Update 4 - Protesters Rally To Demand Ouster Of Malaysian Pm

Thousands of Malaysians wearing banned yellow T-shirts gathered Saturday for a rally that has been declared unlawful, demanding institutional reforms and the ouster of Prime Minister Najib Razak.



Around 10,000 protesters near Independence Square carried banners accusing Razak of corruption and cronyism while chanting "step down Najib" and "bersih" – which means "clean" in Malay and is the name of the electoral reform group that organized the weekend rally.



An Anadolu Agency reporter at the scene said that additional crowds weaved through heavy barricades and roadblocks to flock toward area, where Malaysia will celebrate its 58th Independence Day on Monday.



The government banned Bersih's yellow T-shirts and logo Friday, days after blocking access to the group's website as well as other sites seen as promoting or sharing information about the rally.



The protesters are demanding an emergency parliamentary sitting to pass a no confidence vote against Razak, who has been accused of graft and financial mismanagement at debt-ridden state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), and a multi-million-dollar donation made into his personal account.



B. Rajamanickam, a protester who travelled more than 250 kilometers to join the rally, told Anadolu Agency that the Malaysian people are full of anger toward the "corrupted and frail administration of Razak," whose ousting he said would be the best move to save the deteriorating economy.



"We had enough of him. His recent set of actions have really angered Malaysians and our main motive here today is to show him that not everyone can be silenced," he stressed.



Chiew Lai Ngor, another participant who works as an accountant, said Razak should have realized his mistakes by now and should tender his resignation.



She derided claims that the nearly $700 million transferred to Razak's account had been a donation from the Middle East, calling it "a blatant lie" since political donations cannot be deposited into a private account.



She also mocked claims that the funds had been donated by the Saudi royal family for Razak to remain in power and for Malaysia to fight against Daesh.



"The Arab Saudi royalty only donated $100 million to the United Nations to fight IS [Daesh], but gave Najib $700 million? This entire drama does not make sense." 



Roadblocks were set up along major roads leading to the capital Saturday, with police instructed to stop cars carrying more than three people wearing yellow to prevent them from joining the 34-hour rallies.



The rally at Independence Square was joined Saturday night by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a vocal critic of Razak, and his wife in a move seen as a blow to the current premier and his United Malays National Organisation party.



His arrival at 7.30 p.m. (1130GMT) was greeted with the clapping of thousands of protesters as they chanted "please save Malaysia."



Razak has blamed Mohamad, who was in office for 29 years, of orchestrating allegations against him – particularly over his alleged mishandling of 1MDB -- as "part of a concerted campaign of political sabotage to topple a democratically elected prime minister."



In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that investigators probing the finance ministry-owned fund had discovered that nearly 2.6 billion Ringgit was deposited into Razak private bank account.



Although Malaysia's anti-graft agency has verified that the funds were a donation from the Middle East, on Aug. 3 it said it would ask Razak to explain why the money was placed into his private account.



1MDB – where Razak serves as advisory board chair -- has run up 42 billion Ringgit ($11 billion) in debt in just six years of business.



Earlier this week, Military Chief General Zulkifeli Mohd Zin had said the military was prepared to intervene in the rally if the government declared a state of emergency, sparking concerns of an outbreak of violence.



The weekend rally was planned to be held simultaneously in the cities of Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu -- as well as major cities worldwide.



Bersih's chairwoman, Maria Chin Abdullah, had earlier told Anadolu Agency that participants would be joining in the march to press for institutional reforms, the freedom to protest, measures to save the economy and a clean government and political system.



Likening the rally to a "vote of no-confidence against Razak", she said Friday that they expected more than 40,000 supporters in Kuala Lumpur alone amid "record queries and sales of yellow T-shirts." - Kuala Lumpur