Police crackdown fails to stop pro-Anwar march

Police crackdown fails to stop pro-Anwar march

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian police detained dozens of youths here Saturday in a surprise crackdown but failed to quell a march by hundreds of supporters of ousted deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

At least 50 young men were seen being herded into two police trucks after being separated from worshipers emerging from a downtown mosque on the first day of the Moslem New Year.

Police were seen checking the identities of those leaving the mosque after early afternoon prayers, with some being ordered to squat on one side before being led into the trucks.

But the pre-emptive crackdown failed to quell the protest led by university students.

The protesters regrouped and at least 400 of them marched to the nearby central market area, shouting "reformasi" (reform) slogans and denouncing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who fired Anwar in September last year, turning his former deputy into a rallying figure for the opposition.

"We the students of Malaysia are fed up and sick of Mahathir," a student leader told the demonstrators. "We want to show the world that Malaysians are able to bring about changes toward a more democratic country, not a country ruled by a handful of Mahathir cronies."

A police officer said earlier that an initial seven youths were detained after being identified from photographs of earlier protests. Another teenager was taken in after being found in possession of a slingshot with a small light bulb as a missile, witnesses said.

A young man was stopped on the sidewalk and detained after police found a protest headband with the opposition slogan "Reformasi" in his knapsack.

Anwar was sentenced to six years in jail on four charges of corruption on Wednesday, triggering protests by hundreds of Anwar supporters.

In a related development Saturday, Mahathir called for unity among Malaysians in a special New Year message.

"The country will collapse if the people are disunited and concerned only with self-interest," he was quoted as saying.

Mahathir, who is recuperating after spending 10 days in hospital with a lung infection, delivered the message in a souvenir program for New Year celebrations at a suburban sports stadium.

The youth wing of Malaysia's dominant party meanwhile denounced the burning of ruling coalition flags by its opponents and warned that it may strike back at the "hooligans."

Supporters of Anwar have burned flags of the ruling coalition, the Barisan Nasional (BN) or National Front, seen as a serious act of defiance in Malaysian political culture.

Hishammuddin Hussein, chief of the youth wing of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), said the patience of the dominant coalition was being "sorely tested."

"In burning the flag, the young hooligans are showing their disrespect and disregard for the many millions of Malaysians who have cast their vote for BN," he reportedly said in a statement.

"Their actions have challenged and tested our patience and we wish to send them signals that we, Umno Youth, are ready to stand up to them and defend ourselves, out party and BN."

Hundreds of distinctive blue and white BN flags were seen in parts of the capital Saturday in an apparent response to the burnings.

The Islamic opposition party meanwhile denied being involved in protests against the government.

Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, chief minister of the northern state of Kelantan, ruled by Parti Islam Semalaysia (PAS) for almost a decade, reportedly said the party "never instructed its members to act violently."

"PAS does not allow violent demonstrations, more so when Islam forbids violence."