Hundreds of people, mostly women, gathered at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre on June 4 for a peaceful protest calling for the abolishment of the Internal Security Act, the ISA, and to express their support for those being detained under the law.
At the gathering, organised by the Women's Agenda for Change, protesters waved placards and carried balloons bearing the words "Abolish ISA".
The protest came only two days after four members of the opposition group Keadilan, including a columnist for the non-government Malaysiakini news agency, were sent to the Kumintang detention camp for allegedly planning to topple the government through "militant means".
Emilia Badaruddin, the daughter of human rights activist Badaruddin Ismail who is still in police custody, told the crowd that she is proud of her father.
"The ISA is inhumane. We have to fight this cruelty against our heroes. I urged the home affairs minister to release all of them," she cried.
The group then marched to a nearby shopping complex, chanting slogans urging an end to the ISA and the resignation of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed.
There, they were approached by police officers who told them to disperse on the grounds that they did not have a police permit. About 10 Federal Reserve Unit personnel with rattan sticks were stationed outside the shopping complex.
Before they dispersed, Keadilan vice-president Irene Fernandez told them of a message from one of the detainees. "Ezam says to the young, 'You must free Malaysia' and to the old, 'Do not give up your struggle'."
[From Malaysiakini, <http://www.malaysiakini.com>.]