Kuala Lumpur protesters dance on

Thousands of protesters gathered for the second day of an anti-government rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday morning, including hundreds who slept on the streets of the capital. The day of the demo opened in a festive mood, with exercises, dancing, a mass at the city cathedral and interfaith prayers.

"This is a watershed moment," said protester Azrul Khalib, who slept on the street with his friends. "Malaysians are united in their anger at the mismanagement of this country. We are saying loudly that there should be a change in the leadership."

The protests were sparked by a financial scandal involving the head of government Najib Razak. The prime minister is suspected of transferring $700 million (620 million euros) from the state development fund 1MDB to his private bank account. Razak denies any wrongdoing and claims to be the victim of a "political conspiracy."

In the wake of the scandal, Razak replaced his deputy and several ministers who publicly questioned him, as well as the attorney general who was investigating the case.

'Healthy distance'

The two-day rally was organized by the pro-democracy group Bersih, which fights for electoral reform. Bersih estimates that some 200,000 turned out for the protests on Saturday, while the police estimates only 25,000.

"We are hoping to have as many people as yesterday to send the message to this government," said Simon Tam, a lawyer. "They have been lying and stealing and bullying for far too long and the public won't take it anymore,"

The government has declared the rally illegal, blocked the organizers' website and banned the yellow attire symbolizing support for Bersih.

However, there were no reports of arrests or violent clashes with the police on Saturday.

"We are happy that the police have maintained a healthy distance," said Pang Chin Liu, a trader among the thousands of protesters. "We do not want any trouble, we just want to send out our message to the prime minister."

The rally is set to last until midnight Sunday, ushering in Malaysia's 56th National Day on Monday.

No leader

Despite the political turmoil, many experts believe that the government does not view the Kuala Lumpur rallies as a serious threat.

"They feel safe because it has not really affected the rural Malay segment, their bedrock support," said political analyst Ibrahim Suffian.

Many of the protesters come from Chinese and Indian communities, and the movement lacks a strong central leader.

However, the government critics might gain momentum from the former premier Mahathir Mohamad's appearance on the Saturday rally.

The 90-year old Mahathir is still a ruling-party heavyweight, and a fierce critic of Prime Minister Razak. For many years, Mahathir led the dominant political force in Malasyia, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO).

dj/bk (AFP, Reuters, dpa, AP)