April 29, 2012
A protester shouts during a confrontation with police near Dataran Merdeka, in Kuala Lumpur April 28, 2012. — Reuters pic
Umno supreme council member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah told The
Malaysian Insider the crowd that flooded the streets of the capital to
call for free and fair elections was larger and more multiracial than
last July 9’s Bersih rally.
“There were elements of defiance and anger from the crowd and police
who acted strangely towards journalists. BN must be very careful in
addressing this,” the deputy higher education minister said ahead of an
Umno supreme council meeting tonight.
BN-linked media and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin have
swiftly blamed Bersih and opposition leaders for the violence that
followed after some demonstrators defied orders from police and
organisers not to breach the barriers surrounding Dataran Merdeka.
Saifuddin said he would raise the handling of yesterday’s planned
sit-in at the historic square during tonight’s party leadership meeting.
“Last year, members of the public were not angry, they just wanted
fair polls. This time they’re angry. But yet surveys show BN’s support
has gone up. This just tells me the country is getting more and more
divided.
“If not for the police car incident, Bersih 3.0 would be a bigger issue for BN,” he said.
Tens of thousands demonstrators were dispersed by police with water
cannon and tear gas after some rally-goers pushed through the barricade
in front of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and tried to rush into
Dataran Merdeka.
Some of the 15,000-strong group sandwiched between police and DBKL
broke down the barriers and moved towards the historic square, prompting
police to fire chemical-laced water and tear gas canisters.
PKR deputy president Azmin Ali had tried to negotiate with police,
who told the Gombak MP to calm the group down. But despite his advice,
they still broke through the barricades.
Police fired as far as the DBKL premises, which are across Jalan
Parlimen, and the move broke up the crowd who fled helter-skelter but
police chased them down at Jalan Tun Perak and Jalan Raja Laut.
Angry protestors later attacked a police car, which then crashed into at least two people while trying to flee.
Despite most of the crowd dispersing, a pocket of 1,000 demonstrators
then engaged in open battle with riot police near Masjid Jamek.
A police officer was seen dragging a man across the road, which
resulted in Bersih supporters attacking the police with broken bottles,
mineral water bottles and broken concrete slabs.
A convoy of police vehicles ferrying Mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail
in one of its cars was forced to make a U-turn near Masjid Jamek when
met with a hostile reception from protestors who threw shoes and broken
concrete slabs at them, smashing the windows of two cars.
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