on Saturday, demanding electoral reforms in the country's biggest political rally in years.quote:Malaysia police detain hundreds at rally
Police fire teargas as more than 20,000 demonstrators demand electoral reform during five-hour standoff in Kuala Lumpur
Police fired teargas and detained hundreds of activists as more than 20,000 demonstrators gathered across Malaysia's capital
The opposition-backed rally was the culmination of weeks of intense pressure on the government of prime minister Najib Razak to make election laws fairer and more transparent before general elections expected to take place by mid-2012.
Demonstrators marched in defiance of Najib's administration, which has declared the rally illegal and warned people to avoid it.
Opposition leaders accuse Najib's National Front coalition of relying on fraud to preserve its 54-year grip on power, which has been eroded in recent years amid allegations of corruption and racial discrimination. The government insists the current electoral policies are fair.
Authorities took extraordinary security measures to deter the rally by sealing off roads, closing train stations and deploying trucks with water cannons near the Independence Stadium in central Kuala Lumpur, where activists sought to gather.
Police said in a statement they had detained 924 people, including senior opposition officials, in what they called Operation Erase Bersih, referring to the Bersih (Clean) coalition of groups behind the rally.
Thousands tried to reach the stadium from various parts of Kuala Lumpur, chanting "Long live the people", and carrying yellow balloons and flowers as they marched.
Police fired numerous rounds of teargas and chemical-laced water in repeated attempts to disperse the crowds, causing demonstrators to scatter into nearby buildings and alleys before regrouping. Police helicopters flew overhead as a brief downpour failed to deter the protesters.
The demonstrators finally dispersed after a five-hour standoff with police. Only several hundred reached the stadium.
Najib insisted on Saturday that the protesters represent a minority, and that most Malaysians support his administration. "If there are people who want to hold the illegal rally, there are even more who are against their plan," the prime minister was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama.
Witnesses said riot police armed with batons charged at some protesters and dragged them into trucks. Some were seen bleeding, but police could not confirm any injuries.
The opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said on Twitter that he had sustained a "minor injury" when his group was hit by teargas. The Malaysiakini news website said he had a knee injury.
The crackdown "stirred a sense of outrage against the exhibition of raw power by our government", the Bersih coalition leader Ambiga Sreenavasan told reporters. "What is the necessity for a show of might against right? No matter what, right will always prevail," she said, minutes before police detained her and other Bersih officials.
Activists estimated that the total number of demonstrators exceeded 20,000 people, making it Malaysia's biggest street rally since 2007. Some independent news websites estimated there were tens of thousands of people, but authorities did not immediately have an official figure.
The rally has galvanised the opposition and has been credited for a surge in political awareness among the public in recent weeks. Meanwhile, government officials accuse Anwar's three-party alliance of endorsing the rally to cause chaos on the streets and undermine the National Front.
Over the past two weeks, more than 200 other activists have been arrested nationwide for trying to promote the rally. Six are being held under security laws that allow indefinite detention without trial. Most of the others have been released, but some have been charged with laws banning activities linked to illegal assemblies. They face several years in prison if convicted.
The activists' demands include an overhaul of voter registration lists, tougher measures to curb fraud and fairer opportunities for opposition politicians to campaign in government-linked media. The National Front's mandate expires in mid-2013 but many analysts expect elections to be called by next year.
Het was al overgewaaid naar Griekenland en Spanje. Wegens globalisatie kan er alleen echt iets veranderen als de rest van de wereld mee verandert. Europa, Amerika, Azië, Afrika. Wereldrevolutie.quote:Op zondag 10 juli 2011 00:19 schreef kwaliteit. het volgende:
Komt het van de Arabische landen nu overwaaien naar Aziatische landen?
Al jaren voor de protesten in de Arabische wereld..
Ja, precies, Griekenland en Spanje hadden het Arabisch voorbeeld nodig om te weten wat staken en demonstreren is.quote:
[..]
Het was al overgewaaid naar Griekenland en Spanje. Wegens globalisatie kan er alleen echt iets veranderen als de rest van de wereld mee verandert. Europa, Amerika, Azië, Afrika. Wereldrevolutie.
. 
.quote:Alle 1667 betogers Maleisië vrijgelaten
De politie in Maleisië heeft rond middernacht alle 1667 mensen vrijgelaten, die overdag tijdens een massale betoging tegen de regering waren opgepakt in de hoofdstad Kuala Lumpur. Een persoon is gestorven.
De oppositiepartij stelt dat hij wegens ademhalingsmoeilijkheden is overleden. De politie houdt het op een hartaanval.
