Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has called for a 100,000-strong protest against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
"Let's have a major rally where 100,000 people of all backgrounds gather – peacefully of course – to protest against the prime minister," he said in a blog posting today.
Zaid ( photo ) hoped that Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali would provide a stadium and the necessary support services and facilities for the mammoth rally before Aug 31.
He also wanted political rivals such as Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Lim Kit Siang to set aside their differences and stand together.
"I hope leaders such as Mahathir, Kit Siang, (PKR president) Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, (former deputy premier) Muhyiddin Yassin, (former PAS deputy president) Mohamad Sabu, Azmin himself as well as others will stand together on the stage to declare to the people that despite their political differences, they will unite to save Malaysia.
"These leaders should not allow those who steal and plunder the nation's wealth to get away.
"They must show the people the power of solidarity against corruption and abuse of power. They must restore our faith in our police and our Attorney-General's Chambers," he said.
Bersih 4.0 has called for an overnight rally on Aug 29-30, which among others, demands Najib's resignation.
The former minister lamented that numerous developments have embarrassed Malaysians in the eyes of the world, such as the RM2.6 billion deposited into the prime minister's personal accounts.
"After a protracted silence, came the downright stupid excuses and explanations that it was a 'small matter', a 'donation', and so forth, while the unanswered questions about 1MDB are conveniently swept under the carpet," he said.
Zaid also criticised the removal of Muhyiddin from the cabinet, the dismissal of Abdul Gani Patail as attorney-general for 'health reasons' and the police zooming in on Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers.
"Now, it seems that Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz and her officers might be next on the hit list," he added.
Zaid said it is imperative for those in Bank Negara and the MACC to be protected from corrupt politicians to continue doing their job without fear or favour.
"Nothing is more urgent than the rakyat showing the courage to assemble the way Philippine people power brought Ferdinand Marcos to book and how everyday Indonesians rallied against Suharto," he added.
Malaysia a 'basket case' now
Without mincing words, Zaid, a former Umno lawmaker himself, said Malaysia has been reduced to a "basket case".
The nation, he argued, is managed by ministers and civil servants who are uninterested in defending the institutions of government.
"They appear to be interested only in 'cover-ups' and have redefined everything from corruption to 'activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy' to suit themselves.
"They are only loyal to Najib. If this is a 'wrong perception' as they now seem to be saying, they so far have done little to correct it," he said.
Zaid pointed out that even The Myanmar Times wrote a scathing editorial about the situation in Malaysia at present.
"We should be ashamed that Myanmar – a country that has lived for over 50 years under military dictatorship – feels it necessary to warn us about our impending loss of good governance and democracy," he said.
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