Lite Beer Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Tens of thousands rally in Malaysia, demand Najib resignEILEEN NG, Associated Press WriterKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Tens of thousands of Malaysians wearing yellow T-shirts and blowing horns defiantly held a major rally in the capital Saturday to demand the resignation of embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak.The crowds were undeterred by a heavy police presence after authorities declared the rally illegal, blocked the organizer's website and banned yellow attire and the logo of Bersih, the coalition for clean and fair elections that's behind the weekend rallies.Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad added momentum to the rally when he made a surprise brief appearance in the city late Saturday with his wife to loud cheers from the crowd, and telling protestors to "carry on."Najib has been fighting for political survival after leaked documents in July showed he received some $700 million in his private accounts from entities linked to indebted state fund 1MDB. He later said the money was a donation from the Middle East, fired his critical deputy and four other Cabinet members as well as the attorney general investigating him.Protesters in yellow Bersih T-shirts and headbands converged at five locations and marched to areas surrounding the landmark Independence Square, where celebrations to mark Malaysia's 58th National Day will be held Monday. Police estimated Saturday's crowd at 25,000 while Bersih says 200,000 participated at its peak.The crowd thinned in the evening, though some protesters pitched tents on the streets to camp overnight. The rally was scheduled to last until midnight Sunday.Scores of police sealed off roads leading to the square, which authorities have said is off-limits to protesters. Previous two Bersih rallies, in 2011 and 2012, were dispersed by police using tear gas and water cannons.Some activists carried canvas bags with the words "My Prime Minister Embarrasses Me." Some held placards saying "We will not be silenced," while others chanted "Bersih" and waved Malaysian flags.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 check 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."Those who wear this yellow attire ... they want to discredit our good name, scribble black coal on Malaysia's face to the outside world," he was quoted as saying by national news agency Bernama.A nation of 30 million, Malaysia is predominantly Malay Muslim with significant Chinese and Indian minorities. Its ambitions to rise from a middle income to a developed nation this decade have been stymied 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 ($10.1 billion) in debt after its energy ventures abroad faltered. Concerns over the political scandal partly contributed to the 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.Mahathir, who stepped down in 2003 after 22 years in power, has been quoted as saying earlier that people's power is needed because the legal system has been violated.Apart from Najib's resignation, the demands being sought are 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 — the 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 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. -- (c) Associated Press 2015-08-30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Oh, goodness, colored shirts. I hope Malaysia has better luck with this than Thailand has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seastallion Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Time to do a border run and stock up on Indian spices, roti etc, and duty-free. Good exchange rate now with the baht. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine51 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 1 USD = 4.19 Malaysian Ringgit. 1 Malaysian Ringgit = 8.59 baht. As of right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirtless Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I would like to see this happen in australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKUNPUTAF713 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I would venture to guess they have more moxie than the Land of Scams!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morpho Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I did a 2-week long trip in Malaysia last month...my first. Met some of the friendliest, nicest people I've ever met anywhere. Malaysians in general are a lot more friendlier than most Thais IMO. Can't wait to go back. And hope this political turmoil doesn't boil over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elgordo38 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I did a 2-week long trip in Malaysia last month...my first. Met some of the friendliest, nicest people I've ever met anywhere. Malaysians in general are a lot more friendlier than most Thais IMO. Can't wait to go back. And hope this political turmoil doesn't boil over. Najib slammed the protesters for tarnishing Malaysia's image. This is a usual dictator comeback comment to hide their corruption. These demonstrations are taking place world wide and especially in central and south America. People are really fighting to end the decades of corruption that have dogged them. They are now starting to see that they have slim chance to bring the corrupters to trial. It is happening in Brazil and Guatemala and Africa. There is some organization with clout coming into these regions and bringing those in charge of corruption to trial and it has them running scared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baerboxer Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Yellow shirted protesters trying to force a corrupt PM out of office. Seems somewhat familiar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suradit69 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I would venture to guess they have more moxie than the Land of Scams!!! I did a 2-week long trip in Malaysia last month...my first. Met some of the friendliest, nicest people I've ever met anywhere. Malaysians in general are a lot more friendlier than most Thais IMO. Can't wait to go back. And hope this political turmoil doesn't boil over. Never an opportunity lost to get in a little Thai bashing, no matter how irrelevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon4546543 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Good wishes to the people of Malaysia. If you have any luck with stopping corruption in politics, please forward to me so that I can forward it to contacts in Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonmarleesco Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 1 USD = 4.19 Malaysian Ringgit. 