(Feb 27): Cries for reform rang through the humid morning air as activists gathered to protest in the heart of Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, in a test for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as he handles growing disillusionment among his key support base.

Clad in their signature yellow, nearly a hundred members of the Malaysian civil society group Bersih, or the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, held up placards bearing words such as “100% reform” and “clean and fair government.” They marched half a mile to the parliament building to present their demands to lawmakers.

“Our fight is about the courage to act,” Faisal Abdul Aziz, the chairman of Bersih, shouted through a megaphone. “To fight our friends, to remind them of the reform agenda and reject double standards.”

Dozens of uniformed police personnel lined the road leading up to Parliament, observing the group’s movements. Kuala Lumpur’s police chief on Monday said the rally was unlawful as organisers had failed to notify authorities in advance. Bersih’s Faisal said they had planned it in less than five days.

The peaceful gathering is an ironic turn of events for Anwar, who 12 years ago as opposition leader joined one of Bersih’s massive street protests when the scandal-tainted Umno was in power. How Anwar manages public criticism now is key to him maintaining credibility as a reformist prime minister — an image that took a beating after he joined forces with Umno to form the government following a hung Parliament in November 2022.

Backlash against Anwar grew after Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also deputy prime minister, was discharged by the courts last year amid the latter’s corruption trial. Optics worsened when former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who once led Umno and was convicted for corruption, saw his 12-year prison sentence halved and fine reduced after applying for a royal pardon. Anwar has vowed to continue to fight against graft.

Bersih on Tuesday called for an end to granting discharges to politicians on trial for graft and abuse of power, and asked the government to explain Najib’s pardons petition. The group in its memorandum also demanded that the government provide a clear time line and road map for its reform agenda, citing Anwar’s campaign promises ahead of the 2022 nationwide vote.

A handful of government lawmakers accepted the memorandum from the activists at the parliament gates.

“I will speak on the reforms proposed by Bersih during the debates, and as a member of the government backbenchers, I want to assure everyone that the government is already taking steps towards reform,” said Sungai Petani MP Taufiq Johari. “I hope that everyone will be patient as reform takes time.”

Opposition lawmaker Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said Bersih’s protest was a red flag for the government.

“Everybody knows that Bersih is closely linked to the current government and supported them before elections,” he said. “When Bersih itself has to protest too, that means there is something wrong with the government on the issue of reforms.”