Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia on Saturday was struck by its worst ever riots, as thousands of protestors took to the streets demanding abolishing of the draconian internal security law, forcing police to fire tear gas and lobbed water cannons to disperse them.
Defying government warnings, around 15,000 protestors were on streets in response to the call by the opposition, and later a police spokesman said 175 people had been arrested amidst chaotic scenes in downtown area of the city.
It all began in small gatherings in street corners which later swelled into a huge protest march with people intending to march to the Royal Palace to register their protest.
Crowds played cat-and-mouse with the police, disappearing into side streets at the first sign of heavy deployment only to re-emerge from different sides.
The protest caused huge traffic snarls in the city with buses going off the roads and the trains halted half-way to their destinations wary of stone pelting.
The new Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak denounced the protest saying it was unnecessary as he had already announced to review the Internal Security Act (ISA), a hangover from colonial times.
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