Some 200 people gathered at Masjid Negara alongside several opposition leaders including Batu MP Tian Chua of PKR, Amanah Youth chief Sany Hamzan and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad.
There were about 350 participants from several NGOs gathered outside the Sogo shopping centre in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. Traffic on the road was under control.
Masjid Negara and Sogo were the two assembly points for the rally, before participants make their way to Dataran Merdeka.
Anis Syafiqah Md Yusof, spokesman for the rally organisers had earlier said that a target of 5,000 was more realistic.
The rally is being organised by several student groups to press for the authorities to identify and arrest the unnamed “Malaysian Official 1” stated in a US government civil suit that cites embezzlement of funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
Speaking outside Masjid Negara, Khalid Samad said if there was any embezzlement or abuse of power, students should be the ones to come down (to the rally) as they are the ones who will take over the country.
“The student movement is to show the anger felt by them and the public, towards the 1MDB scandal which had caused our country to lose billions,” he said.
Khalid also questioned the actions of the Attorney-General, Apandi Ali, who he said had yet to take action following the suit filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
“Why didn’t (he) go to meet DoJ, go to the US to get information,” said Khalid. “Because of the money lost from the embezzlement, there is no more money to pay for 1MDB debts, no money to pay for civil servants’ retirement. PTPTN also no longer has money to loan to students,” Khalid claimed.
Tian Chua said the rally was the first move to save the future.
“This is the responsibility of the youth as they will be there to see if our country goes bankrupt or not, for our country will become a dictatorship,” he said.
“Today, many among us, including the police know that until MO1 is arrested, the country will not be saved,” Tian Chua said.
Although “Malaysian Official 1” (M01) was not named in the US suits, many in the country, especially members of the Opposition, have pointed their fingers at Najib.
Also present outside Masjid Negara was national laureate A Samad Said who said he felt proud to see students fight for the people’s rights.
The rally organisers have been denied permission to use Dataran Merdeka but are intent on holding the rally there despite police warnings not to do so.