups.
Mr. Najib had earlier said the coalition could hold the rally if it agreed to meet in a stadium, rather than on the streets as first planned. Bersih organizers agreed to the terms, but the authorities then said that Bersih could not proceed without a police permit, which normally would not be granted to a group that has been declared illegal.
Bersih leaders responded by accusing the prime minister of having “reneged” on his offer to provide a stadium for their rally.
On Saturday Mr. Najib described the protest as "an illegal rally organized by a section of our community,” according to a report by national news agency Bernama.
"If there are people who want to hold the illegal rally, there are even more who are against their plan to hold the illegal gathering,” Bernama quoted Mr. Najib as saying.
Ong Kian Ming, a political analyst at UCSI University in Kuala Lumpur, said the police had efficiently prevented demonstrators from gathering at the stadium.
“I think the police lost more credibility than the protesters,” he said, adding that there had been no reports of demonstrators attacking police or damaging property. “I think it would be hard for the police to justify why they needed such a massive presence.”
Prior to Saturday, 225 people had been arrested in connection with the Bersih movement under various laws including the Sedition Act and Emergency Ordinance, which allows for detention without trial. On Thursday, the police said six people remained in custody. Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have condemned the arrests, and called on the government to stop harassing those associated with Bersih.
“This brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters is undermining Malaysia’s claim to be a moderate democracy. Mr. Najib’s government has chosen the path of repression, not reform,” Amnesty International said in a statement Saturday.
Saturday’s protest was one of the biggest demonstrations in recent years in Malaysia. A street rally calling for similar election reforms in 2007 was credited with helping the opposition make historic gains in the 2008 elections.