Anti-corruption rally in Kuala Lumpur puts pressure on PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR – Dozens of mostly youth protesters marched peacefully in downtown Kuala Lumpur in an anti-graft rally on Jan 25, seeking to pressure Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to speed up the pace of reforms and crack down on corruption.

The protesters marched from outside the Sogo shopping centre, a popular gathering place near an LRT station, to the historic Merdeka Square (Independence Square) about 1km away. The crowd swelled to around 200 by the end of the march.

They chanted slogans such as “Don’t release Najib” – referring to jailed former premier Najib Razak – and “Die, die corrupters”, while hoisting large posters decrying corruption. 

Datuk Seri Anwar has been accused by his critics of being too slow in carrying out reforms to clean up the government and of being too soft on corruption cases involving his political allies.

The participants appeared to be mostly university students, with many donning black T-shirts. The organiser told the media later that members of opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia, and also Parti Amanah Negara – from Mr Anwar’s ruling coalition – took part in the march.

The protest organiser, a previously unknown group that calls itself the People’s Secretariat Against Corruption, had aimed to gather some 50 organisations for the rally.

“We are worried about the situation now, where the current government used to take a tough stance against corruption, but after having formed a unity government, certain corruption cases are being taken lightly. This is the public opinion,” People’s Secretariat spokesman Zaim Zulkifli told reporters after the march.

He said the dropping of graft charges against figures like Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi has sparked public outcry.

While the turnout was small compared with Malaysian mega-rallies in the past, Mr Zaim said he was happy with the numbers.

“This is actually more than we expected. This is only the beginning,” he said, adding that they may hold more protests in future depending on the government’s response to their demands.

Protesters are calling for three reforms: the separation of the Attorney-General’s Chambers from the Prime Minister’s Office, freeing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission from political interference, and introducing a political funding Act.

The rally came a day after Mr Anwar said he had no objection to the street rally, though he also expressed doubt that corruption existed during his tenure as prime minister. While the authorities had previously claimed the rally required special permits, police did not take action on Jan 25 and helped to manage traffic flow.

A protester, who wanted to be known only as Mr Sin, said he took part in the march because he was unhappy with corruption cases being discharged, such as the case involving Mr Zahid. “I voted for Pakatan Harapan in the last general election, but if there is no change, I won’t vote for them the next time,” said the 73-year-old who came from Sungai Buloh in Selangor. 

Another protester, Ms Shamini Bhaskaran, 52, said: “I am concerned about political interference in court cases as well as the economy.” She added that the turnout may have been low due to the public being worried about the rally being illegal, as Mr Anwar gave his nod for the street demonstration only the previous day.

Najib, who has been in jail since August 2022, was controversially given a 50 per cent reduction in his 12-year prison sentence by the federal Pardons Board, which was chaired by the former Malaysian king, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah of Pahang.

Further stoking public anger was news about the existence of a letter from Sultan Abdullah for Najib to spend his remaining jail term under house arrest.

Mr Anwar, who has been in office for more than two years, also received heat from nine former presidents of the Malaysian Bar on Jan 23, who said his government had failed to uphold judicial independence, especially compared with the last three administrations. The Bar is the professional body for lawyers in Malaysia.

“The pressures put on the judiciary in the last several years by external forces were clear to many of us, who know the signs only too well,” they said in a joint statement.

“It is widely perceived that the previous three governments valued and respected judicial independence more than the current government, which is extremely disappointing, to say the least.”

The previous governments mentioned refer to the 2018 to 2022 administrations of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri.