Malaysian Police Fire Tear Gas at Thousands Protesting Anwar Ibrahim Verdict

by Yoke Sun Ching

Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of anti-government demonstrators as they marched through Kuala Lumpur on April 14, 1999 to protest the conviction of sacked deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Malaysia riot police clash with protesters during a rally in central Kuala Lumpur

"Mahathir's Frame-up. Anwar Is Innocent," read a banner at the head of the first march of some 3,000 people from the National Mosque to the courthouse where Anwar was convicted of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison. By mid-afternoon that day , about 4,000 Anwar supporters had brought several central streets to a standstill. Office workers returning from lunch were forced to duck into buildings and parking garages as protesters lighted bonfires, overturned garbage cans and hurled rocks at police as they streaked down side streets. A few demonstrators were injured and at least one person was hospitalised after police bashed them with batons. Tian Chua, a well-known political activist and vice-president of the new party formed by the Anwar's wife, was badly beaten.

"They kicked my head and my body and whacked my stomach," Tian said before he was dragged off by police. He had a cracked lip and gash on his forehead. "They just went crazy." Asmuni Johari, a mango seller on one of the streets, said he regretted giving the crowd a thumbs-up from his truck.

Opposition politician Tian Chua is dragged into a police truck after leading protests outside the courthouse against the conviction and jailing of Anwar Ibrahim.

"I put my thumbs up, that's it, so they slapped me," he said of the police. "I didn't even say reformasi!" Earlier, several hundred Anwar supporters were doused with yellow-dyed water when they refused to disperse as Anwar was being sentenced to six years in prison. Chanting "reformasi, reformasi," the Malay word for reform and Anwar's rallying cry, and carrying large portraits of Anwar, the group was blocked a few hundred metre from the courthouse. Leaders from a newly formed National Justice Party and other opposition activists had predicted thousands of angry Malaysians would turn out to support Anwar's conviction. Though Anwar was able to draw tens of thousands of people to massive political rallies, after he was fired by Prime Minister Mahathir in September 1998, opposition attempts at organizing huge demonstrations have mostly failed since he was jailed and put on trial in November 1998. Leaders said fear of police violence, a relatively good living standards and widespread disinterest in politics had kept people away.

The education minister on April 13 also warned university students they would be suspended if they took part in protests. Local newspapers, which are controlled by businessmen linked to the governing parties, also largely ignore the opposition.

But Anwar's supporters have managed to be heard and seen on the Internet, with scores of clandestine websites carrying their messages for political reform. Tapes of Anwar's speeches are passed around and even bumper stickers on their cars. Opposition leaders hope Anwar's conviction will serve as a catalyst for opposition unity by generating sympathy.

Anwar, finance minister since 1991 and deputy prime minister since 1993, still faces another corruption charge and five counts of sodomy. His lawyers said they intend to appeal.

A Malay bank executive who ducked into an office building to avoid tear gas said she feared the worst was yet to come.

"There's no justice," said Hilaliyah. "We have no right to say anything. There may have been a verdict, but there's no conclusion in this trial."

Protests rock Kuala Lumpur as Anwar jailed for six years

Helmeted riot police chased more than 200 people gathered in central Kuala Lumpur on April 15 to protest against the harsh sentence given ousted Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The group, consisting mostly of students, gathered near the High Court building where Anwar was tried, to march to the chief justice's office with a petition against the six-year prison term handed down the day before.

A demonstrator strikes a signboard near the Federal Court in Kuala Lumpur shortly after the guilty verdict and sentence were announced.

Protesters torched flags bearing emblems of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's ruling coalition and shouted anti-government slogans. Plainclothes police were seen beating at least one demonstrator. Several others were dragged away and detained. "We don't want to fight," said one of the protesters, Sailal Hadialuz. "We want reforms. We want justice." Anwar, 51, repeatedly denied the charges against him and said Dr Mahathir was behind a political conspiracy   to crush the challenge to his 18-year leadership. The new deputy prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said on April 15 that police were instructed to act firmly against protesters who broke the law but not to be "violent." "The supremacy of the law must be upheld," Mr Abdullah was quoted as saying by the national Bernama news agency. "The acts by the young generation who are impatient and angry are attitudes which cannot be accepted," said Abdullah, who is also home minister in charge of police. "We know that they will continue to protest but we want to make sure they do not break the law."

