Pro-Government Rally Ends in Malaysia Capital After Standoff
- Water cannons fired on protesters trying to enter Chinese area
- Rally follows large anti-government gathering last month
This article is for subscribers only.
A pro-government rally in the Malaysian capital ended after police dispersed a group of protesters trying to break through to a Chinese business area of Kuala Lumpur, averting clashes that may have stoked racial tension in the secular Muslim nation.
Police fired water cannons into the crowd of about several hundred people early Wednesday evening after alarms by the anti-riot squad failed to break them up. At least three were injured before the crowd finally left after a standoff with police for hours. A rally in another part of the city was peaceful even as speakers there spoke of Malay rights and called for a reinstatement of the Internal Security Act.