Opposition leaders slammed police for excessive use of force to break up a peaceful rally and detaining 17 people, and called on a newly formed special commission to put a stop to what they labelled police misbehaviour.

Police on Saturday sprayed chemically-laced water to disperse some 60 protestors gathering in front of the federal police headquarters to submit a memorandum to highligh alleged misconduct and abuse of power including false arrests and police shootings.

Seventeen people, including senior officials of the Keadilan and DAP, were arrested for illegal assembly. No one was injured and all the detainees were later released on bail.

DAP chief Lim Kit Siang said the police action was deplorable because none of the demonstrators were a threat to national security. He said it appeared to be a "message of open defiance" against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's efforts to create a more sensitive force.

"The hard crackdown using water cannon is very brutal and the manhandling of the demonstrators was completely uncalled for. It is a completely adverse signal about a new and more humane attitude under the new PM," he told AFP .

Lim urged the special commission set up recently by Abdullah to improve police image to convene a public hearing into the incident and to "put a stop to such police misbehavior."

No warning

Keadilan youth chief Ezam Noor, who was at the scene, charged police did not give sufficient warning for protestors to disperse.

"The harsh action was shameful. It is clear evidence of police brutality and excessive use of force," he said, calling on the government to take action against such heavy-handedness.

Police defended the use of the water cannon, saying it was the most effective way to disperse the crowd quickly without violence. - AFP