The crowd, comprising Malaysians and non-Malaysians, gathered at Federation Square in Australia’s second-largest city.

Dressed in the yellow Bersih 5 shirts, rally-goers also came out in protest against the arrests of civil society leaders and politicians, as well as corruption.

Many of those who showed up cited the arrests as their motivation for attending the rally, leading to a larger than expected turnout.

“The state intimidation and arrests to disrupt Bersih 5 will only harden the people’s resolve to have a clean and fair government,” said Wong, a former resident of Cheras and first-time rally participant.

Melbourne Bersih organisers had initially feared a smaller turnout this time due to various factors, one of which was protest fatigue.

Two other rallies were held simultaneously at the popular public square, against sectarian violence in Bangladesh and another in support of refugees in Australia.