Seventeen Held After Malaysia Student Demo

Jakarta Globe, January 01, 2012

An activist wearing a V for Vendetta Guy Fawkes mask holds a placard
reading "Your Government Has Failed You" at the Independence Square in
Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. To mark the end of 2011 and the inception of
 the 2012 New Year, the activist expressing common indignation against
 the many injustices and anti-democratic events that happened in Malaysia
on 2011. (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)

              

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Kuala Lumpur. Seventeen people were arrested on Sunday after police broke up a student gathering for greater academic freedom, in what the opposition and activists said was a campaign to stifle dissent.

Prime Minister Najib Razak has pledged to allow greater civil liberties, announcing reforms to security laws slammed as undemocratic, but critics insist he is backtracking on his pledges.

Opposition lawyer and activist N. Surendran said police “brutally” broke up a gathering outside a university in northern Perak state early Sunday, adding that one person was taken to hospital after being kicked by officers.

Dozens of students had gathered at about midnight as part of their campaign for greater academic freedom, such as the abolition of a law that bars them from joining or supporting political parties.

They also want university lecturers to be able to express their opinions freely without fear of censure.

“We are quite shocked by the degree of violence,” Surendran told AFP. “There is no doubt that instructions... were given to intimidate the students and stop the student movement.”

Police could not immediately be reached for comments. Authorities frequently break up gatherings deemed illegal.

In late November, parliament passed a law as part of a campaign to soften tough rules on security, free speech and gatherings.

The assembly law replaces legislation that required a police permit for public gatherings, but critics complain it contains a range of new restrictions including an outright ban on street marches.

Hundreds have protested against the law, saying it is more restrictive than the police permit scheme.

Najib has also promised to reverse the 40-year-old ban on joining or supporting political parties, but added that political activities would remain banned on campuses, raising fears the pledge is an election ploy ahead of polls expected soon.

Nalini Elumalai, a representative of local human rights group Suaram, said the action against the students validated fears that police will continue to clamp down on peaceful gatherings.

“Najib and his government have failed to show that they are making genuine reforms in Malaysia,” she told AFP.

Agence France-Presse