Participants of the "100,000 People's Gathering" on Nov 5 last year were not given enough time to leave, a witness told the Human Rights Commission inquiry today.

Commissioner Anuar Zainal Abidin asked Johari Abdul if 10,000 people could be dispersed within five to 15 minutes, which was the time previous witnesses stated they had before police initiated action against them.

"Within five minutes, a police officer twice ordered the people to disperse. After that the FRU began firing chemical irritants.

"There is no way you can get a crowd numbering thousands to disperse in a such short time. It is impossible," Johari, 40, said.

The businessman, a Keadilan supreme council member, added that not everyone could hear the orders to breakup.

"The loudhailer that the police used was only effective for a range of 50-60m. There were thousands of people on the Kesas Highway that day," he said.

Anuar heads a three-member panel now holding an inquiry into alleged police brutality at the gathering on the Kesas Highway, near the Kota Kemuning exit, in November last year.

The rally was originally scheduled to held at Jalan Kg Kebun, Shah Alam, but had to be aborted after police cordoned off all entries to the place from the highway, creating a massive traffic jam.

Roadblocks

Continuing his testimony, Johari said, "When the FRU truck began firing, the police were only concentrating on the people who were going towards Jalan Kebun. When the riot police came in, they chased even the people on the lane going back to Kuala Lumpur."

Johari also detailed police hitting cars with batons and kicking motorcycles along the way.

"The riot police were sitting near the motorcycles. It was as if they were waiting for the owners to return. When the owners did return, they were assaulted," he claimed.

He also told the commission that with roadblocks set up, it was hard for the crowd to disperse even if they wanted to.

"I argued with a senior police officer, SAC (II) Mangsor, who I think is the CID chief of Selangor.

"I told him, how is anybody supposed to disperse with all the roadblocks? He angrily said, 'This is an illegal assembly.'

"I told him, of course this is an assembly. If you trap people like this how can you not have an assembly?" Johari said.

He told the inquiry that he had negotiated with the officer, volunteering to guide people from the area.

"When he agreed to this, the police stopped firing tear gas. But an hour later they began again. I think there was a problem in command. Everything was so chaotic," he said.

Protest memo

Meanwhile Keadilan Sabak Bernam branch chief Dr Badrul Amin Bahron sent a memorandum to Suhakam today protesting police action during the party's Hari Raya gathering last Sunday.

"As the Keadilan chief in Sabak Bernam, I would like to register the anger of all the people of Sabak Bernam at the police for obstructing our Hari Raya gathering on Jan 6 by bringing in hundreds of riot police," said Badrul in the memorandum.

Although the police had given their assurance twice that the gathering would not be disturbed, Badrul said, police officers were stationed at every corner and riot police lined the street leading to the branch office where the gathering was held.

"The action caused us to lose thousands of ringgit spent on preparing food for that day. We hope the police will stop harassing Barisan Alternatif and be fair in serving the people," he said.

Badrul added that he will also be presenting another memorandum on the matter to the Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur on Jan 19.