Malaysia briefly detains Anwar amid crackdown

By Jalil Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia briefly detained de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday and arrested about a dozen other opposition leaders amid the state's biggest crackdown on anti-government activists in a decade.

Immigration officials detained Anwar at the country's main airport on his return from Istanbul via Singapore before clearing him for entry, the former deputy premier told Reuters.

"It's just a clear harassment," Anwar said.

"It's a desperate attempt to harass and intimidate the public and deflect the attention from major issues of corruption among UMNO leaders and the judiciary," he added, referring to the main ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

The government denies opposition allegations it is cracking down on legitimate dissent, arguing that police are trying to protect public safety by breaking up street demonstrations and arresting their organisers, including opposition politicians.

For the first time since Anwar led mass protests in 1998, hundreds of riot police have turned out onto the streets of the capital in recent weeks, using tear gas and water cannon on anti-government rallies of up to 10,000 people or more.

Police have been manning road blocks around Kuala Lumpur, on and off, for weeks to prevent would-be protesters from converging on the city. On Tuesday, they threw a cordon around Parliament House to prevent a rally demanding free and fair elections.

"It is completely unnecessary, uncalled for and unwarranted. This is not a private club, this is a public place," another opposition leader, Lim Kit Siang, told reporters at parliament, which had been ringed by riot police.