The Star Online: Nation
The Star Online: Nation |
- Lockdown enforced: Detained protesters being released
- IGP: Situation returns to normal but roadblocks to stay
- PM grateful illegal rally did no serious harm
| Lockdown enforced: Detained protesters being released Posted: 09 Jul 2011 07:24 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 1,667 people have been detained in the Bersih rally here Saturday. They included 1,500 men, 151 women and 16 children who had accompanied them. City police CID chief Datuk Ku Chin Wah said all the detainees would be released once the paperwork were completed. By 10pm, several key Bersih leaders, including chairperson Datuk S Ambiga, had been released. They were among thousands of protesters who had gathered in several areas here to march to Stadium Merdeka. Police had since Friday sealed off all major roads leading to the heart of the capital, telling people to stay away from any rally Saturday. Commenting on the rally, IGP Tan Sri Ismail Omar said as a result of steps police had in place only about 6,000 managed to gather unlike the crowds seen in the 2007 Bersih rally. "We were not rough towards the crowd and we gave ample warning but they kept on provoking. "I was told there are allegations of high handedness or police brutality by certain quarters and I urge those making such allegations to lodge reports and we will act against any of my men if there is any truth," he said. Ismail said the demonstrators begun gathering at around 9am but their numbers grew at two locations by 2pm. He said police managed to control the situation and by 5pm most of the crowd had dispersed. Among those detained with Ambiga were PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, Subang MP PKR Sivarasa Rasiah and Batu MP Tian Chua. PAS leaders who were detained included president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu and vice presidents Datuk Mahfuz Omar and Salahuddin Ayub. Malay rights group Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali said they did not go ahead with their rally Saturday to counter the Bersih rally as they did not have a permit. Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin led a group of Patriot supporters to also counter the Bersih rally. The group dispersed after police stopped their march in Bukit Bintang and fired tear gas and water cannons at them. Bersih steering committee member Subramaniam Pillay said the rally was a success and some 50,000 people participated. Meanwhile, Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he suffered a bruise on his head and a cut on his leg during the rally. He has been warded overnight at a hospital. More in Sunday Star. A blow-by-blow account of what occurred on Saturday: 8pm: Police, on their Facebook page, said 1,667 people had been detained as at 6.40pm - 1,500 were men and 151 were women, along with 16 children who accompanied them. 6.40pm: City police CID chief Datuk Ku Chin Wah says all detainees expected to be released by 9.30pm. It is learnt that Bersih's Datuk S. Ambiga and several others have been released already. 6.30pm: A total of 1,401 were detained, including 1,273 men, 115 women, 12 boys and a girl. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar says they will be released once investigations are completed. 5.30pm: The Bersih 2.0 steering committee failed to hand over its memorandum to the King at Istana Negara but declared its street rally a success. It also condemned the arrests of any participants, including those from other groups. Committee member Subramaniam Pillay said Bersih will hand over the memorandum to the King in due time, although there would be no street rally. He also confirmed that Bersih chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has been detained and her last phone message said she was okay. 5.25pm: Police reported that as many as 924 arrests were made as of 3.30pm, of whom 875 were men and 49 women. 5.10pm: Throngs of people seen entering KL Sentral, most of them carrying face towels and bottles of mineral water. 4.30pm: Acting KL CPO Datuk Amar Singh says rally leaders detained under various offences, including under Section 27 of Police Act for illegal assembly. 4.20pm: Crowds that had gathered in KL for Bersih and Patriot rallies are dispersing; police keeping watch. A senior Bersih organiser requested crowd of supporters near Chinese Assembly Hall along Jalan Maharajalela to disperse. 3.18pm: Crowd gathered at entrance to Stadium Merdeka near MBSSKL. Some at police barricade but most have retreated and standing along Jalan Hang Jebat, seeming to wait for directions. Situation still calm. 3.15pm: Patriot disperses. FRU on standby watching everyone leave. 3.10pm: Patriot crowd praying in front of FRU water cannon. 3.01pm: Police say they have arrested 672 people as of 2.30pm (624 men and 48 women). 3.00pm: Thousands march through the rain towards Pudu. FRU fire tear gas. 2.55pm: Khairy picked up by police. 2.45pm: FRU fired tear gas at Patriot at Jln Bkt Bintang-Jln Pudu intersection to force them to disperse. 