Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:51am AEST

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, who is in Malaysia on a fact-finding mission, has been caught up in one of the country's biggest demonstrations in decades.

Thousands of protesters gathered in Kuala Lumpur's central square calling for changes to the electoral system, which they claim has been manipulated to favour the long-ruling coalition in forthcoming elections.

Senator Xenophon was among the crowds when police fired tear gas at demonstrators.

"The police have lobbed at least a dozen canisters that I've seen in my immediate vicinity," he said.

"We've seen people here who've collapsed, who've been vomiting as a result of the tear gas and some people have become quite ill.

"Even though I'm a couple of hundred metres away from it it's actually starting to sting.

We've seen people here who've collapsed, who've been vomiting as a result of the tear gas and some people have become quite ill.

Nick Xenophon

"It's just an extraordinary scene. There is a bit of panic here. It's getting pretty messy here and there's a bit of a crush in the crowd."

Witnesses say the protesters trampled through barbed-wire barricades set up around the heavily-guarded Merdeka Square, in defiance of a court order that had banned them from the square.

Protesters also battled with police at a train station nearby, throwing bottles and chairs at officers who responded by firing tear gas rounds.

Most of the protesters had dispersed about an hour after the violence began, but several hundred remained and were still taunting police.

Police insist they were forced to move against the protesters after they failed to heed warnings, but rights groups say the action was unjustified.

"They fired a shot at us and then instead of saying sorry ... they shot some more," one protester said.

Senator Xenophon says it is time for the Australian Government to reconsider its relationship with the Malaysian authorities.

"I wonder whether the Australian government has been mute about human rights issues ... by virtue of our reliance on the refugee swap deal," he said.

Photo: Protesters clash with police in Kuala Lumpur, April 28, 2012. Malaysian police fired tear gas and water cannon in clashes with thousands of protesters demanding electoral reforms.
(Reuters: Bazuki Muhammad)

Political risks

The violence could carry risks for prime minister Najib Razak if it is seen as unjustified.

Mr Najib's approval rating tumbled after July last year when police were accused of a heavy-handed response to the last major electoral reform rally by the group.

There are suggestions he could delay elections, which must be called by next March but which could be held as early as June.

Some media sites put the number of protesters as high as 50,000, which would make it the biggest since Reformasi demonstrations in 1998 against then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

In Melbourne, hundreds of people staged a rally in support of the Malaysian protesters.

Victorian MP Hong Lim told the crowd the protesters were fighting for much-needed democratic reform.

"To see, to hear the younger generation of Malaysia, who talk profoundly of their country and their concern for the country, and not about Chinese, and not about Malay, and not about India but Malaysia, it's so touching," he said as the crowd cheered him on.

ABC/Reuters

Xenophon caught up in Malaysia protest - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)