2025 Oust Anwar rally

The protest was held, among other things, to express the people's dissatisfaction with the government led by Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim. The protest was also held to protest the implementation of the Urban Renewal Act (URA), the increase in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), the elimination of subsidies, the failure to carry out reforms in Malaysian politics, the implementation of the Sales and Services Tax (SST) and the political intimidation of the opposition by the Malaysian Unity Government. PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden also added that the rally was intended to express solidarity with Muhammed Yusoff Rawther, a former research assistant to Anwar who was accused of trafficking cannabis and possessing two imitation pistols last year. Initially, the rally was called the "Himpunan Bantah URA" ("Protest Against URA Rally") which was organised by the Malaysian PAS Youth Council (DPPM), but PAS Youth Chief Afnan Hamimi said the initial plan to hold a rally to protest the government's proposal to introduce the Urban Renewal Act (URA) was changed to "Oust Anwar Rally". There were allegations that the rally was changed or rebranded because it didn't receive a warm response from the public. Tuaran PKR branch chief Razeef Rakimin said the issue did not receive a response because the people understood the purpose of urban renewal. He also added that "PAS's action to change the rally's name was because the issue they were campaigning for did not receive a response". According to an open letter inviting people to attend the rally, there are 15 reasons why the public to hold this gathering, including: • Failure to reduce the cost of living of the people, • Promises of 15th General Election broken, • Prices of goods rising, salaries not rising, • Cronyism and nepotism getting worse, • Malaysia Madani policy is only "played on paper", • Education and public health are increasingly neglected, • The people are divided by racial and religious sentiments, • The original spirit of Reformasi has been betrayed, • GLCs are still wasteful, leakages are rampant, • The country has no clear economic direction, • Agriculture and food have failed to develop, • Abolition of pensions and permanent employment positions in the public sector, • Young people have lost hope of getting houses and jobs, • The Palestinian issue is just a slogan, not action, • Bribers continue to be protected, • Anwar is a symbol of failure and elite manipulation. == Preparations ==

Perikatan Nasional (PN) have targeted at least 300,000 participants who will attended the rally, while the RMP have expected approximately 10,000 to 15,000 participants who will present. It is expected that 2,000 police officers will be deployed to control the rally. Opposition Leader and Larut MP, Hamzah Zainudin expected around 500,000 up to 1,000,000 participants will present, The RMP has received nearly 60 police reports across Malaysia, with 10 in Kuala Lumpur in connection with the rally. Acting Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Datuk Mohamed Usuf Jan Mohamad said participants are expected to gather at five main locations, namely the National Mosque, Central Market, Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad, Masjid Jamek Kampung Baru and Dataran Sogo before moving to Dataran Merdeka. He added that "To ensure the safety of public service users at the maximum level, public service operators and the police will be reinforced at several stations involved". Among the stations involved are the KL Sentral, Masjid Jamek, Pasar Seni, Dang Wangi, Plaza Rakyat and Bandaraya LRT stations; as well as MRT and Monorail stations such as Muzium Negara, Merdeka, Bukit Bintang, Imbi, Raja Chulan, Bukit Nanas, Medan Tuanku and Chow Kit. On the same day, Prime Minister, Anwar made an announcement and was broadcast live on television stations and social media platforms to provide a one-off RM100 donation to every Malaysian citizens and adults aged 18 years and above through their respective MyKads under the Basic Rahmah Contribution (SARA) program. The donation will be made on Merdeka Day on 31 August and the donation will benefit 22 million Malaysians with an allocation of RM2.0 billion. He also announced an additional public holiday on Monday, 15 September 2025 in conjunction with Malaysia Day, the allocation for the MADANI Rahmah Sales was doubled to RM600 million and it was expanded to all 600 DUN constituencies so that the price of basic goods was affordable, there was no increase in tolls for 10 highways after the government allocated more than RM500 million to absorb the cost and the price of RON95 petrol was reduced to RM1.99 per litre in September 2025. Acting President of the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz said the party was not one of the organisers of the rally. However, any member was not prevented from joining the rally because the MUDA party leadership respected the people's right to participate in peaceful assemblies. PAS Deputy President, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said that PAS is ready to provide legal services to civil servants who will be subject to disciplinary action if they join the rally. He added that "The people's right to assemble is guaranteed in the Malaysian Constitution. So when the Constitution guarantees it, there should be no other regulations that contradict the Constitution. Even civil servants, they have the right to assemble and before, many groups of civil servants have assembled, for example doctors. So if anyone will be subject to action, every party is ready to provide assistance. God willing, we are confident that many parties will help". ==Controversies==

Ban on civil servants joining the rally by KSN The Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia, Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, has warned all civil servants working under the Malaysian public sector not to participate in the Oust Anwar rally. He also added that the action of participating in the rally is not in line with the principle of "Loyalty to the King and Country" contained in the Rukun Negara. Support from AGC regarding KSN's ban The Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (AGC) has stressed that the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly is not absolute. The AGC added that every civil servant is subject to a letter of undertaking as provided for in subregulation 20(3) of the Civil Servants (Appointment, Promotion and Termination of Service) Regulations 2012. The AGC added that "This Department also stresses that, although Articles 10(1)(a) and 10(1)(b) provide for the right of every citizen to speak and express his opinion, as well as the right to assemble peacefully and unarmed, these rights are not absolute. Accordingly, any public assembly is also subject to the requirement to comply with existing laws including specific instructions issued by the authorities including instructions by the Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia (KSN) to civil servants". Garbage left by participants On July 26, 2025, the Minister of Housing and Local Government, Nga Kor Ming, criticized the actions of the participants of the Oust Anwar rally who threw garbage everywhere, causing inconvenience to the sanitation workers. Through a post on the X platform, the Teluk Intan Member of Parliament stressed that due to the irresponsible actions of the opposition supporters, the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleaning Corporation (SWCorp) had to work hard to clean up the dirt left behind. It is understood that 15 metric tons or 15,000 kilograms (kg) of garbage were left behind by the participants of the rally. Arrest of participants on sedition charges One of the participants in the rally, Badrul Hisham Shaharin, also known as Chegubard, the Bersatu Port Dickson chief, was arrested by the RMP and charged with four offences, namely Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955, Section 504 of the Penal Code, Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, and Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948. His lawyer, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, said that his party was informed at 2.30 pm today that he was arrested at his residence. Muhammad Rafique condemned the authorities' action, claiming that it was unnecessary because Badrul Hisham had already set an appointment to meet the police investigator in charge of his case at Bukit Aman the next day. ==See also==