On 12 July 2015, a riot occurred at

Plaza Low Yat Plaza Low Yat is a shopping centre specializing in electronics and IT products in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 2009, Plaza Low Yat was named “Malaysia’s Largest IT Lifestyle Centre” by the Malaysian Book of Records. Plaza Low Yat falls under ...

Jalan Imbi Jalan Imbi is a major road in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Route It runs in a southwest-northeast direction, from the intersection with Jalan Pudu (near the former site of Pudu Jail), through Berjaya Times Square, the Imbi Monorail ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. Three people were injured including a journalist during the commotion. This riot had been widely covered in the Malaysian mass media. Police believed that the riots occurred following a fight involving seven men at Plaza Low Yat, over alleged theft and a misunderstanding of

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

s, with losses estimated at over RM70,000. A total of 18 people were reportedly arrested for being involved in the riot.

Aftermath

Following the riot, the Prime Minister at the time,

Najib Razak Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malaysi ...

insisted that the incident should be seen as a criminal act and not a racial problem. Najib described the actions of some parties who used

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

to incite the racial element in the incident as irresponsible and gave an inaccurate perspective on what actually happened. He also asked the

Inspector-General of Police An Inspector General of Police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most se ...

Khalid Abu Bakar Khalid bin Abu Bakar (born 5 September 1957) is a retired Malaysian police officer who served as the 10th Inspector-General of Police of Malaysia (IGP), succeeding Ismail Omar. He retired as IGP on 4 September 2017 and was succeeded by Moham ...

to take effective action to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Five days after the riots, Plaza Low Yat continued to be the main choice for visitors to buy mobile phones as well as computers and software.

References

{{Reflist 2015 in Malaysia 2015 riots History of Kuala Lumpur Riots and civil disorder in Malaysia