Malaysian police officials said it had arrested 1667 people in action, called 'Operation Clean Erase' on Saturday, July 9, 2011. As quoted by news agency Associated Press (AP), those arrested included senior officials of the opposition.
Party officials claim they have freed some of them several hours after the arrest. They also indicate the possibility of most of the demonstrators would not be detained for one night.
In the action which is touted as the biggest demonstration in Malaysia, thousands of people seen walking toward a stadium. They chanted, "Long live the people" while carrying yellow balloons and flowers.
Meanwhile, police fired tear gas seen as well as water repeatedly to disperse the demonstrators crowd. This led demonstrators poured into the building near the scene. After five hours of dealing with the police, the protesters eventually dispersed. Only a few hundred demonstrators who managed to reach the stadium.
Prime Minister (PM) Malaysia Najib Abdul Rajak insisted, the demonstrations are only done by a small group of Malaysian society. Malaysia PM's assessment is based on a comparison of the number of demonstrations by the number of attendees in celebration of National Cooperatives Day in Putrajaya attended.
Organisers claimed the demo there are 50,000 people involved in the action today. But the state security apparatus, number only about 6,000 demonstrators. Meanwhile one of the protesters said the number of demonstrators reached 20 thousand to 30 thousand people. As is known the exact number is difficult to quantify given the demo protesters scattered in various places.
Action was initiated by the opposition on Saturday afternoon was the culmination of the weak pressure of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, in carrying out the selection process fair and transparent. Own national ballot will be held in mid-2012.
Barisan Nasional in Malaysia has been in power since the country gained independence from Britain in 1957. However, the action of the opposition has urged a change in the country.
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