Malaysian law bars students from staging political protests and requires any gathering of more than fourpeople to have a police permit.

Thousands of anti-government demonstrators who marched through the capital after the verdict was read on April 14, were met by riot police firing tear gas and water cannons. Protesters rampaged down the streets, lighting bonfires, overturning rubbish bins, smashing car windows and hurling rocks at police. Dozens of demonstrators were roughed up and at least one person hospitalised after police bashed them with batons.

Police said on April 15 that 24 people detained during the previous day's demonstrations would remain in police custody for a week, under investigation for rioting, Bernama reported. They face up to five years in jail or a fine. Tian Chua, a well-known political activist and vice president of a new political party formed by Anwar's wife, was among those detained. He was badly beaten by police before being dragged away.

Mr Tian, who sat cross-legged in front of a police truck to try to stop the use of water cannons, was also under investigation for attempting to commit suicide. The charge carries a one-year jail term and fine.

Kuala Lumpur left to pick up pieces after clashes

Streets littered with stones and bottles. Smoke from burning plastic rubbish bins. Smashed parking meters. Parts of central Kuala Lumpur took on a new look after outraged supporters of Anwar fought pitched battles with riot police.

Protesters lit bonfires, uprooted dozens of street signs, ripped apart parking meters, broke car and court windows and threw stones and bottles at police, who retaliated with water cannon laced with chemicals. Shops and banks near the centre of the demonstrations shut their doors as protesters, chased by police, ran through the streets.

About 200 Anwar backers had gathered by dawn near the court building in a show of support for the fallen politician. The group, mainly students and youths, were pursued by helmeted riot police, then joined hands with another crowd of 300 Anwar supporters at a nearby intersection. Then they turned bolder, chanting "Step Down Mahathir", "Allahu akbar" (God is Great) and "Reformasi" (reform).

"The People Are The Judge," read one banner.

As word of Anwar's conviction spread, the protesters stepped up their shouting, clashing repeatedly with security forces as the groups played cat and mouse through the streets. The clashes turned more violent after two opposition leaders, giving impromptu speeches and defying police orders to disperse, were arrested. Police were seen throwing a young man against a wall twice, punching and kicking him before they released him.

By late afternoon, the clashes had died down. Police entered the compound of a mosque behind the court and rounded up protesters seeking refuge there. As night fell, the demonstrators had disappeared, leaving the streets to thousands of cars caught in a city-wide traffic jam.

Protesters take to streets again

Several hundred supporters of jailed former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim demonstrated in the heart of Kuala Lumpur on April 16, the third consecutive day of anti-government protests. About 400 protesters shouted reformasi, the rallying cry of groups aligned with Anwar. There were no police in the area.

The government said the protests were by a fringe group of disgruntled Anwar followers and vowed to crack down on illegal demonstrations. Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the protests were "staged to assist the foreign media in running down the country". Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Ismail said the protests reflected widespread indignation over her husband's conviction, and urged the demonstrators to press ahead but to shun violence.

Among those taken into custody the week the Anwar verdict was read were architects, traders and private college students aged between 18 and 48-all for publicly vocalizing their displeasure at the sentence. They could be convicted for rioting and jailed up to five years or fined or both.

Police Detain 94 Protesters Involved in Anti-Government Rally

Authorities arrested 94 anti-government protesters in Malaysia following a day of violent clashes with police, news reports said April 18. Protests against the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad continued to rock the capital, Kuala Lumpur, since a judge sentenced the country's ousted No. 2 leader, Anwar Ibrahim, on April 14 to six years in prison.

Nearly 1,000 demonstrators marched through the capital's historic downtown April 17, hurling rocks and taunting police as officers surged toward them swinging wooden batons and firing water cannons and tear gas. Chanting anti-government slogans, the protesters faced-off with riot police at an upscale shopping district and various mosques. The day after, the capital was tense as police patrolled the downtown area.

Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Kamarudin Mohamed Ali was quoted in the Sun newspaper as saying more than a third of the 94 people arrested on April 17 were students. The rest included university lecturers and civil servants. All were under investigation for rioting, participating in illegal assemblies and possession of weapons. Slingshots, stones, marbles and plastic bottles filled with gasoline were seized from some of those detained, the Sun said.