Inside Story

How will Malaysia deal with rising public anger?

Protesters defy police ban to demand the resignation of prime minister embroiled in corruption scandal.

Mahathir Mohamad says Malaysia is “controlled by thieves”. 

The former prime minister is accusing his latest successor of stealing public money – lots of it.

So do thousands of protesters.

They defied a police ban in the capital Kuala Lumpur to demand the resignation of Najib Razak.

The prime minister denies stealing money pumped into a multibillion dollar government investment fund by foreign investors.

The long-running corruption scandal has given rise to a campaign to clean up government.

The political reform campaign is called Bersih – the Malay word for clean.

What now for one of Asia’s most prosperous countries?

Presenter: Martine Dennis.

Guests:

Marina Mahathir, daughter of former prime minister Mohamad Mahathir.
Michael Vatikiotis, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.
Ei Sun Oh, former aide to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.