Malaysian police arrest 15 over flash-mob protest
AFP June 16, 2013, 4:44 am
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysian police on Saturday arrested 15 people over a flash-mob protest held ahead of a planned June 22 opposition rally against alleged fraud in elections last month, but they were later freed.
Those detained, who included opposition-aligned activists but also a 10-year-old boy, were held for disrupting public order in a busy shopping area of the capital Kuala Lumpur, media reports and opposition politicians said.
"We had warned them to disperse but they refused to do so. They have been detained to facilitate investigations," Zainuddin Ahmad, a local police official in the area, was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
Malaysia's long-ruling coalition was returned to power in May 5 elections that were the country's closest ever.
The opposition insists vote fraud secured the win for the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front), but Prime Minister Najib Razak has denied the charge.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has organised a string of post-election rallies nationwide demanding election reforms including an overhaul of an Election Commission it considers biased.
The next gathering is set for June 22 in Kuala Lumpur, but police have warned they may stop the rally, setting up a potential confrontation. All of the rallies have so far proceeded with no incident.
"Fifteen people including a 10-year-old boy who came along with his parents were arrested. The aim is to create fear among protestors and to intimidate them not to attend the mass rally next week," said Tian Chua, vice-president of Anwar's People's Justice Party.
The flash-mob participants were detained after distributing leaflets urging people to come out on June 22.
Tian later said that all the activists had been freed, citing information gathered from lawyers at the police station where their supporters had earlier lighted candles to support their freedom.
"They have all been freed after being held over six hours," he told AFP.
The opposition so far has not produced evidence of widespread fraud, but has filed court petitions contesting the results in a number of constituencies.
Opposition officials have acknowledged the petitions were unlikely to succeed and that the polls result, which saw Najib retain a solid majority, would stand.
Malaysian authorities have charged six people, opposition figures and activists, with sedition after they called on people to oppose the election outcome.
Amnesty International and other rights groups have condemned the charges as a crackdown on peaceful expression.
