(July 7): Some 100 opposition parliamentarians, assemblymen and leaders of non-governmental organisations today gathered at a corner in the Parliament compound to discuss about the country's financial scandals allegedly involving Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The MPs said the booking for a room inside the building had been withdrawn at the last minute, and they quickly decided to move to an area outside the main Parliament building to hold an "urgent" meeting on claims by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that billions of ringgit had been channelled to the prime minister's personal bank accounts.

The response by the minister in charge of parliamentary affairs Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim that the pre-booked room was not conducive, outraged the opposition lawmakers, who said they had been told at the last minute that it had been booked by another group.

However, PKR parliamentary whip Datuk Johari Abdul later said that checks revealed that the room had not been used at all.

"We checked. And no one was using the room despite what they had earlier told us," he told reporters outside the Parliament today.

Despite the problem with securing a proper venue, the gathering went on with speeches from more than 10 prominent members of civil society and leaders of opposition parties.

These included DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang, PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli, head of the PAS research centre Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, student activists Adam Adli Abd Halim and Fahmi Zainol, and Bersih 2.0 chair Maria Chin Abdullah.

Most called for Najib to take a leave of absence pending investigations into his links with state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

"There are ongoing investigations and you will never get an impartial probe if he is still the prime minister," Negara-Ku patron Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said.

Others said the people would be forced to take to the streets should Najib refuse to leave in order for free and transparent investigations to take place.

"We go to the streets if that is what is needed to get Najib to leave," said Adam Adli.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who was the last to give a speech, said that opposition lawmakers would meet again to discuss in their next move.

"Whether it is taking to the streets, or meeting the PM as suggested by Ambiga, we will all meet and discuss it further," she added.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan later told reporters that the party was willing to put aside its differences with DAP and PKR to talk about these pressing issues.

In their reports, WSJ and Sarawak Report quoted from documents it said were from Malaysia's investigating authorities that are probing into 1MDB.

The documents allegedly showed that US$700 million (RM2.67 billion) was moved among government agencies, banks and entities linked to 1MDB, and finally ended in the prime minister's personal accounts at the AmPrivate Bank in Kuala Lumpur. – The Malaysian Insider