Update | Malaysian officials threaten action against anti-Najib protesters; ruling party vows '1 million supporters' will stage rival rally
Prime minister says demonstrations smear 'black coal' on country's reputation
The Malaysian government threatened to take action against the organisers of a massive protest rally demanding the prime minister’s resignation over a corruption scandal, which saw thousands of people take over the streets of central Kuala Lumpur.
The two-day rally, one of Malaysia’s largest in years, has been mostly incident-free even though police declared it illegal, blocked the organisers’ website and banned their official bright yellow T-shirt and logo.
Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi, who also is home minister in charge of domestic security, warned that organisers could face possible charges under assembly, sedition and other laws.
“We also follow every word they say, we know the actions taken by them,” he was quoted saying by state media.
"They must face the consequences if they dare to break the law," he said, according to a New Straits Times online report.
A leader of Malaysia’s ruling party also said today that a million government supporters would stage a rally in October that would trump protests
Jamal Yunos, a divisional chief of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno) party, said one million "red shirt" government supporters would stage a rally in Kuala Lumpur on October 10 as a riposte to the weekend protests.
With smaller anti-Najib rallies held in several other locations around the country as well as solidarity protests in Hong Kong, state news agency Bernama reported 12 people were arrested in the city of Malacca for wearing Bersih shirts.
All were later released, it said. It was not clear what charges they would face.
READ MORE: Malaysians hold solidarity protests in Hong Kong
The numbers in Kuala Lumpur did not quite appear to match Saturday’s, when organisers – electoral-reform activist group Bersih (the Malay word for Clean) – said 200,000 turned out, while police put the number at 29,000.
“We are hoping to have as many people as yesterday to send the message to this government: they have been lying and stealing and bullying for far too long and the public won’t take it anymore,” said Simon Tam, a lawyer.
Prime Minister Najib Razak is under fierce political pressure after newspapers last month published Malaysian documents showing nearly US$700 million had been deposited into his personal bank accounts since 2013.
His cabinet ministers have called the transfers “political donations” from unidentified Middle Eastern sources. But the accounts have been closed and the fate of the money is undisclosed.
WATCH: Thousands gather to demand Malaysian Prime Minister's resignation
Najib denies all wrongdoing, alleging a “political conspiracy” to topple him.
The Kuala Lumpur rally got a boost late Saturday when 90-year-old former premier Mahathir Mohamad made a brief appearance. He called for a "people’s power" movement to topple Najib over a financial scandal.
"The only way for the people to get back to the old system is for them to remove this prime minister," he told media before heading to the protests in central Kuala Lumpur. "And to remove him, the people must show people’s power. The people as a whole do not want this kind of corrupt leader."
Still a ruling-party heavyweight, Mahathir’s attendance was a surprise because he took a tough line against dissent during his uncompromising 1981-2003 rule.
Mahathir prompted wild cheers, but did not address the crowd. But organisers said his appearance showed the rally was not supported only by the opposition.
Mahathir, who was once Najib’s patron and is now his fiercest critic, was long a leader of Umno, which represents Malays. Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein said Mahathir had "crossed over the line" by attending the anti-government protest, the New Straits Times reported.
READ MORE: The US$700 million question: can Najib Razak ride out 1MDB storm?
Mahatir has led calls for Najib’s ousting, accusing him of corruption and misgovernance and saying the claim that Najib’s money came from foreign political donors was “absurd”.
The protest itself is not, however, considered a serious threat to Najib. The reform movement lacks much traction in rural areas where Najib enjoys solid support, Malaysia’s opposition is currently fractured, and Najib firmly controls key institutions such as the police, judiciary and parliament.
“Those who wear this yellow attire, who are they? They want to discredit our good name [and] scribble black coal on Malaysia’s face to the outside world,” official media quoted him as saying on Saturday.
Besides the financial scandal, demonstrators demanded he be ousted over alleged economic mismanagement, an unpopular new consumption tax, and Malaysia’s electoral system, which Bersih say is biased in favour of the 58-year-old ruling coalition.
Najib recently purged critics in his cabinet and sacked or reassigned officials and parliamentarians who were probing the scandals. The future of those investigations is uncertain.
Najib had already faced months of allegations that hundreds of millions of dollars in state funds had disappeared from deals involving a heavily indebted government-owned investment company he launched in 2009.
Bersih had originally planned to occupy Independence Square, but it was cordoned off by hundreds of police behind barricades.
Previous Bersih-organised rallies have ended in clashes with police, but security forces and protesters have exercised restraint this weekend.
Bersih said a number of people suffered vomiting and stomach pains after consuming contaminated boxes of juice handed out to demonstrators, calling it an “act of sabotage” by rally opponents.
With additional reporting by Reuters
