KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10: Malaysian police unleashed tear gas and water cannons on protesters on Saturday as tens of thousands defied a government ban and rallied in the capital to call for clean and fair elections.

Leading human rights group Suaram said 23 demonstrators had been arrested at the rally which took place despite police efforts to close down the city centre with roadblocks.

Some 30,000 protesters eventually massed outside Malaysia’s royal palace, led by opposition leaders including dissident former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, as they faced off against hundreds of riot police.

Earlier at a mosque that served as a meeting point for protesters, tear gas and cannons were used to disperse a large crowd, police and demonstrators said.

“Police detained several people and there was use of water canons and tear gas,” a police officer said. Syed Hussein Ali, vice-president of Mr Ibrahim’s party Keadilan, said he was caught up in the chaos outside the Jamek Mosque.

“I was hit two times by tear gas and water cannons. The police were clearly trying to stop the crowd and it was very difficult for us to carry on with the march, but we did,” he told AFP.

The demonstrators, an alliance of opposition parties and civil society groups, regrouped and marched to the palace in the driving rain, chanting ‘Election reform’ and ‘Justice’.

“The Malaysian public must be allowed to express their opinions and views,” parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said at the palace gates before delivering a petition to the king.“It is not fair for the government not to issue a permit for this rally to take place as it is only the voice of the people being expressed here,” he said.—AFP