More than 85,000 people crammed into Malaysia’s Bukit Jalil stadium on Thursday to hear the embattled prime minister vow another electoral victory ahead of a widely expected snap election this year.
Najib Razak told the crowd the ruling party would triumph despite allegations of corruption.
He is holding on to power despite allegations he took part in the alleged looting of billions from state fund 1MDB. He and 1MDB vehemently deny wrongdoing.
“Whatever the challenges thrown at us by our rivals, we shall overcome them,” Najib said at his ruling United Malays National Organisation(UMNO) party’s 71st anniversary celebration.
“UMNO will be in power for another 100 years … UMNO will be in power for another 1000 years.”
The packed stadium in Kuala Lumpur was a sea of red, as supporters wore red UMNO t-shirts with the number ’71’ emblazoned on them
It was a carnival-like atmosphere with stalls selling snacks and party merchandise outside the stadium.
In December, Najib signalled he may bring forward polls that were not due until mid-2018.
He used his stadium speech to call former premier Mahathir Mohamad a traitor and also attacked the Chinese-dominated opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP).
“DAP is a racist party and they hate the Malays,” Najib said.
“Have pity on us, Allah. Please protect the Malays and UMNO, Allah,” he added on concluding his hour-long address.
UMNO has dominated Malaysia through coalition governments since independence in 1957, often facing accusations of corruption, money politics and trampling of democratic rights. It has also enshrined policies that favour the Malay majority.
Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese minority and a new generation of voters have flocked to the opposition in disgust over racial politics and persistent accusations of corruption and democratic abuses.
But the political opposition has fractured since its former leader Anwar Ibrahim was jailed in 2015 on sodomy charges.
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