Malaysian court charges 29 over massive protest

A Malaysian court on Monday charged 29 people, including a teenage boy, for taking part in a massive weekend protest against internal security laws that saw 589 people arrested.
In the biggest demonstration in Malaysia for nearly two years, police used tear gas and water cannon Saturday to disperse thousands of people calling for the abolition of laws that allow for detention without trial.
Most of those detained were released over the past two days but the 29 still in custody were charged at a Kuala Lumpur court with taking part in an illegal rally or aiding an illegal organisation.
Among them were five women, including Norlaila Othman whose husband has been held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for seven years, and a 16-year-old teenager.
In Malaysia it is illegal to hold a demonstration without a permit from police, who rarely give them the green light.
The 29 all pleaded not guilty and were released on bail. If convicted, they could be jailed for between one and three years, depending on which of the two charges they face.
Defence lawyer Azizul Shariman Mat Yusoff denied the group that mounted the protest was an illegal organisation.
"The Abolish ISA Movement is a coalition comprising 83 registered NGOs and political parties," he told the court.
Prime Minister Najib Razak has denounced the protest, saying he has already promised to review the controversial legislation.
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.

Malaysian police use tear gas, water cannon at mass protest

Malaysian police fired tear gas and water cannons Saturday at more than 15,000 demonstrators who took to the streets to protest against controversial internal security laws.
In chaotic scenes in downtown Kuala Lumpur, some 5,000 police including riot squads arrested scores of protesters as they gathered at rallying points across the city including two mosques and a shopping complex.
Deputy police chief Ismail Omar said that 175 people had been arrested for taking part in the protest, aimed at pressuring the government to abolish laws that allow for detention without trial.
"We just wanted to disperse them, so we used water cannon and tear gas to do that," he told AFP, insisting the police action was not heavy-handed.
Among the detained were several top political figures including R. Sivarasa, vice-president of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's party.
Anwar, who took part in the demonstration and said he was also tear gassed, denounced the police action as "unwarranted" and said it reflected badly on new prime minister Najib Razak.
"Najib has shattered his nice-guy image by allowing the police to act so brutally," he told a hastily arranged press conference.
Najib denounced the protest plans Friday, saying it was unnecessary because he had already agreed to review the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows for detention without trial.
"He should have spoken to the opposition leaders to ask them to call off the gathering if he was serious about carrying out the reforms that he has promised," Anwar said.
Demonstrators played a cat-and-mouse game with police who attempted to prevent them from massing at the rallying points, darting into side streets before regrouping and marching down main thoroughfares.
At least 75 rounds of tear gas were fired and water cannons were unleashed at the Sogo shopping complex where the main crowd of some 10,000 people had gathered, intending to march on the royal palace.
The sustained police offensive sent the huge crowd scattering, with many coughing and choking from the effects of the gas.
Organisers said they wanted to present a 10-point memo to the king including demands for the abolition of the ISA, the closure of a camp where detainees are held, and an inquiry into all deaths in police custody.
At the national mosque, where an AFP reporter saw at least 50 detained, opposition legislator Siti Mariah Mahmud, from the Islamic party PAS, criticised the arrests of protesters as they attempted to enter the mosque.
"This is not reasonable. It's prayer time and this action is a breach of our religious freedom and duty," she said.
When prayers were completed, those who had managed to enter the mosque streamed out, joining a crowd of at least 5,000 which began marching before also being confronted by tear gas and water cannons.
There was traffic chaos in Kuala Lumpur, as trains halted stops at affected stations and police roadblocks caused snarls that left many shoppers stuck in the city.
The legislation, a hangover from colonial days, has been used against government opponents as well as suspected Islamist terrorists.
"We are here to fight for the ISA to be abolished," said Yati Ali, 45, one of some 100 women and children standing in a group outside the Sogo complex.
"We don't fear arrest. ISA is a cruel act, we are fighting for justice," she said.