1 Malaysian Ringgit = 8.59 baht. As of right now. Hardly a good rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonmarleesco Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 '... Najib slammed the protesters for tarnishing Malaysia's image. "Those who wear this yellow attire ... they want to discredit our good name ...' Najib doesn't seem to need much help in that department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudcrab Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I would like to see this happen in australia. Labor supporters don't have the balls for this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudcrab Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Good wishes to the people of Malaysia. If you have any luck with stopping corruption in politics, please forward to me so that I can forward it to contacts in Australia. There is currently an ongoing Royal Commission in to corruption in Australia as we post. A number of corrupt union officials have been charged and many more referred to the prosecutors. Hopefully this will continue until this cancer is cut out of Australian society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loptr Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I wonder if the tens of thousands of Malays protesting for Najib's resignation found out about the $700 million USD that wound up in his personal bank account for agreeing to let Goldman Sachs float their bonds... Once again, Lloyd Blankfein and Goldman Sachs doing god's work by bribing political leaders of sovereign nations for profit, while undermining the interests of the populace... Can anyone say Greece? http://theinternationalreporter.org/2015/08/29/goldman-sachs-are-financial-terrorists-mass-protests-sweep-malaysian-capital-as-anger-at-goldman-backed-slush-fund-boils-over/ If we told you that thousands of protesters donning bright yellow shirts had taken to the streets to call for the ouster of a leader in an important emerging market, you’d be forgiven for thinking we were talking about Brazil, where President Dilma Rousseff is facing calls for impeachment amid allegations of fiscal book cooking and government corruption. But on this particular weekend, you’d be wrong. We’re actually talking about Malaysia, where tens of thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets of Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak whose government has been accused of obstructing an investigation into how some $700 million from 1Malaysia Development Berhad mysteriously ended up in Najib’s personal bank account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thakkar Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Yellow shirted protesters trying to force a corrupt PM out of office. Seems somewhat familiar. "Déjà vu all over again." T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon4546543 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 To Mudcrab, ott but you have just raised more about corruption in politics. The ex judge that is running this Royal Commission is a paid up member of the political power that is trying to run Australia and prosecute some workers unions. Moreover, he makes a decision as to his fitness to run this Commission entirely on his own, after showing some unethical practices. ie political corruption. None of the political parties represent the people of Australia, they are all dependant on lobbyists. Corruption is rife in Australia by all pollies and I despise them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabhand Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 (edited) 1 USD = 4.19 Malaysian Ringgit. 1 Malaysian Ringgit = 8.59 baht. As of right now. Hardly a good rate. The RM at a 17 year low against the US$ and a 37 year low against the Baht. A good rate for those visiting Malaysia for sure. Edited August 30, 2015 by dabhand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kannikapor88 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I would venture to guess they have more moxie than the Land of Scams!!! People here dont have any cojones at all - they are yes-men and would be too lazy to protest against the corrupt Top brass ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morpho Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I would venture to guess they have more moxie than the Land of Scams!!! I did a 2-week long trip in Malaysia last month...my first. Met some of the friendliest, nicest people I've ever met anywhere. Malaysians in general are a lot more friendlier than most Thais IMO. Can't wait to go back. And hope this political turmoil doesn't boil over. Never an opportunity lost to get in a little Thai bashing, no matter how irrelevant. No Thai bashing. Just stating my opinion. If you don't find it relevant, that's your opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish fingers Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Very dodgy PM... hope they get rid of him soon Gets his rival put away on false charges of sodomy, and the rest. I'm sure he's hiding facts about MH370 too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabhand Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Very dodgy PM... hope they get rid of him soon Gets his rival put away on false charges of sodomy, and the rest. I'm sure he's hiding facts about MH370 too. It was Mahathir that started the sodomy game against Anwar Ibrahim, Najib has merely kept that going. Now Mahathir is turning against Najib, making out as if he was the squeaky clean PM of yore. He has his own agenda, probably family linked. Definitely no honour amongst thieves in that part of the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickymaster Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Najib is a very dirty guy. I feel sorry for the people that are trying to stop him. Without the help of the army it will become very difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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