A majority of the 20 individuals arrested in connection with an unlawful assembly in Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor were merely participants of an annual custom held every Hari Raya eve, according to sources on the ground.

Two sources who spoke to Malaysiakini said the gathering of locals on motorcycles with firecrackers and flares on Hari Raya eve was a common sight every year.

This year, however, a smaller group of individuals had brought along a banner that read "kerajaan gagal" (failed government) in what appeared...