2.55pm: Bersih chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan detained for question. Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin has also been picked up by police. 2.39pm: Several Pakatan Rakyat leaders have been arrested, so far. Among them are PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, Kuantan MP Fuzaih Salleh, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, vice presidents Datuk Mahfuz Omar and Salahuddin Ayub and Batu MP Tian Chua. 2.35pm: Police say they had arrested 644 people (597 men and 47 women) by 2pm. 2.30pm: At least five FRU trucks head towards Pudu Raya. 2.25pm: Tear gas fired at crowd at Jalan Pudu and KL Sentral. Protestors throw back cannisters. Police warn reporters to stay away as they fire more tear gas fire. Its raining heavily 2.20pm: Police box in Bersih protestors between Swiss Garden Hotel and Magnum building. One man caught. Standoff between Bersih supporters and FRU who have closed the road in front of Magnum. 2.15pm: Crowd makes it into KL Sentral. Meanwhile, police are using batons to disperse at Jalan Pudu. The crowd disperses and regroups. 2.11pm: Kg Baru mosque has made announcement asking worshippers and the public to leave the mosque compound after prayers 2.10pm: Patriot group in Bukit Bintang waiting for two more groups from PWTC and Kg Attap before marching to stadium. Starting to rain here 2.05pm: Bersih and Pakatan leaders exit KL Hilton amid chants of 'Bersih!' to KL Sentral where they encounter locked doors. 2.01pm: FRU block Bersih group in front of Swiss Garden along Jalan Pudu as they march to Stadium Merdeka 2.00pm: Water cannons turned on crowd at Pudu Plaza 1.45pm: Third round of tear gas at Cahaya Suria Maybank interjunction as helicopters hover very low over crowd attempting to march to Stadium Merdeka. 1.40pm: Khairy Jamaluddin arrives to join Patriot group to a big cheer from crowd. Khairy is also on list of 91 forbidden from entering KL 1.41pm: Tear gas being fired at large crowd at Jalan Tun Perak near Maybank. 1.30pm: Reezal Merican defies restriction order to lead patriot in Bukit Bintang. 1.25pm: Police say 514 people had been arrested by 12.30pm (478 men and 36 women). 1.20pm. Patriot movement marches down Bukit Bintang in red shirts carrying Malaysian flags and singing national songs. Shops pull down shutters 1.19pm: Bersih group merges with another near Puduraya. Umno Youth's Patriot group, headed by pickup truck with loudhailer, is distributing Patriot t-shirts, shouting Hancur Bersih' 1.10pm: Thousands in Bersih crowd start from Pudu Plaza, passing Bukit Bintang and are on the way to Jalan Pudu in bid to reach Stadium Merdeka 1.00pm: Kuantan MP fuziah tweeted that she's detained in front of Hilton for obstructing police. She's in a black Maria now 12.55pm: Police say 441 have been arrested by 12noon (421 men and 20 women). 12.45pm: Lim Kit Siang and other Pakatan Rakyat leaders are at KL Hilton Hotel. 12.40pm: FRU fire tear gas at protestors shouting 'reformasi' at Agro Bank near Daya Bumi in KL 12.30: A huge crowd of protestors shouting reformasi are leaving Central Market in an attempt to head towards Masjid Jamek and Dataran Merdeka. Near Masjid Negara, protestors were also seen carrying PKR and PAS flags while shouting Bersih 12.15pm: PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar and Kubang Kerian MP Salahuddin have been arrested at KL Sentral 12.13pm: Police allow 5 lawyers from the Bar Council to head to the KL train station as a crowd shouted "reformasi" from inside the train station. 12.05pm: PKR president Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail arrives at KL Hilton accompanied by Subang MP R Sivarasa and lawyer Latheefa Koya. PKR sec-gen Saifuddin Nasution also arrives at KL Hilton 11.35am: All is peaceful at KLCC. Tourists taking photos. Mall security stepped up with metal barricades set up around the entrance, except small opening to let shoppers in. 11.30am: Police say they have arrested 236, including 8 women, in KL city for involvement in illegal gathering 11.02am: RapidKL trains won't stop at three stations in the city from 10.15am on police orders - Hang Tuah and Maharajalela stations on the monorail line and Hang Tuah station on the Ampang line. 11.00am: A man wearing red shirt arrested by police near Masjid Jamek LRT station 10.40am: Bukit Aman media centre released a statement saying that one of the 21 arrested earlier Saturday has been released. 10.35am: A black maria is at Masjid Jamek with 13 people, mostly men, detained on suspicion of being Bersih demonstrators. Police detain 3 women in their early 20s for carrying red strips of cloth. 10.30am: A large crowd has gathered at the train station near Masjid Negara. Heavy police presence headed by Dang Wangi OCPD ACP Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman. More police trucks arrive to join FRU trucks at Istana Negara main gate but situation is still quiet. 10.01am: Shops start to open. Queue of 100 people in front of Machines, Lot 10, waiting to buy iPad2. 