KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — Datuk Zaid Ibrahim suggested today that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the opposition join forces to hold a mammoth rally with at least 100,000 participants to protest against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak amid the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy.

The former de facto law minister said former prime minister Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin, who was recently removed as deputy prime minister, together with PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali and Harapan Baru chief Mohamad Sabu, should stand together at the rally to declare that, despite their political differences, they will unite to “save” Malaysia.

“Nothing is more urgent than the ‘rakyat’ showing the courage to assemble the way Philippine people power brought Ferdinand Marcos to book and how everyday Indonesians rallied against Suharto,” Zaid wrote on his blog, referring to the former Philippine and Indonesian presidents who were overthrown over their dictatorial rule.

“These leaders should not allow those who steal and plunder the nation’s wealth to get away,” he added, referring to Dr Mahathir, Muhyiddin and opposition leaders.

“They must show the people the power of solidarity against corruption and the abuse of power. They must restore our faith in our police and our Attorney-General’s Chambers,” said Zaid.

Amid the controversy over corruption allegations involving 1MDB, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) came out Tuesday to say that the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal bank account did not come from the state-owned fund, but was a donation instead. The identities of the donors were not specified.

Najib also dropped his deputy Muhyiddin and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal from Cabinet last week, both of whom had been publicly critical of the government’s handling of the 1MDB controversy.

Tan Sri Gani Patail, who had been leading an inter-agency task force investigating 1MDB, was also suddenly dropped as Attorney-General, while four BN members of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) were appointed to the Cabinet, causing its own 1MDB probe to be suspended and interviews with 1MDB executives delayed.

“Now, it seems that Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz and her officers might be next on the hit list,” said Zaid.

“Malaysia has become a basket case managed by ministers and civil servants who seem completely uninterested in defending the institutions of government. They appear to be interested only in ‘cover-ups’ and have redefined everything from corruption to ‘activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy’ to suit themselves. They are only loyal to Najib,” he said.

Several protesters at a rally last weekend calling for Najib’s resignation were arrested under Section 124B of the Penal Code over their alleged involvement in activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy, an offence punishable with a 20-year jail term.

“Let’s show the ‘rakyat’ that we, the politicians, can unite across party lines to save the country – even if it’s for just a day. This can be the historic moment that, finally, sparks the movement for true unity in our land,” said Zaid.

Bersih 2.0 is also planning to stage a two-day rally in the city this August 29.