Bangkok- A Malaysian pro-democracy group began a nationwide campaign on Saturday to attempt to force Prime Minister Najib Razak to step down over corruption allegations.
The civil society group Bersih 2.0, comprised almost 100 Malaysian NGOs, said it planned to hold anti-government events in 246 locations across the country over the next seven weeks.
Saturday’s kick-off occurred in six different regions of Malaysia.
Supporters of Bersih 2.0 planned to gradually converge in convoys toward Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur.
The group hoped to encourage Malaysians to stand up to perceived government abuses of power and corruption, and to demand electoral reforms, a freer press and stronger public institutions.
Bersih staged similar rallies in August 2015, demanding institutional reforms and the resignation of the PM.
The group claimed that half a million people participated in 2015’s two-day event in Malaysia and abroad.
Meanwhile Najib has been at the centre of a corruption scandal since July 2015.
It said that a Wall Street Journal report suggested that 673 million dollars in the prime minister’s personal bank accounts had been siphoned off from a beleaguered state fund, Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).