Arrest and Unrest

Anwar Ibrahim was arrested on Sunday night about an hour after riot police broke up a massive and unprecedented demonstration outside Sri Perdana, the Prime Minister's residence.

Witnesses said about 100 policemen stormed into Anwar 's Damansara Heights home in the middle of a press conference. They took him and his family in a white van and, when they were out of sight of the thousands congregating at Damansara Heights, transferred the ousted Deputy Prime Minister into a car, according to his wife Wan Azizah, who addressed supporters late in the evening.

The demonstrators at Sri Perdana, numbering about 50,000 according to some estimates, were a section of the hundreds of thousands who had earlier gathered in the centre of Kuala Lumpur to hear Anwar speak. (Click here for an eyewitness account and di sini untuk laporan Wartawan Reformasi dalam Bahasa Malaysia.)

Wan Azizah, who ended her short address at about 11.50, urged patience among the supporters, many of whom stayed put even after she told them to go home and pray for truth to overcome falsehood. Her address was interrupted several times by shouts of "Allah Akbar" and "Reformasi" from the crowd, which remained massive despite Anwar's absence.

She said Anwar was detained at the Bukit Aman Police Headquarters and that neither she nor his lawyers had been allowed to see him. She extracted a promise from one high ranking officer that he would receive humane treatment and be allowed his dinner and medication.be treated 's lawyers were allowed to see him.