Tens of thousands joined a peaceful protest in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak, bringing to the streets a political crisis over a multi-million-dollar payment made to an account under his name.The Malaysian leader, who has denied wrongdoing, has weathered weeks of attacks since it was reported that investigators probing the management of debt-laden state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad had discovered the unexplained transfer of more than $A837 million.
Protesters hope to spark a people's power movement forcing Najib out, but political analysts doubt he will be toppled.
Security was tight and several
anti-riot trucks and a water cannon were parked near a central square where
protesters had planned to converge. In the end, they hung back behind
barricades.
Pro-democracy organisation
Bersih, which organised the two-day rally in Kuala Lumpur and the two main
cities on Malaysia's side of Borneo, said the crowd in the capital swelled to
200,000 at its peak. The Malaysiakini news portal put the number at half that
and police said it was just 25,000.
There were no reports of violence
and the mood was festive as protesters with "Out, Najib, Out"
placards blew plastic horns and shouted "bersih", a Malay word for
"clean".
"We the Malaysians want to
clean up this country, we reject dirty politics," said Tinagar Veranogan,
a demonstrator in a crowd of predominantly young people who were mostly from
the ethnic Indian and Chinese minority communities.
City authorities rejected an
application by Bersih for a protest permit, raising fears of a repeat of a 2012
rally when police used water cannons and teargas to disperse protesters.
The government blocked access to
Bersih's website and banned the wearing of its signature yellow T-shirts
- but the crowd of protesters was a sea of yellow.
"For 58 years people have
been patient with bribes, a political system that cannot resolve 1MDB. Today we
want reform," said Bersih leader Maria Chin, calling on parliament to hold
a vote of no-confidence in the prime minister.
The second day of the rally is
due to start on Sunday with physical exercises, mass at a cathedral and
interfaith prayers.
Amnesty International urged
Malaysia's government to listen to the protesters instead of trying to suppress
them.
"There are huge frustrations
with a number of endemic rights issues in Malaysia at the moment - the
crackdown on freedom of expression by the government must end," Josef
Benedict, Amnesty International's Deputy Campaigns Director, said in a
statement.
Najib was in the eastern
state of Pahang at the time of the protest. The Bernama national news agency
quoted him as saying the patriotism of the rally organisers and participants
was "shallow and poor".
Analysts say the Bersih movement
is unlikely to inspire broad public support because it lacks strong leadership.
Ibrahim Suffian, director of
independent pollster Merdeka Center, said discontent with Najib, who took
office in 2009, is concentrated in urban areas and a national survey this month
by his group showed a slight majority opposed the rally.
Malaysia's anti-graft agency has
said the funds paid into Najib's account were a donation from the Middle East,
which came just before a 2013 election, but the identity of the donor has not
been revealed.
Najib, 62, says he did not take
any money for personal gain.
He has sacked his deputy and
other ministers who had publicly questioned him, and the attorney-general who
was investigating 1MDB has been replaced. Authorities suspended two newspapers
and blocked access to a website that had reported on 1MDB.
Najib retains significant support
from the long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and from his party, the United
Malays National Organisation that represents the Malay majority.
The coalition has been in
power since 1957 and lost the popular vote for the first time in 2013 to
an opposition alliance that split this year.
Sydney
Morning Herald
No comments:
Post a Comment