Protests Entering 'Dangerous Phase,' Malaysians Warn
International Herald Tribune
October 26, 1998
Thomas Fuller 

Malaysia's leaders warned Sunday of a more confrontational phase in the country's political crisis after the police over the weekend broke up the most violent anti-government demonstrations since weekly protests began two months ago.

More than 240 people were arrested Saturday as an angry crowd at a mosque beat people they suspected were plainclothes police and hurled iron rods, rocks and bottles at police officers. The police responded with water cannons and 50 rounds of tear gas. At least two police officers and a dozen protesters were hurt.

"Demonstrations in Malaysia have now entered a dangerous phase," Najib Tun Razak, the education minister and a possible candidate for prime minister, said Sunday to the Bernama news agency.

Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, meanwhile, condemned his opponents and said the government would not be intimidated. "The groups calling themselves reformists seeking to uphold justice are the ones who are breaking the law," Bernama quoted him as saying on the northern island of Langkawi. He asserted that protesters were cowards who used women and children as shields. "Don't blame the government if children are burned during the rioting," he said, "as the authorities have discovered Molotov cocktails and kerosene at the scene."

Demonstrations in support of Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister who was dismissed in September, have for the most part been peaceful. Mr. Anwar will go to trial next month on 10 charges of corruption and sexual misconduct.

The weekend clashes marked the first time that protesters had fought with the police on a large scale. The fighting began Saturday in a popular shopping district in Kuala Lumpur when the police moved to disperse a crowd of about 1,000 people. Firing tear gas, the police chased protesters through malls and office buildings. The police also broke up a rally by human-rights groups calling for the abolition of the Internal Security Act, which allows the police to detain without trial people considered a threat to national security.

Mr. Anwar, who before his dismissal Sept. 2 was the second-most powerful man in the government, pleaded not guilty last month to charges of sodomy.

One of the men he is accused of sodomizing, Munawar Ahmad Anees, a former speech writer, asserted in court documents released Saturday that he had been mistreated and "brainwashed" by police officers who questioned him. Mr. Munawar was sentenced to six months in prison on Sept. 19 on charges of taking part in a homosexual act. He is appealing his conviction, asserting that statements he made against Mr. Anwar were coerced.

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