Reaching out from behind prison bars, jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has sent an emotional plea for Malaysians to rise up and choose freedom over the repression he says people are currently living under.

Anwar also pleaded for the world's democracies to help Malaysians achieve that freedom by censuring the present Malaysian ruling government for crimes against democracy.

"A critical mass of our citizens want democracy. I have been imprisoned to stop our opposition coalition from bringing together our diverse peoples to achieve a multi-ethnic and multi-religious Malaysia.

"Malaysians who want to hold Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and the Malaysian government to account for their misdeeds and bring about change for the better need meaningful support from the international community," Anwar said in a commentary published by US newspaper The Washington Post.