Thousands of anti-government protesters marched in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Saturday demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak over his involvement in a billion dollar misappropriation scandal.
Clothed in yellow, the protesters marched from various spots towards Kuala Lumpur amidst the high security.
The festive mood gathering witnessed drums, vuvuzelas, songs and chants calling for a clean Malaysia and more power to people.
The pro-democracy group Bersih was the main organisers of the rally. Bersih’s chairwomen and 13 activists were detained by Malaysian police on Friday.
Police said the Bersih rally is illegal.
Prime Minister Najib Razak said the protesters were used as a tool by the opposition.
“Their movement is deceitful. It is clear that these street protests are in fact the opposition disguised as an independent NGO working to unseat a democratically elected government,” he said in a speech uploaded on his website.
The protesters demanded the resignation of Najib over 1MDB misappropriation scandal. The U.S. Justice Department that at least $3.5 billion had been stolen from 1MDB by people close to Najib and initiated action in July to seize $1.3 billion it said was taken from the fund to buy assets in the U.S, The New York Times reported.
Amnesty International slammed the government crackdown and called for the immediate release of the activists.
