Police fire tear gas, water cannon on protesters in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur (PTI): Police fired tear gas and sprayed water cannon on Saturday to disperse hundreds of protesters here who were chanting anti-government slogans and demanding electoral reforms in one of the biggest protest in Malaysia.
Shouting Allah-o-Akbar (God is Great), the demonstrators, who wanted to march to the Merdeka or Independence square in the heart of city, were stopped by a police cordon at the Masjid Jamek mosque.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's government had declared the rally illegal and the police had warned the activists of action if they held the rally. Traffic was snarling around the city centre as police had blocked all roads leading to the Independence square. Heavy downpour in the morning also fueled the long lines of vehicles on the roads.
Wearing yellow shirts, the demonstrators shouted "Save Malaysia" and "Long Live the People." The rally was called by at least 70 NGOs and Opposition political parties demanding electoral reforms ahead of the next general elections.
The demands include a check on government employees using absentee ballots, access to state-controlled media by all political parties, and an end to vote-buying and other irregularities. There have been plans to import the indelible ink from India to be used on voters to stop them from revoting.
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