Seventeen people including activists and politicians were arrested in Kuala Lumpur for illegal assembly Saturday in a protest against alleged police brutality and abuse of power.
Members of the Coalition Against Police Misconduct gathered in front of the federal police headquarters to submit a memorandum to the national police chief to seek action against alleged misconduct.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Mustafa Abdullah told reporters a water cannon was turned on the crowd after they refused to disperse despite warnings. No one was injured and police later released all of the detainees on bail.
Police estimated there was some 60 protestors but organisers said there were more than 200 people.
Mustafa said police were only expecting a memorandum to be handed over, but that some of the activists sat down by the road while others carried posters highlighting alleged cases of abuse.
Several senior officials of the opposition National Justice Party, headed by the wife of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, and the Democratic Action Party were among the 13 men and four women detained.
Organisers accused police of being heavy-handed and said the reaction was disappointing and a blow to new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's pledge to improve the credibility of the force.
"It was totally unexpected and unprovoked. It was just a small gathering but police have acted with such unnecessary force. It's very unprofessional," National Justice Party vice-president Tian Chua, who was among those detained, told AFP. But Mustafa defended the use of the water cannon, saying it was the most effective way to disperse the crowd quickly without violence.
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