Bersih 2.0 supporters assembled at KL Sentral were prepared to charge at the police, testified a senior police officer who was guarding the location on July 9 last year, as street protests in support of electoral reform took place.

brickfields uthayakumar hindraf 280209 wan abdul bari ocpd Brickfields district police chief ACP Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid (left) said the supporters , led by PKR Batu MP Tian Chua, had linked hands and that someone shouted "1, 2, 3".

"They looked like they were getting ready to charge at us... I reacted after I heard them counting," he said.

Earlier in the day, about 500 to 600 supporters, including some of the 91 individuals listed in a restriction order, had arrived at the underpass at the transport hub, to march to Stadium Merdeka via Jalan Tun Sambathan.

Mainly clad in yellow, the supporters outnumbered the police personnel by the hundreds, Wan Abdul Bari told the Human Rights Commission's (Suhakam) public inquiry.

He explained that there were five Light Strike Force (LSF) units, each comprising six personnel, under his command as well as other police officers, based at various locations in the vicinity.

However, on seeing the oncoming crowd, Wan Abdul Bari said, he was only able to assemble less than 30 personnel, including three LSF units.

"I issued three rounds of warnings, three times each round, through a loudhailer, telling them to disperse but they didn't comply and started to march forward.

"As they weren't very far away - only about 80m - I ordered the LSF to aim downwards. Altogether 14 tear gas canisters were fired at the protesters before they dispersed.”

NONE Asked if the supporters had acted violently, Wan Abdul Bari said "there were indications of violence that could have taken place, but we acted fast".

"They had no stones or weapons but if they had charged at us, it would have put us in danger as there were fewer than 30 of us," he said.

Wan Abdul Bari denied that the supporters were trapped in the underpass.

He was replying commissioner Mahmood Zuhdi A Majid who cited previous testimony from witnesses who had claimed that tear gas had been launched into both ends of the tunnel-like underpass leaving them, no avenue to escape.

"I wouldn't say they were trapped. I don't agree. The protesters were the ones who chose the way, we didn't lead them there.

"I don't agree that it is a tunnel, if it was a tunnel it wouldn't be a bus stop because the bus releases carbon monoxide (CO). There were plenty of exit points, they could have retreated via the escalator (that leads to the underpass)."

‘Tear gas canisters shot downwards’

He also said he was not aware of tear gas being fired at the other exit, claiming that the LSF unit could have acted on other instructions, apart from his.

He reiterated that the units under his control had only fired 14 canisters and arrested five supporters, including Chua.

NONE Asked by conducting officer Ameer Izyanif Hamzah, if there was a possibility the tear gas canisters could cause harm, Wan Abdul Bari said: "I ordered my men to shoot downwards.

“If we had shot straight at them then someone could have been injured. The canister, when fired downwards, will slide in, and will not bounce."

At this juncture, Bar Council’s representative Syahredzan Johan, who is holding watching brief, proposed a possibility that the tear gas canister could bounce if the surface was uneven.

Wan Abdul Bari replied in agreement.

However, he told the panel that the police had employed all means possible to thwart the supporters from moving forward.

"There are two ways - water cannon and tear gas - to avoid physical contact. The other way is through negotiations (and) warnings if the crowd is stationary and doesn’t pose any threat.”

He agreed with ACP Jamaludin Abdul Rahman, who is holding a watching brief for the police headquarters, that the most important order issued during "numerous meetings" was to  avoid any physical "engagement".

'No weapons'

Prior to Wan Abdul Bari's testimony, Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah, who was arrested at KL Sentral with Bersih leader Ambiga Sreenevasan, told the panel that tear gas was launched at both exits of the underpass.

NONE "We were huddled together, there was nowhere to go. We were arrested shortly afterwards.

"Just before the next rounds were fired the police ushered us into the van and took us to the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters," Maria said.

Although the rally was declared illegal by the police, she said, there had been no response to applications for a police permit.

She agreed that the steering committee had been given plenty of opportunities to negotiate the matter with the police but stressed that the right to assemble peacefully is guaranteed under the constitution.

Maria said none of the supporters were carrying weapons, and she ticked off the police for 'overstepping their limits' in disrupting the rally.