Malaysia's Bar Council on Tuesday called off plans to hold a human rights march this weekend, saying it had become too controversial after a recent government crackdown on street protests.

The government has been badly rattled by two mass demonstrations in the streets of the capital Kuala Lumpur last month, one calling for electoral reform and the other by ethnic Indians to highlight alleged discrimination.

Police used tear gas and water cannons at both protests, dispersing thousands of protesters and arresting hundreds. Witnesses said some of the demonstrators at the Indian rally were beaten by police armed with batons.

The Bar Council's event, to mark International Human Rights Day, was scheduled for Sunday and involved a march in downtown Kuala Lumpur as well as entertainment, such as cultural performances and children's activities.

Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan said the decision to cancel the walk -- which it was organising for the third year in a row -- was made in the interests of the public and the law body itself.

"This event ought not to be embroiled in controversy. Most significantly, it should not be vilified as affecting race relations or be regarded as an anti-government rally," Ambiga said in a statement.

Ambiga said the cultural performances and activities would go ahead, but that the walk was a "missed opportunity".

"It is an event that would have demonstrated complete racial harmony and would have demonstrated that we can walk peaceably in unity for human rights the world over," she said.

In September, hundreds of Malaysian lawyers defied police to stage a rare protest demanding a thorough probe into allegations a lawyer fixed judicial appointments with a senior judge.