KUALA LUMPUR — Tens of thousands of Malaysian protesters vowed on Saturday to hold their ground overnight in the streets of central Kuala Lumpur to step up pressure on Prime Minister Najib Razak to resign over alleged corruption.
The protesters, ignoring both a ban on the public rally and a government order prohibiting people from wearing yellow clothing, wore yellow T-shirts bearing the word Bersih, Malay for "clean".
The protesters filled several streets after officials barred them from gathering in a large open park.
The crowd burst into cheers when former strongman Mahathir Mohamad, who banned and crushed street protests during his 22-year rule, made a surprise visit to as they prepared for an overnight vigil.
Mahathir, 90, said rallies were now necessary in Malaysia because all official channels for people to air their legitimate grievances have been shut down.
Mahathir himself has been outspoken in damanding that Najib, a onetime protege, step down because he has lost the public trust.
"We will not be cowed," said Amir, a student who joined the protest with several friends. It's time we stood up for our country."
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad joins the throng at the anti-government rally in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday evening. (Reuters Photo)
Seva Ganesh, an IT worker, marched with another group of protesters to show her disappointment in Najib's government.
"He has to step down," she said, adding that the premier's explanation for the millions of dollars in his bank accounts was "lame and unbelievable".
One protester sat on the street holding a piece of cardboard with the words: "I have no money to print a banner. Please donate 2.6 billion ringgit to me" — a reference to the amount of money Najib allegedly received as political donations.
Another sign said, "My prime minister embarrasses me".
Najib has been fighting for his political survival after leaked documents in July showed that he received US$700 million in his private bank accounts.
Originally the money was reported to have come from entities linked to the indebted state investment fund 1MDB. He later said the money was a donation from the Middle East, fired a deputy premier and four other cabinet members who had criticised his handling of the affair, as well as the attorney general investigating him.
Supporters of Najib have defended the donations, saying they came from Saudi Arabians who wanted to support Malaysia's efforts to root out terrorism.
Scores of riot police sealed off roads leading to the square, which authorities have said is off-limits to protesters. Two previous rallies, in 2011 and 2012, were dispersed by police using tear gas and water cannons.
The latest rallies have been peaceful so far.
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.
"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?"
Najib slammed the protesters for tarnishing Malaysia's image.
Addressing members of his party meeting in Jerantut outside Kuala Lumpur, he said the protesters lacked patriotism for holding their rally so close to the country's independence day on Monday.
"Don't they understand? Are they that shallow and poor in their patriotism and love for their motherland?" the Bernama news agency quoted him as saying.
"Those who wear this yellow attire ... they want to discredit our good name, scribble black coal on Malaysia's face to the outside world."
Malaysia's ambitions to rise from a middle-income country to a developed nation this decade have been curbed by slow-paced reforms and Najib's increasing authoritarianism.
1MDB, set up by Najib in 2009 to develop new industries, has accumulated 42 billion ringgit (US$11.1 billion) in debt after its energy ventures abroad faltered.
Concerns over the political scandal and its impact on the Malaysian economy have ringgit Malaysian currency plunging to a 17-year low earlier this month.
Support for Najib's National Front has eroded in the last two general elections. It won in 2013, but lost the popular vote for the first time to an opposition alliance.
Transparency International urged the government to mandate independent investigations into 1MDB and allow people to demonstrate peacefully.
Apart from Najib's resignation, the rally is also demanding institutional reforms that will make the government more transparent and accountable.
Worried that authorities may jam communications, more than 41,000 Malaysians have downloaded FireChat — a smartphone application that allows users nearby to communicate with each other when the Internet is down and which powered last year's Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests, said the app developer Open Garden.
Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed has warned police will take action if the rally turns violent or protesters break the law. He has said that protesters should show their unhappiness with the government at the ballot box, not in the streets.
Similar demonstrations were being held simultaneously in the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak as well as in cities around the world with significant Malaysian populations, the Bersih group said.
An elevated train passes above a crowd of thousands of protesters gathered in Kuala Lumpur to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday. (Reuters Photo)