Students to protest against Najib
Defying Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's crackdown on dissent, student activists made plans for a mass rally today to call for the arrest of an unnamed official who US investigators said received US$700 million (S$950 million) skimmed from a sovereign fund.
A source familiar with the US investigations told Reuters that the unnamed official is Mr Najib, though he has denied any wrongdoing in the scandal that first erupted over 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
The planned protest at Dataran Merdeka, or Independence Square, in Kuala Lumpur comes as Mr Najib tightens his grip on the ruling party and wields security and sedition laws to cow critics and stifle free speech.
Mr Najib's government was jolted last month when US prosecutors filed several civil lawsuits over money allegedly defrauded from 1MDB.
Supporters of Mr Najib also plan to hold a counter-rally, raising the risk of clashes.
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