KL police detain opposition leader

KL police detain opposition leader

MALAYSIA: A senior Malaysian opposition leader was arrested briefly on Sunday for handing out leaflets criticizing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, police and opposition officials said.

Lim Kit Siang, chairman of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), was detained with five supporters at a police station in Port Dickson, 70 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur, party spokesman Anthony Loke said.

A Port Dickson police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that all six men were released after nearly two hours. He said there was no immediate decision on whether to charge them with sedition.

Last month, Lim -- one of Mahathir's oldest political rivals and a respected figure among the large ethnic Chinese minority -- was detained in northern Ipoh town for the same offense, but was not charged.

Malaysia's strict sedition laws make it a crime to threaten racial harmony or incite hatred against the king, federal government or judicial system. Offenders face a three-year jail sentence and a fine. --AP