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Malaysia protests calling for Najib Razak to resign enter second day Malaysia protests calling for Najib Razak to resign enter second day
(35 minutes later)
Protesters demanding the resignation of the Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, over a financial scandal remained on the streets of the capital on Sunday, after the first day of the massive rally passed peacefully despite police warnings that the gathering was illegal. Thousands of Malaysians made their way back to the centre of the capital on Sunday, assembling again in an illegal demonstration to call for the resignation of the prime minister, Najib Razak, who is battling the fallout from a financial scandal.
The crowds flooded the streets in Kuala Lumpur wearing the yellow shirts of the Bersih movement – the coalition for clean and fair elections – even after authorities blocked the organiser’s website and banned yellow attire and the group’s logo in a bid to deter the rallies, which were also held in other Malaysian cities. Some people in the 34-hour protest had slept in the streets overnight in an unusually calm demonstration of public outrage by the group Bersih, which means “clean” in Malay, and is a coalition of non-governmental organisations.
The former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has been spearheading calls for Najib’s resignation, added momentum to the rally when he made a surprise brief appearance late on Saturday with his wife, to loud cheers from the crowd. Modern Malaysia’s founding father told the protesters to “carry on”. This is the fourth demonstration by the group and previous attempts have been met with arrests and teargas. But as of Sunday, the authorities said nobody was in detention and police at the front of the rally stood behind railings looking bored.
Najib has been fighting for his political survival after leaked documents in July showed he received $700m in his private accounts from entities linked to indebted state fund 1MDB. He later said the money was a donation from the Middle East, fired his critical deputy and four other cabinet members as well as the attorney general investigating him. Najib is facing calls to resign after reports that he pocketed nearly $700m (£456m) from the debt-laden state fund 1 Malaysia Development Bhd.
Najib criticised the weekend protests for tarnishing Malaysia’s image. “Those who wear this yellow attire ... they want to discredit our good name, scribble black coal on Malaysia’s face to the outside world,” he was quoted as saying by national news agency Bernama. 1MDB was launched in 2009 by Najib, who still chairs its advisory board. Critics say he has been opaque in explaining its dealings. Cabinet ministers later tried to explain that the money was political “donations” from people in the Middle East but the muddied reasoning has only served to further enrage Malaysians.
Police estimated Saturday’s crowd at 25,000, while Bersih said 200,000 participated at its peak. The rally was scheduled to last until midnight Sunday. The government has said the protests are illegal and also gone as far as banning anyone wearing yellow clothing – the signature colour of Bersih – or handing out printed material linked to it. The group’s website has been blocked.
One protester, Abdul Wahid, said: “Najib cannot become prime minister. He has no credibility.” Najib said the protesters were unpatriotic. “Don’t they understand, are they that shallow and poor in their patriotism and love for their motherland?” he was quoted as saying by national news agency Bernama. “Don’t they understand the country was built on the blood and sweat of our freedom fighters?”
Another protester, Mooi Lai, said he came because his 82-year-old father had been disenfranchised after authorities refused to issue him an ID card for 20 years. The protest is due to end on Sunday at midnight. It is an expression of anger against what the group calls “one of the greatest multibillion-dollar corruption scandals in Malaysia’s history and the government’s most oppressive crackdowns on free speech”.
Protesters in yellow Bersih T-shirts and headbands converged at five locations and marched to areas surrounding the landmark Independence Square, where celebrations to mark Malaysia’s 58th National Day will be held Monday. The prime minister says he is innocent of allegations that he has taken money.
Scores of police sealed off roads leading to the square, which authorities have said is off-limits to protesters. Previous two Bersih rallies, in 2011 and 2012, were dispersed by police using tear gas and water cannon. Yet he has sacked four ministers, his attorney general and deputy prime minister in an attempt to disarm his critics. A crackdown on dissent has also seen the blocking of two newspapers and a British-based whistleblowing website run by the sister-in-law of the former British prime minister Gordon Brown.
Some activists carried canvas bags with the words “my prime minister embarrasses me”. Some held placards saying “we will not be silenced”, while others chanted “Bersih” and waved Malaysian flags. The botched attempt to stifle expression has only further angered Malaysians, who have also suffered the implementation of a goods and services tax this year as well as a devaluation in the local ringgit currency to a 17-year-low.
In one area near the square, a comedian entertaining the crowd poked fun at Najib. Dressed up as an Arab, he pretended to hand over a multi-billion-ringgit cheque as a donation to a rally participant. The streets at the protest were a sea of yellow. One man carried an effigy of Najib in a cage. Others carried signs saying “impeach the dirty PM”. Vendors sold yellow Guy Fawkes masks made popular by the Anonymous movement. And many people had helium balloons of Minions, characters from the feature film of the same name, as they are coloured yellow.
“Stop treating us like fools, Mr prime minister,” said businessman Tony Wong. “We deserve to know the truth about 1MDB. Where has the money gone to?” Bersih said there were 200,000 protesters at the rally’s peak although the police disputed the number. People were still arriving on Sunday morning.
A nation of 30 millionn people, Malaysia is predominantly Malay Muslim with significant Chinese and Indian minorities. Its ambitions to become a developed nation this decade have been stymied by slow-paced reforms and Najib’s increasing authoritarianism. Some protesters who spoke to the Guardian said they were dismayed by the lack of the country’s majority Malay Muslims at the protest, pointing out that most of the attendees were Chinese Malaysians and other minorities.
Concerns over the political scandal partly contributed to the Malaysian currency plunging to a 17-year low earlier this month. The prime minister’s party, the United Malays National Organisation, has been in power coalitions since 1957 in the elective monarchy. It has championed racial laws that favour Malay Muslims who have historically not been as successful in business as their ethnic-Chinese compatriots.
1MDB, set up by Najib in 2009 to develop new industries, has accumulated 42bn ringgit ($10bn) of debt after its energy ventures abroad faltered. “There is a low number of Muslims. There is a Chinese majority from my viewpoint,” said Praba Gauesan, who runs an NGO that tries to increase political engagement by Malaysians.
Support for Najib’s National Front has eroded in the past two general elections. It won in 2013, but lost the popular vote for the first time to an opposition alliance. He said Bersih had missed a “huge opportunity” to mobilise Malay Muslims by focusing on the resignation of a Malay Muslim prime minister and not anger shared by most Malaysians over the cost of living.
Apart from Najib’s resignation, the demands being sought are institutional reforms that will make the government more transparent and accountable. “There was a large number of people ready to protest,” he said. “But they focused instead on moral righteousness.”
Najib has lost Malay Muslim allies, importantly his former mentor and Malaysia’s leader of 22 years, Mahathir Mohamad, who visited the protest camp on Saturday night to screaming and elated crowds.
Mahathir commands respect in the country of 30 million and has called for a vote of no confidence against Najib, accusing him of halting an investigation into corruption and buying politicians. Najib says the request is “political sabotage”.
Najib’s patience could run thin on Sunday as the protest is located right on the edge of Merdeka (Independence) Square, where National Day celebrations are due to be held.
“We want to celebrate, independence, there are some people who want to show their feelings at the historic place in Merdeka Square,” he said.
Bersih organisers have asked people not to try to breach police lines. They say they have more than a thousand trained crowd managers to be present and organisers clearly marked, as well as professional medics, to avoid chaos.
The group said in a statement: “We have spoken with the police. We have reminded them of their obligations under law and their previous failings.”