'Stop misuse of police powers'. This is the message that a group of activists hope to press home at a peaceful assembly outside the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this Saturday.

The organiser of the assembly, the Coalition Against Police Misconduct said today the purpose of the gathering is to protest against "numerous incidents" resulting from abuse of police powers.

The coalition, an initiative set up under human rights organisation Suaram, added that these include the deaths of suspects in custody and police shootings, abuse of remand procedures, dispersal of peaceful assemblies and prevention of distribution of leaflets.

"The situation is worsened by the absence of justice to victims of police brutality and the fact that all complaints have not had satisfactory responses in terms of independent and transparent investigations, disciplinary actions or prosecutions of offending police personnel," said the organiser in an email.

The coalition urged concerned individuals to attend the assembly to "send a strong message that the police will not be allowed to act as they please and that all forms of abuse of police powers must be stopped immediately".

The assembly is scheduled to begin at 10am near the Lake Gardens entrance of the police headquarters.

Under scrutiny

Contacted later, Suaram coordinator Eric Paulsen said several hundred people are expected to attend the assembly.

"We have been distributing the leaflets widely and also sending out messages through our network of friends," he said, adding that the police have not objected to the gathering.

"We have also extended our invitation to Malaysian Human Rights Commission and the Royal Police Commission to monitor the assembly."

The police force has come under increasing scrutiny of late due to the rising number of complaints regarding corruption and excessive use of force.

In an attempt to address this issue, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi earlier this month appointed a 16-member royal commission headed by former chief justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah to look into ways to modernise and reform the force.

Members of the commission have since been briefed by police chiefs and organised several visits to police lock-ups in Kuala Lumpur.