03 August 2016•Update: 08 August 2016
By P Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysian civil society groups are organizing nationwide street protests to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak, in the wake of civil corruption charges brought against state wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Maria Chin Abdullah, the chairman of electoral reform watchdog Bersih (clean and transparent in Malay), confirmed Wednesday that the exact date and venue for the fifth edition of the Bersih rally were yet to be finalized, and discussions with authorities and stakeholders would be held before announcing the details.
Previous rallies have seen tens of thousands of people take to the streets, paralyzing parts of the capital, with police firing tear gas and water cannons in response.
Abdullah said Bersih would be holding a series of roadshows to raise awareness of the rally agenda, which is being called in the light of a United States Department of Justice civil suit to seize assets worth over $1 billion (RM 4.03 billion) linked to what has been described as an "international conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated" from 1MDB.
"We want everyone in every state to understand why we are doing a Bersih 5," she told a news conference in capital Kuala Lumpur. "We believe that not protesting is not an option. As citizens, we must make a strong stand against this grand corruption and betrayal of trust."
Abdullah underlined that Bersih 5 would also demand institutional and electoral reforms.
Around 300,000 protesters took part in last year's Aug. 29-30 Bersih 4 rally, which called for the resignation of Razak after a $681 million “political donation” in his personal bank accounts was reported to have come from Middle East royals.
In July 2015, the Wall Street Journal and whistle blower site Sarawak Report released reports quoting documents, which they claimed to be from an ongoing probe into 1MDB claiming $700 million (or 2.67 billion Ringgit) moved among 1MDB-linked government agencies, banks and entities before finally ending up in Razak’s personal accounts in five separate deposits.
Razak immediately said that he had not swindled funds for personal gain -- as alleged by political opponents -- be they from 1MDB, the finance ministry's SRC International -- a former 1MDB subsidiary -- or other entities.
A month later, the Attorney-General Chambers ruled that the funds were political donations to the Razak-led UMNO for the party to remain in power during the last general election.
Politicians within UMNO proudly declared that the funds came from "Middle East Royals" who wanted UMNO to retain control.
Razak, however, kept silent on the matter, saying political donations were confidential and he would only reveal the donors if opposition parties agreed to follow suit.
On Jan. 26, Malaysia’s Attorney General Apandi Ali, ruled out wrongdoing by Razak in connection with the “political donation”.
