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Malaysian PM defends his regime's protest crackdown
Agence France Presse - July 10, 2011
Riot police fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands of protesters who were demanding electoral reform on Saturday, sparking scenes of mayhem in Kuala Lumpur and stinging criticism from human rights watchdogs worldwide.
Officers also arrested more than 1,600 people, including prominent opposition figures, in the crackdown, although the police said all had been freed by midnight on Saturday.
Observers said the death of a 59-year-old taxi driver who collapsed while running away from tear gas could further stoke anti-government sentiment. Baharuddin Ahmad, a former soldier, was fleeing after police fired gas canisters when he collapsed, according to his brother, Mohamad Sharin. He was dead by the time he arrived at hospital.
Baharuddin, a member of the opposition Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), was buried on Sunday at a Muslim cemetery, with about 300 people attending the funeral. "We are proud of him. He died in a struggle," his daughter Umi Mirza, said at their home in a northern suburb.
Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, a police spokesman, confirmed the death but said the man was a bystander who had died of a heart attack.
"When he attended the peaceful rally, it was for our future, for peace, for justice, for truth, for democracy and for a clean and fair election," Lim Guan Eng, chief minister of the opposition-ruled state of Penang, told Baharuddin's family after the funeral.
"It's a struggle we have to do together. Do not let them steal our children's future. It's a cry of the common people."
Speaking at a government function on Sunday, Najib lashed out at the opposition-backed protesters, saying they were trying to paint a picture of Malaysia as a repressive state, according to the state-run Bernama news agency.
"They said they wanted to hold a peaceful rally. If the police had not monitored it, it would not have been peaceful," the prime minister said. "We dislike chaos. We like peace. We like a country where the people live in harmony."
Najib accused opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of masterminding the rally and manipulating rally organizers to beef up support for his ambition to become the new prime minister, Bernama reported.
"He knows that if he does not do anything, we [the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition] will win in the 13th general election," Najib said. "This is the last chance for him. When people know that this is their last chance, they will do everything, good or bad."
Anwar was hospitalized with minor injuries after being knocked down in the chaos on Saturday.
The opposition scored major gains in a general election in 2008, denying the ruling Barisan Nasional an outright two-thirds majority for the first time since 1969. Fresh elections must be held by spring 2013, but Najib is expected to call for a vote in 2012.
There have been increasing demands by the opposition and non-governmental groups for changes to put a stop to vote-buying and prevent irregularities that they say marred previous polls. They want indelible ink to be introduced to prevent multiple voting, equal access to the media for all parties and the cleaning-up of electoral rolls.
However, analysts said the crackdown against the protesters could backfire on the government and tarnish Malaysia's international image as one of Southeast Asia's more democratic countries.
Rights groups from around the world and opposition leaders condemned the government's handling of the rally, which the police had declared illegal.
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