DOWN a quiet lane in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, anti-government campaigners at trestle tables are doing a roaring trade in yellow T-shirts. The volunteers have already flogged more than 30,000 of the garments, which are becoming de rigueur for Malaysians planning to attend protests on August 29th to demand the resignation of the country’s prime minister, Najib Razak. The protests are being organised by Bersih (meaning clean in Malay), a loose union of non-government groups calling for electoral reform. In 2012 police dispersed thousands of Bersih protesters with tear gas and water cannons and arrested about 500. This weekend’s rally in Kuala Lumpur, which authorities say is illegal, could yet go the same way. Maria Chin Abdullah of Bersih hopes that at least 200,000 Malaysians will protest in three cities. Malaysia’s political system, she says, “has really become quite rotten”.
The planned protest is the latest turn in a wild saga which has gathered pace since early July, when the Wall Street Journal reported that $700m had found its way into bank accounts owned by Mr Najib shortly before a close-fought general election in 2013....Continue reading
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