Tienduizenden mensen waren de straat opgegaan om economische en politieke hervormingen te eisen. Onder de arrestanten waren onder meer oppositieleiders en minderjarigen.
Chaos
De autoriteiten hadden de demonstratie verboden omdat die tot chaos op straat zou kunnen leiden. De politie had delen van de stad afgegrendeld om te voorkomen dat daar werd betoogd en greep in met traangas en waterkanonnen.
De laatste grote demonstratie in 2007 trok zo'n 50.000 betogers. In de afgelopen weken werkte de oppositiebeweging Bersih 2.0 aan een nieuwe grootschalige betoging. In aanloop naar de demonstratie werden al 230 mensen gearresteerd.
Het valt me nog mee dat de Fransen nog steeds niet meedoen, ook al zo'n staakgraag volk.quote:
[..]
Ja, precies, Griekenland en Spanje hadden het Arabisch voorbeeld nodig om te weten wat staken en demonstreren is.
Ik wacht op de nucleaire winterquote:
Krijgen we een Aziatische herfst?
Is goed voor het klimaatquote:
Op 
Small Nuclear War Could Reverse Global Warming for Years
quote:Malaysia's leader warned: reform elections or risk revolution
Najib Razak's administration urged by protesters to implement reforms and crack down on corruption
Malaysia's top opposition leader has warned the government that it may face a "hibiscus revolution" unless activists' demands are met for electoral reform and an end to "dirty politics".
Anwar Ibrahim's comments came a day after an estimated 20,000 people took to the streets to protest against alleged vote-rigging and other electoral abuses, defying a government ban and widespread use of teargas and water cannon filled with chemically laced water to deter the crowds.
More than 1,400 people were arrested and 12 injured — including Anwar — as clashes between police and protesters broke out in Malaysia's biggest protest since 2007.
Speaking to a small group of young graduates on Sunday, the People's Justice party leader warned prime minister Najib Razak's government: "We will have to pursue – in parliament and outside of parliament – free and fair elections, even by rallying unless they change the electoral vote."
When asked whether Malaysia was in the middle of its own revolution, Anwar said: "We have no confidence left [in the government], so it is important for Najib to consider seriously that we are close [to that]."
Najib, whose ruling party Barisan Nasional (National Front) has been in power since 1955, has dismissed Anwar as an opportunist who "will do everything, good or bad" to become prime minister himself. He has also claimed that Anwar might have been using Saturday's rally – organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, a loose group of 62 non-governmental organisations – for his own political gain.
Najib's government took extreme measures to prevent people from attending Saturday's protest, including a city-wide lockdown that saw police suspend public transportation, seal off main roads, and threaten to arrest anyone wearing yellow, the colour of the coalition.
Amnesty International denounced the government's actions as "the worst campaign of repression we've seen in decades".
But Najib has since warned activists not to take to the streets again and claimed that his party, Umno, far outnumbered opposition groups.
"Don't doubt our strength," he said. "If we want to create chaos, we can. Umno has 3 million members. If we gather 1 million members, it is more than enough. We can conquer Kuala Lumpur."
Such comments – along with images and videos of police brutality against peaceful protesters – are undermining the BN's future, some say.
"They made a very big mistake on Saturday, by assuming that arresting more people would make the rest of us scared," said youth leader Khairul Anuar. "Actually, it has just made us more brave."
A similar rally in 2007 is widely credited with spurring on Malaysia's opposition movement, which won a landslide victory in the 2008 elections.
Many are hoping that Saturday's rally could potentially topple the BN entirely in the next election, slated for as early as this year. But some analysts say the government may hold off in order to smooth things over.
"From Najib's perspective, holding elections any time soon would be a mistake because of the damage that has been done," Bridget Welsh, Malaysia specialist at Singapore Management University, told Reuters.
"The fact that such a large crowd turned up despite a crackdown shows that voter anger is deep and this is going to push a lot of people who are in the middle towards the opposition."
En nu Engeland omfg we gaan allemaal kapot links rechts doet er niet meer toe bunker in en afwachten op de genocidequote:
[..]
Ja, precies, Griekenland en Spanje hadden het Arabisch voorbeeld nodig om te weten wat staken en demonstreren is.
Al die mensen die zeggen dat overal die Arabische lente is terwijl dat echt niet komt hier in Europa.
Yepquote:
[..]
En nu Engeland omfg we gaan allemaal kapot
Die hebben dit jaar vast al wel een paar keer gestaakt. Hoeft alleen niet meer in het nieuws te komen.quote:
[..]
Het valt me nog mee dat de Fransen nog steeds niet meedoen, ook al zo'n staakgraag volk.