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Yesterday’s on 28 April 2012 Bersih rally may undermine Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s image as a reformist and delay polls expected by June, according to initial foreign media reports after police fired water cannon at protestors who defied a court order barring the public from Dataran Merdeka.

The tear gas has barely settled after at least 25,000, more than last July’s rally for free and fair elections, turned up for the planned sit-in, and were forcibly dispersed after some broke through the barricade around the historic square.

“Police fired tear gas and chemical-laced water at thousands of protesters demonstrating for cleaner elections, potentially undermining Prime Minister Najib Razak’s efforts to present himself as a political reformer with elections months away,” the Wall Street Journal reported in Malaysia News agency.

Several newswires, picked up by major newspapers globally, also took the same line, with Reuters reporting that police action raised “the risk of a Politics backlash that could delay national polls which had been expected as early as June.”

“The protest presents a delicate challenge for Najib. The violence could carry risks for Prime Minister Najib Razak if it is seen as unjustified.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,” it reported.

Agence France-Presse also said that “the rally poses a dilemma for Najib, who since last year’s crackdown has sought to portray himself as a reformer, launching a campaign to repeal authoritarian laws in a bid to create what he called ‘the greatest democracy’.”

Several reports pointed to the first Bersih rally held just months before the March 2008 elections, which saw Barisan Nasional (BN) record its worst electoral performance ever, ceding its customary two-thirds supermajority in Parliament and five state governments.