On Feb 28, I witnessed the kind of force that the Malaysian police are able to brandish against a civil and peaceful assembly.

For me, it is especially ironic that a peaceful assembly to inform the police about alleged use of excessive force over the last four years could result in one of the most blatant shows of police force I've seen in my short life.

The assembly began at 10am in front of the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. It was a peaceful gathering of like-minded folk, among them family members of victims of alleged police brutality, NGO activists and other individuals.

Everything was going smoothly, as introductory remarks were made followed by a few very short speeches. However, before the speakers could go on, before family members could come forward to speak about the death of their loved ones, a few policemen moved into the crowd in what appeared to be an impending arrest of the key speakers.

During the ensuing chaos I stepped away from the crush of people and moved to the right of the crowd.

It was then that I saw a group of about seven policemen surround and grab artist-activist Fahmi Reza as he was standing with his friends, holding up placards and signs that visually depicted victims of police brutality of the past as well as images of police.

The policemen not only surrounded Fahmi and his friends but they manhandled him, pulling and tearing at his clothes until his shirt was ripped.

I could see them yanking him roughly and hitting him as they tried to snatch his bag from him. They knocked his spectacles off, immediately rendering him disoriented because he cannot see without his glasses.

Fahmi was yelling " Tolong! Tolong! " but no one could go to his aid because he was being physically hauled about by the policemen, while another four of five were pushing and punching people away from him.

'Violent conduct'

The policemen dragged Fahmi away from his friends and the crowd and forcibly restrained him as he tried to wriggle free from their vice-like grip. He tried to hold his ground and to resist moving, but was overpowered by the policemen. I still felt powerless to do anything.

Fahmi was wrestled to the ground. As the crowd began to surge around and the media began to take photographs, the policemen became even more aggressive and violent, trying to block him from camera view as they formed a circle around him.

I knelt to try and see what was happening, and saw them step on Fahmi, kick him and push his face onto the tarred surface. He was grimacing and crying out with pain as the left side of his face scraped the ground. All the while, the policemen were pressing down on his entire body. I felt sick to my stomach.

How is it fair or equitable to have so many policemen overpower and assault a skinny bespectacled young man who was unarmed? The police kept shouting ' Pisau ' as if Fahmi was brandishing a weapon but I had not seen him hold any kind of knife.

Furthermore, he was held down and physically restrained in a manner that would ensure he would not be able to move or do anything but submit. More than that, at least four inspectors watched without intervening.

The scene reminded me of the Rodney King incident in Los Angeles in the US in 1992. I also remembered all the policemen who were witnesses to the beating had done nothing to intervene.

Shock and disgust

I saw a woman, whom I later found out was activist Elizabeth Wong, trying to push through the group of policemen in order to help Fahmi.

But they manhandled her as well, hauling her up and dragging her away as she kicked and screamed.

I was shocked and could not understand why it was necessary to go to such lengths to detain two individuals who were clearly not engaging in any violence and who had not even been speaking to the crowd.

Why was it necessary for the police to act in a way that turned a peaceful assembly chaotic? The people were there not to provoke anyone, agitate or do anything beyond expressing their sense of injustice and raising awareness about has been happening.

Those who had a strong hand in changing the dynamics of the gathering were the police themselves. They provoked a situation that resulted in 17 people being arrested.

I went to the demonstration expecting the police to show good faith and to prove that they are capable of humanity and basic civility.

I left with a bitter taste in my mouth, sick to my stomach at the sight of them assaulting innocent citizens who were merely holding a peaceful gathering.

FRANK TALK is a Malaysian who is interested in the power of words and is supportive of a free and independent press. His name is a homage to South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who always spoke the truth.