Malaysian police detain another opposition leader

Malaysian police detain another opposition leader

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian police detained another opposition leader on Sunday after he vowed to press for political changes following weekend protests by supporters of ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

Tian Chua, vice-president of the National Justice Party (Keadilan) founded by Anwar's wife, was picked up by police at a shopping mall, said Elizabeth Wong, coordinator for rights group Suaram.

Wong told AFP that Chua was taken away by several plainclothes policemen to a nearby police station. His lawyer was with him, she said. No other details were immediately available.

Tian was among four Keadilan leaders who were ordered on Friday to report to police or face arrest. Police already detained three Keadilan members on Friday in a preemptive move to block a mass planned rally.

On Saturday, 48 people were detained amid sporadic anti- government protests which drew a massive response from police and security forces.

Tian's arrest came just three hours after he gave a news conference at Keadilan's headquarters, vowing to continue with his party's struggle for political reforms.

He said the "terror tactics of the government were a complete failure" as supporters defied police orders and gathered in the Malaysian capital Saturday to commemorate the first anniversary of Anwar's sentencing.

Despite a massive show of police force, the people managed to assemble peacefully and the government's allegations that the opposition was planning riots were proven to be "simply lies."

"It was the people's victory over the culture of fear imposed by the security forces," he told reporters. "If necessary, we will take to the streets (again)."

Anwar, 52, sacked by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in September 1998, was jailed for abuse of power and is now on trial for alleged sodomy.

He says he is the victim of a high-level conspiracy because he intended to expose corruption and was seen as a political threat to the premier.

On Sunday, Malaysian police claimed victory in foiling the illegal mass rally by supporters of the jailed Anwar but opposition leaders slammed the excessive show of force.

"We are satisfied that the situation has returned to normal and that our operations have been successful," the police director for internal security, Hamid Mustaffa, told AFP.

Hamid said police and paramilitary forces who poured into the city center early Saturday to block the rally had pulled out but surveillance was continuing.

Reinforcements brought in from four other states would be put on stand-by in the capital, he added.

But leaders of the opposition Alternative Front alliance condemned the police's "fear tactics" to block the peaceful gathering and called for the immediate release of the detainees.

Keadilan deputy president Chandra Muzaffar slammed the "heavy- handed tactic" by the authorities to crush the proposed gathering, describing it as a "concerted attempt to marginalize Anwar."

He said the clampdown was also part of a "continuing pattern to tighten the screw" on opposition parties following an erosion of support for the ruling coalition in general elections last November.

"Police are actually abusing their power by acting as a tool for the political establishment," he charged.

Anwar's wife Azizah Ismail, who heads Keadilan, criticized the way authorities intimidated people through a show of force. Asked if her husband was still viewed as a threat to the government despite being behind bars, she said: "It seems so."

Keadilan is a member of the Alternative Front, along with the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Malaysian People's Party.