By THOMAS FULLER
Published: August 2, 2009
New York Times / International Herald Tribune

BANGKOK — Soon after coming to power four months ago, Najib Razak, the Malaysian prime minister, vowed to temper the country’s repressive laws and respect civil liberties though they have often been ignored.

But Malaysia’s honeymoon of liberalism hit the rocks over the weekend, when the police broke up a large rally in Kuala Lumpur, arresting nearly 600 people and reaffirming the governing party’s longstanding policy of zero tolerance toward street protests.

Opposition parties, which organized the rally, were calling for the repeal of a law that allows the government to jail its critics indefinitely without charge. The opposition is also pressing the government to expand an inquiry into the recent death under mysterious circumstances of a political aide after a late-night interrogation by anticorruption officials.

News services estimated that the rally on Saturday, which was broken up by thousands of police officers using tear gas and water cannons, drew about 20,000 protesters, making it the largest demonstration in two years.

“We can provide them stadiums where they can shout themselves hoarse till dawn, but don’t cause disturbance in the streets,” Mr. Najib said Sunday, according to the Malaysian news media.

Since taking office in April, Mr. Najib has gained favor with investors and businesspeople by partly dismantling a system of racial preferences that long caused resentment among the country’s minorities.

He also released 13 political detainees held without trial. An opinion poll conducted from June 19 to July 1 showed 65 percent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with his performance. The poll, by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research, surveyed 1,060 voters.

More recently, Mr. Najib’s government has been criticized as reverting to the authoritarian tactics of previous administrations.

A former health minister and stalwart of the governing coalition, Chua Jui Meng, defected to the opposition in July, saying that Mr. Najib represented an “iron fist behind the velvet glove.”

Lim Kit Siang, a prominent opposition politician, said in a blog entry on Sunday that the large number of people detained “underlines” that the “greatest violators of human rights are often the police and the law enforcement agencies.”

The death of the political aide, Teoh Beng Hock, in July has galvanized opposition parties and caused widespread outrage, especially among the minority Chinese.

Mr. Teoh, a legislative aide in the opposition-controlled state of Selangor, was found dead beneath the 14th-story window of the offices of the country’s anticorruption commission after a nightlong interrogation. A pathologist’s report said he died of internal injuries from a fall.

A government minister initially said Mr. Teoh, 30, committed suicide, but his belt and back pockets were torn, adding to speculation that he might have been forced out the window.

After initial resistance, the government bowed to public pressure and ordered an inquiry into Mr. Teoh’s death as well as the interrogation tactics of the anticorruption officers.

Deaths in police custody have increased in recent years, according to Suaram, a human rights group. According to the Malaysian Home Ministry, 1,535 people died in police custody between 2003 and 2007, the latest year for which data is available.

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Malaysia criticised over protest crackdown
(AFP)

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s government faced criticism Sunday for arresting hundreds of people and using tear gas and water cannon to break up a protest against laws that allow detention without trial.

More than 60 of the 589 people detained in Saturday’s protest, which saw at least 15,000 people massing in chaotic scenes in downtown Kuala Lumpur, were still in custody Sunday according to media reports and lawyers.

“I experienced first-hand the indiscriminate police use of tear gas and its corrosive effects,” said Lim Kit Siang, a veteran opposition lawmaker who took part in the protest.

He condemned Prime Minister Najib Razak over the heavy-handed police response, which saw 5,000 officers, including riot squad members, play a cat-and-mouse game with protesters through city streets.

“Is this an indication that the Najib premiership is going to be the most draconian of all prime ministers since independence in 1957?” he asked.

Najib had criticised the protest plans before the demonstration, saying that he had already promised to review the controversial legislation after taking office in April.

On Sunday he defended the police action, saying they had a duty to preserve security.

“Street demonstrations should not continue and the authorities can take action,” he was quoted as saying by the national news agency Bernama.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who is charge of the police force, reportedly said the Internal Security Act (ISA) could be amended as soon as the next parliament session.

But the opposition and rights groups are calling for the colonial-era ISA — which has been used to detain government opponents as well as suspected terrorists — to be abolished.

Latifah Koya, a lawyer for the arrested protestors, said police were continuing to hold senior opposition lawmaker R. Sivarasa, as well as the wife and son of an ISA detainee. Two other children were also in custody.

“We totally condemn the police action. People who merely wore tee shirts with an anti-ISA logo were also arrested. We demand their immediate release,” she told AFP.

Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng said that the results of 2008 elections, which saw a major swing away from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, showed Malaysians were demanding greater freedoms.

“The people want change. If the Barisan Nasional wants to remain in power they have to listen to the people who desire liberty and respect for individual rights,” he said.

“They took to the streets because the government has not provided an alternate platform to engage the people,” he said.

Khoo said the coalition, which has struggled to claw back support since the landmark 2008 polls, faced defeat at the next general elections if it failed to introduce democratic reforms.