We want Najib to undur, says Maria Chin

Crowd cheers and yells 'Setuju' as Bersih rally organiser backs confidence vote in Parliament

KUALA LUMPUR: Bersih rally organiser Maria Chin Abdullah has backed moves for a confidence vote against Najib Razak in Parliament, telling thousands at a protest rally in the city centre that “our objective is for Najib to ‘undur’ (resign)”.

Speaking to demonstrators gathered in the city centre Chin declared that Malaysians wanted a vote of no-confidence motion to be taken.

“Our objective is for Najib to ‘undur’,” she said. “We have a message to MPs and political parties and everyone in Parliament — we want a vote of no-confidence against Najib”. The crowd responded with cheers and shouts of “Setuju”.

She told protesters not to enter Dataran Merdeka, which has been closed off by Kuala Lumpur City Hall for Merdeka celebrations.

Protestors were urged to stay outside and “fight for clean elections”, one of the objectives of the Bersih coalition of civil society groups, which began as an electoral reform movement.

Other institutional reforms have been included in the group’s objectives and Bersih has planned a series of events over 36 hours in Kuala Lumpur beginning at 2pm today, with similar rallies being held in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

Bersih’s call for a confidence motion is the latest in moves by opposition and a sprinkling of Barisan Nasional politicians against Najib, who has faced an assault of criticisms over the year for the affairs of the goverment investment arm 1Malaysia Developmet Bhd and a reported deposit of US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) in his private bank accounts.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been at the forefront of a campaign for Najib to resign as prime minister and Umno president. He has backed opposition moves for a confidence motion to force Najib and the formation of a transition government until the next general election, which must be held by 2018.