Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) detained 16 people, including an Australian journalist, during the Himpunan Hijau demonstration against the Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Lynas) rare earth processing plant in front of the facility in Gebeng, near Port Kuantan in Pahang yesterday.
Kuantan disctrict police chief Asst Comm Abdul Aziz Salleh said all the detainees were arrested after refusing to disperse even after being advised to do so by the authorities at 4pm.
“One of the two women detained is a freelance Australian journalist. Police did not apply force in detaining them. All detainees have been transported to the Kuantan district police headquarters.
“They have been arrested in accordance with Section 143 of the Penal Code for participating in an unlawful assembly,” he said during a press conference eld near the processing plant.
Harian Metro reports that Abdul Aziz puts the demonstration’s head count at around 500 attendees, involving 100 cars and three buses, most of which were from outside of Pahang.
On Saturday, Pahang police received an order from the Magistrate Court to disallow the organisers of the Himpunan Hijau demonstration and to deter members of the public from joining the rally.
