KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police arrested three leaders of the Islamic opposition party and 46 supporters during an unlawful gathering on Thursday night, the official Bernama news agency reported on Friday.
Among those arrested was Mohamad Sabu, deputy chief of Parti Islam se-Malaysia's (PAS) youth wing.
Bernama quoted police as saying that the action was taken after organizers of a political talk, attended by 1,300 party supporters, defied an order to stop the event, which was not approved by police.
Malaysia has strict rules on what constitutes lawful assembly, requiring public gatherings of more than five people to obtain police permission.
All 49 were released on police bail on Friday.
Police had earlier used water canon to disperse the crowd, Bernama said.
Muslim clerics from PAS have used ceramahs, or traditional religious lectures, to attack the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Evening ceramahs attract large audiences in rural areas with their mix of religion, politics and humour.