The two-day Bersih 4 rally ended peacefully at midnight, 30 August, with participants participating in a countdown to Malaysia’s National Day, and singing the Negaraku, Malaysia’s national anthem.

Bersih, or the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections is a coalition of non-governmental organisations seeking to reform the current electoral system in Malaysia. This is to ensure free, clean and fair elections. Bersih was officially formed in 2006.

The rally, held outside Merdeka Square, lasted over 34 hours. This is the first time in Bersih history that the rally was held for more than a day. Tens of thousands of protesters, all wearing yellow t-shirts, turned up for the rally, despite being warned by the government that the event was illegal and cancelled. Bersih’s official website was also shut down prior to the rally, with officials threatening to take action against those who continued to spread information on the rally.

Many who turned up for the 34 hours rally ended up spending the night on the streets, instead of heading home for the night. Some even came prepared with tents and sleeping bags. There were no incidents reported during the peaceful rally despite it being illegal. Many of the protesters were even seen clearing up rubbish on the roads, sharing food and water among each other and making new acquaintances.

Despite the heat and occasional rain, the crowd continued to grow in size. Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, also paid a surprise visit on both days of the rally, accompanied by his wife Dr Siti Hasmah. The former pm took the train to get to the city centre to join in the rally for a short while.

It is unclear what the exact number of participants was, but Bersih organiser, Maria Chin Abdullah says that it could be around 300,000. Official police figures, though, claim the crowd to be around 35,000 or so.

Aside from Kuala Lumpur, Bersih 4.0 was also carried out in a few other states in Malaysia (on a smaller scale), and in places like Australia, China and New Zealand.

Here are some photos from Bersih 4.0:

Participants gathering outside Dataran Merdeka in KL. Photo credit: Sunpix by Norman Hiu, The Sun Daily

Participants braving the rain in KL. Photo credit: horngyih / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Participants holding up signs in KL. Photo credit: Christian is the Sun / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

The scene at downtown KL. Photo Credit: Bersih 4.0

Bersih 4.0. Photo Credit: Sunpix by Ashraf Shamsul, The Sun Daily

Former PM Mahathir Mohamad makes an appearance. Photo Credit: Sunpix by Syed Azahar Syed Osman, The Sun Daily

Retiring for the night. Photo Credit: Sunpix by Adib Rawi Yahya, The Sun Daily

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Source: Bernama, The Malay Mail Online, The Sun Daily