Hundreds arrested in Malaysia protest

By Razak Ahmad

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police used teargas and water cannon to disperse thousands of protesters on Saturday, arresting almost 600 people in the biggest demonstration in the country's capital in almost two years.

Up to 10,000 protesters, headed by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, gathered in the Malaysian capital to demand that the government rescind a law that allows imprisonment without trial, a measure that has in the past been used against the opposition.

"We gather today to fight a cruel law under a cruel administration," Anwar told the rally.

Police fired teargas from the tops of buildings in the centre of Kuala Lumpur in an effort to prevent demonstrations from building up. They also mounted roadblocks in the Malaysian capital, causing huge traffic jams.

Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Muhamad Sabtu Osman said that 589 people had been arrested.

The mainly Malay crowd gathered at the national mosque, chanting "Allahu Akhbar (God is greatest)" and "Down with the government", sending passers-by fleeing and causing shops to put up their shutters while a police helicopter circled overhead.

Police fired teargas and water cannon to disperse protesters who were marching towards the palace to deliver a memorandum to the king urging him to support the repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA) detention law.