Sunday was marred by a string of 23 arrests involving human rights lawyers, activists and opposition politicians.

But the council backed down in the face of warnings from the authorities that stern action would be taken against those involved in public demonstrations. Its 'Festival of Rights' celebrations were then moved to its premises in Kuala Lumpur.

A group of prominent human rights lawyers, several dozen activists and supporters, however, decided to press ahead with the march. Observers said police outnumbered the marchers roughly five-to-one.

Eight demonstrators were arrested after a few of them tried to negotiate an extension of the short time that police had granted them, so that they could complete their march on the planned route. They were charged in court Monday with participating in an 'illegal assembly' and failing to disperse when ordered to. They were later released on bail but the offences carry jail terms totaling 30 months and/or fines.

‘'”If the choice is between public safety and public freedom, I do not hesitate to say here that public safety will always win,” said Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. ''Malaysians must never, ever, take their peace for granted and they must continue to be responsible to each other.''

But human rights groups slammed the arrests. ''We are appalled that even a small gathering of marchers to a nearby destination in an orderly manner without obstructing the traffic or causing any chaos to the public cannot be allowed or tolerated by this oppressive regime,'' said P Ramakrishnan, president of the social reform group, Aliran.

Police also detained Edmund Bon, head of the Bar Council human rights committee, for alleging trying to obstruct enforcement personnel from removing publicity banners placed on the Bar Council's buildings yesterday. A Malaysian Bar official told IPS that the banners were clearly within the Bar's premises. Bon was released on bail Monday.

Later, on Sunday evening, two prominent opposition politicians, Tian Chua and Mohamad Sabu, along with twelve activists, were arrested for their involvement in another 'illegal assembly'. Most of the 12 were crowd control marshals from the opposition Islamic Party (Pas) who had participated in a Nov. 10 rally calling for electoral reforms. The rally was organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), an initiative spearheaded by civil society groups and backed by opposition parties.

Pas marshals were widely credited for ensuring a peaceful and orderly rally attended by some 50,000 people -- largely ethnic Malays though other ethnic groups also participated. Police, however, used tear gas and water cannon at sections of the crowd in a bid to disperse them from parts of Kuala Lumpur.

The Bersih rally was followed by another large protest on Nov. 25, when 30,000 ethnic Indians from across the country converged in Kuala Lumpur to highlight what they perceived to be ethnic marginalisation and religious discrimination. The rally was spearheaded by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), led by a small group of vocal Indian Malaysian lawyers.

Last week, 31 Hindraf protesters were slapped with a charge of ''attempted murder'' of a policeman during the Nov. 25 rally, while 16 of them were also charged with taking part in an illegal assembly.

In the eastern state of Trenggganu, two Pas members have been charged with causing hurt to a police officer during another rally in September calling for electoral reforms. Both have been denied bail.

The string of arrests did not deter another small group of five lawyers and opposition politicians from marching in Kuching, East Malaysia on Monday morning in a symbolic gesture to mark Human Rights Day, reported the independent news portal Malaysiakini.

Most of those attending the recent large Bersih and Hindraf protests appeared to be from the lower income group. ''The underlying causes (of the Bersih and Hindraf rallies) are economic,'' economist Subramaniam Pillay told IPS. ''There is a widening income disparity between unskilled and semi-skilled workers on the one hand, and skilled workers and connected people on the other.''

He added that the incomes of unskilled and semi-skilled workers had been depressed by cheap foreign labour.

Subramaniam is chairperson of the steering committee of the civil society Coalition Against Health Care Privatisation. The Coalition today received the 2007 Malaysian human rights award from the Kuala Lumpur-based rights group Suaram.

The mass arrests and trials of demonstrators in court are reminiscent of the mass trials during the reformasi streets protests of 1998-2001, when dozens were hauled to court to face charges of illegal assembly.

Some believe that the protracted trials of that period served two purposes: they sapped the energy of the reformasi demonstrators by dragging them through the court system while the trials also deterred others from taking part in future protests.

But unlike his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister Abdullah has not yet used the loathed and feared Internal Security Act (ISA) against those mobilising the demonstrators -- though he has not discounted the possibility.

Clearly, Abdullah, whose reform agenda to stamp out corruption and abuse of power has floundered, faces a groundswell of disenchantment, which has spilled onto the streets. The year-end season of discontent could force him to delay plans for an early general election, which is due by early 2009.

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang expressed concern that the premier is on the brink of a major crackdown against public dissent. ''Has the Abdullah premiership finally taken off its velvet glove to show the iron fist within, to crush human rights in the country?''

Source: IPS - Inter Press Service News Agency