10.00am: A man was arrested by police at Jalan Melayu, off Jalan Masjid India, after he was seen shouting aggressively in front of the public and media representatives. 9.50am: Rela manning Central Market entrance. They say the market will open as usual at 10am but they will stand watch. Police patrolling on foot around central market before it opens. 9.45am: Small group of about 100 along Masjid India ordered to dispersed by police 9.30am: An official statement from KL police says they have arrested 21 people. 9.28am: 12 lawyers in suit and tie outside Masjid Jamek station. Large police presence but normal activity. Station remains open. 9.15am: A crowd of over 100 is at the KTM station near the National Mosque. Police are monitoring them. 9.10am: Police take away a group of people who had gathered near the Kg Baru mosque 9.07am: Road blocks on highways into KL causing traffic slowdown. A roadblock near Batu Tiga has brought traffic to a crawl, taking drivers more than half an hour from Shah Alam to the toll plaza heading to Kuala Lumpur. But traffic flow after the toll plaza is smooth. 9.05am: Three lawyers, in black jacket and tie, walked into Jalan TAR. They told newsmen they are there to provide legal assistance 8.50am: About 15 FRU trucks outside Istana Negara. Road blocks set up 500m away from main entrance of the palace 8.45am: 6 ambulances seen entering Jalan TAR, believed to be on standby. 8.40am: 12 police trucks and a black maria outside Sogo. About 120 policemen are around area. Random checks are being carried out on passing padestrians at Jalan TAR. 8.15am: Police close off entrance to Jalan Stadium with barbed wire. 20 black maria in front of car park. 8.10am: Heavy police presence, light traffic but no sight of crowds in areas around Chow Kit and Kampung Baru 8.05am: Jalan TAR is sealed off with large police presence outside Sogo. 8.00am: The city is near deserted. At Jalan Raja Laut, only policemen on duty were seen. Outside City Hall, about 200 policemen were seen having their breakfast. A police helicopter is hovering over the city. 7.55am: More police arrive on the monorail and are getting off at Maharajalela Station, opposite Merdeka Stadium. 7.30am: A number of FRU trucks, including those with water cannons, pass Jalan Maharajalela heading towards the National Mosque and Masjid Jamek. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| IGP: Situation returns to normal but roadblocks to stay Posted: 09 Jul 2011 06:37 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Police are still monitoring the situation around the federal capital before removing the roadblocks to ensure that those who had joined the rally did not regroup, said IGP Tan Sri Ismail Omar. "I have directed the city acting police chief (Datuk Amar Singh) to carry out a surveillance to ensure that the crowd do not return. "We will only remove the barricades after the surveillance reveals that the situation is satisfactory. "If possible, I want to remove the roadblocks now but we have to monitor until everything have truly ended," he said. He said the situation in the capital following the rally by Bersih returned to normal after 5pm when the crowd started to disperse. The city had been out of bounds since Friday night with roadblocks placed at several locations to stop people from taking part in the rally. - Bernama Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| PM grateful illegal rally did no serious harm Posted: 09 Jul 2011 05:44 AM PDT KUALA TERENGGANU: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he is grateful that the illegal rally in Kuala Lumpur Saturday did no serious harm to people and property. He said he was also thankful that the majority of Malaysians, especially in the federal capital and the rest of the Klang Valley, did not support the street demonstration. He said the people who had stayed away from the rally were peace-loving Malaysians and they had heeded the advice of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Selangor Sultan and the Government. "I also wish to congratulate the security forces, especially the police, who dispersed the gathering in the best manner possible and I hope that what happened today would be a lesson to Malaysians," he told reporters here. Earlier, in Putrajaya, Najib praised the people who attended the launching of the National Cooperatives Day 2011, which he said showed that the people opposed the illegal rally organised by a small group of people in the country. "It's obvious that the thousands who are present (here today) are those who are against the illegal rally planned by a section of our community. "If there are people who want to hold the illegal rally, there are even more who are against their plan to hold the illegal gathering," he said when launching the National Cooperatives Day 2011. - Bernama Related Stories: |
Photo Gallery| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Nation To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan