Bersih 2.0 rally in Malaysia stirs discontent with ruling party

A Malaysian activist from Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) tries to kick a tear gas grenade fired by police during a rally calling for electoral reforms in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, July 9, 2011. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Ong Kian Ming, UCSI University

The heart of Kuala Lumpur is usually chock full of traffic on a weekend. But on Saturday 9 July downtown KL was eerily empty of cars.

Police presence, however, was very noticeable, in the form of roadblocks positioned at major roads leading into the city, fire trucks equipped with water cannons, and helicopters hovering overhead. Read more…