The 29 arrests ahead of the failed #TangkapNajib rally in Kuala Lumpur yesterday was meant to scare the public, the rally organisers said.

"Actually, the #TangkapNajib rally was to be a measure of the new deputy prime minister's performance, who is also the home minister in charge of the police.

“(We) believe that the harsh actions by the police was intended to frighten the public," youth group Demi Malaysia said in a statement today.

They also said the police promised them the day before the rally that they were free to gather, on condition that they did not march.

However, police presence was heavy at the rally yesterday and organisers and participants were arrested as participants started to trickle in.

In the end most of the activists were detained and the rally at Sogo shopping mall failed to get off the ground.

Demi Malaysia reminded the authorities the federal constitution guarantees the right to peaceful assembly, and any other law contradicting it is automatically nullified.

This includes any notice from the police, they said.

On Wednesday, inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar warned that the police would not compromise with anyone who tries to break the law by inciting people to take to the streets to topple the government.

‘Police promise broken’

The #TangkapNajib rally was to call for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's arrest for alleged corruption and abuse of power.

Three activists involved in organising the rally were arrested on Friday : Adam Adli, Mandeep Singh and Shukri Abd Razab.

Two of them had received police guarantees that no one would be arrested, when they were asked to report to the police station to give their statements.

However they were arrested as they were leaving the station after giving their cooperation.

Demi Malaysia asked if the public can still trust the police after this incident.

"The question now is, can the public continue to put their trust in the promises by the police, with all these broken promises?" they asked.

Those arrested will be investigated under Section 124 of the Penal Code for activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.

A group of supporters gathered outside the Jinjang police lockup last night to show solidarity with those detained.

They also demanded their prompt release.

Cops protecting who?

"What is the duty of the police actually? To protect the people, catch thieves, robbers and other criminals. But this is not what we see,” Demi Malaysia continued.

“Protesters, students and activists who did not threaten the safety of the country at all are being arrested, while those accused walk free."

Separately, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (Samm) also slammed the arrests as excessive, saying the authorities should be ensuring the safety of the protesters, not detaining them.

"Did those at the rally steal the country's money until they were arrested like criminals?" they asked in a statement today, calling for the immediate release of those detained.

Meanwhile Demi Malaysia asked that the people not lose their focus on the 1MDB scandal.

"The question ‘did RM2.6 billion go into Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal accounts’ is unanswered till now," they reminded.

Similarly, coalition for free and fair elections Bersih has called on the public not to be intimidated, and to support the coming Bersih 4 mega rally on the night of Aug 29.