Ibrahim Ali, who heads Malay rights pressure group Perkasa, has dismissed claims that Anwar Ibrahim had led the Baling protest held in Kuala Lumpur in 1974.
In a press release, he claimed that Anwar had only appeared a day after university students began demonstrating at the Selangor Club Padang (now Dataran Merdeka) over the plight of rubber tappers in Baling, Kedah.
"He arrived from Manila and went straight to Masjid Negara, where we (students) sought refuge after being chased by the FRU (riot police) armed with tear gas,” he said.
"At the time, I was addressing (the students) and invited Anwar to speak. Police began arresting students. It was chaos. Anwar and I fled.
"In brief, Anwar went to the Brickfields police station in the evening to visit the detainees. He was arrested then.”
Ibrahim (left) said he and nine others were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) three days later.
He was responding toMalaysiakini's report on an event at the Kupang public field in Baling to mark the 40th anniversary of the demonstration, which referred to Anwar as a ‘protest leader’.
The demonstration refers to simultaneous protests in Baling and Kuala Lumpur on Dec 1, 1974, sparked by claims that some rubber tappers had starved to death due to a plunge in rubber prices.
Anwar and others like Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia leader Syed Husin Ali were detained under the ISA which allowed for detention without trial.
Anwar was detained for 20 months, while Syed Husin was detained for six years. Ibrahim was detained for two years.
Then education minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad amended the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 to curb student involvement in politics, a move which led to the decline of student activism.
Anwar and Ibrahim were later absorbed into Umno and rose to public office.
In a press release, he claimed that Anwar had only appeared a day after university students began demonstrating at the Selangor Club Padang (now Dataran Merdeka) over the plight of rubber tappers in Baling, Kedah."He arrived from Manila and went straight to Masjid Negara, where we (students) sought refuge after being chased by the FRU (riot police) armed with tear gas,” he said.
"At the time, I was addressing (the students) and invited Anwar to speak. Police began arresting students. It was chaos. Anwar and I fled.
"In brief, Anwar went to the Brickfields police station in the evening to visit the detainees. He was arrested then.”
Ibrahim (left) said he and nine others were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) three days later.He was responding toMalaysiakini's report on an event at the Kupang public field in Baling to mark the 40th anniversary of the demonstration, which referred to Anwar as a ‘protest leader’.
The demonstration refers to simultaneous protests in Baling and Kuala Lumpur on Dec 1, 1974, sparked by claims that some rubber tappers had starved to death due to a plunge in rubber prices.
Anwar and others like Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia leader Syed Husin Ali were detained under the ISA which allowed for detention without trial.
Anwar was detained for 20 months, while Syed Husin was detained for six years. Ibrahim was detained for two years.
Then education minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad amended the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 to curb student involvement in politics, a move which led to the decline of student activism.
Anwar and Ibrahim were later absorbed into Umno and rose to public office.
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