By DPA
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysian police Tuesday detained at least 15 activists outside the Malaysian parliament during a pro-democracy public protest.
Some 50 activists had defied a police ban on the demonstration and began gathering Tuesday in spite of heavy police presence and roadblocks across Kuala Lumpur.
The demonstrators were attempting to submit a protest note over a government-backed plan to extend the tenure of the Election Commission chief, whom the opposition claims is biased.
Police arrested at least 15 men, including members of opposition political parties as well as human rights activists.
Malaysians planning to hold a public gathering of five or more people must obtain a police permit.
Tuesday’s gathering is the latest in a series of banned public protests in recent weeks.
On Nov 10, more than 10,000 people gathered in a massive street rally calling for free and fair elections.
That rally was followed by a similarly large demonstration by minority ethnic Indian community Nov 25 who claimed to be victims of the Malay government’s social and economic discrimination.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has said that tougher action will be used against those holding violent street protest and illegal gatherings.
He blamed the demonstrators and opposition members for attempting to incite racial hatred and disharmony.
“If voters are easily persuaded by people playing the racial card, then we are heading for disaster,” he warned late Monday.
He warned that the government would not hesitate to use a draconian security law, which allows for detention without trial for up to two years, arresting those disrupting public order.
“Enforcement of the law will be the action (against them) and no one will be excluded,” he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
Street demonstrations are extremely rare in multi-ethnic and predominantly Muslim Malaysia, which prides itself on racial and religious stability.