It’s Boghi today – a festival widely celebrated by the Indians. It’s the time of the year when everyone, from the rich to the poor, throws old things into a bonfire and usher in the new.

In Malaysia, we celebrated Boghi a day earlier when 100,000 people discarded fear and walked to Stadium Merdeka to voice their demands. It was a new dawn, a historic moment.

And as succinctly pointed out by PAS chief Abdul Hadi Awang and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, it was a second Merdeka for the people.

It was a day where they marched on to a historic venue to declare their freedom to assemble, express and demand their rights as citizens of Malaysia.

The Malaysian government has a deeply distorted view of rallies and protests in the country.

While we have heard utter nonsense from the ruling politicians and subtle threats in the run-up to the rally, it was commendable that the police force cooperated with the rally-goers.

This only goes to show that we can have peaceful protests if the police do not engage in bully-boy tactics.

Some policemen even smiled at me as I walked with fellow Malaysians. It’s clear they have learned from past experience where the police unleashed unnecessary force and created chaos on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

Loud and clear

That said, it cannot stop with police behaving professionally at the rally. The people have spoken, loud and clear, in presenting their 10-point demand. Now the government must act on it.

But we all know this is not going to be easy. The mammoth protest has come on the eve of the general election, which will be the toughest and dirtiest in the country’s history.

Prime Minister Najib Razak is already struggling to call for the polls. And the last few weeks were not kind to him.

Damning allegations from a businessman who was until recently close to the ruling party, linking the prime minister and his wife to the murder of a Mongolian interpreter coupled with rumours of a mild stroke over the last weekend and an impending resignation, have certainly come at a bad time for Najib.

His efforts at a moderate government have irked the conservative elements within his own party, Umno, leading many to speculate that they are behind the moves to sabotage Najib.

Policies undermined

While we can give some credit to Najib for trying to implement reforms, senior Umno politicians have often undermined his policies.

And while they will be counting on their coalition to win the next general election, these people would also be hoping it’s not by a big enough margin to allow Najib (right) to stay in power.

Clearly the prime minister is stuck. But the people want a decisive leader who can make structural changes and reforms that are crucial to make Malaysia a true democracy.

We are done with lip service and excuses. Najib has indulged in one too many flip-flops on his policies over the last four years. He had chickened out and gone back on his word. His reforms have been merely cosmetic.

If we take a critical look at Umno, it would become apparent that the party has completely lost the support of the people. And Najib’s popularity is way higher than that of his party’s. But polls suggest that it is also dipping.

With more threats coming from the carpet dealer, Deepak Jaikishan, a deeply split Umno and waning support from the people. Najib does not have much room to manoeuvre.

And he certainly does not have the power to make good the demands of the 100,000 people.

CHARLES SANTIAGO is MP for Klang.