The South China Morning Post, HK 6th November 2000

Cry freedom: thousands of supporters of jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim gather at Shah Alam, near Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.

Malaysian riot police fired tear-gas and water cannon yesterday at about 5,000 protesters demanding freedom for jailed former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim and more democracy. The anti-government protest was the biggest in recent months.

Led by the country's top opposition leaders, thousands of people blocked a major expressway linking Kuala Lumpur, the capital, to a neighbouring state and shouted slogans against Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

According to protest organisers, 80 people were arrested. Police said 30 were held. Policemen beat back poster-waving protesters and chased them into jungles along the expressway. Some of the protesters were forcibly removed from their vehicles and beaten by policemen. One officer suffered head injuries after he was attacked by protesters.

The clash occurred after 700 police blocked roads to stop protesters attending a rally near Klang, 20km west of Kuala Lumpur. When they closed the expressway to block the protesters, a huge traffic jam built up and opposition leaders and supporters began walking towards the venue.

The protesters shouted "Reformasi", the rallying cry of Anwar's movement that seeks to end Dr Mahathir's 19-year rule. There were also shouts of "Free Anwar, step down Mahathir".

"We are all here trying to demand our rights back," Wan Azizah Ismail, Anwar's wife and leader of Parti Keadilan Nasional, told the crowd from a wheelchair at the front of the protest. Aides said she had injured an ankle.

She was joined by the heads of the Democratic Action Party, the Parti Islam se-Malaysia and the Malaysian People's Party.

As the other opposition leaders fled the police onslaught, Dr Wan Azizah was hoisted by her aides over the divider of the expressway and into a waiting car.

Dr Wan Azizah said protesters had agreed to disperse peacefully before the police advanced. "I think they were just trying to create disorder so the opposition would be blamed," she said. Anwar, 54, is serving two jail sentences totalling 15 years for sodomy and corruption.